When Cecil the lion was killed near the Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe on July 1 as part of an illegal hunting expedition, many people worldwide were outraged. But should they have been?
"Cecil was no angel," says Blake Blatherson of the Foundation for the Extinction of Wild Animals (FEWA). "He was in fact a vicious predator, who had murdered numerous other animals during his reign of terror."
"A lot of gazelles and okapi are sleeping easier knowing the Cecil is gone."
Cecil was not content simply to commit murder, said Blatherson: "Its shocking to contemplate, but he savagely devoured his victims."
According to Blatherson, Cecil's six cubs all had different mothers. "This points to a systemic failure of the lion community," he said. "How will cubs learn strong moral values if their fathers behave so irresponsibly?"
Blatherson said Cecil's leaving the game reserve was further evidence of his irresponsibility. "You can spin it any way you want," said Blatherson, "but the fact is, had Cecil obeyed a few simple rules, he would be alive today."
If Cecil isn't completely to blame, says Blatherson, it's because he was enticed to leave the reserve by the prospect of getting free meat. "This highlights the culture of dependency in which Cecil and other lions live in the game reserve," said Blatherson. "Closing the reserve and allowing market forces to determine who survives and who doesn't would force these lions to become more self-reliant."
"It would actually improve their lives."
Nor should we assume that Cecil's motives in leaving the game reserve were innocent. "Many people apparently are unaware that lions are fearsome killers," said Blatherson. "They possess deadly jaws and teeth. It's difficult to get in crossbow range without exposing yourself to danger. We have no proof that they did not fire at Cecil in self-defense."
With Cecil dead, his cubs are at risk of being killed by Cecil's rival lions. "You hear about the occasional hunter killing a lion," said Blatherson. "But the liberal media completely ignores far more frequent lion-on-lion crime."
Note: Of course, as I prepared to post this I found an earlier diary on this topic: http://www.dailykos.com/... but I am standing my ground and publishing this one.
