Lot's Wife Edition 6 2015

ARTS & CULTURE 41
Cecil the Lion and the
Debate on Hunting
BY Elyse Walton
For the past couple of weeks, my newsfeed has been flooded
with reports of the shooting of Zimbabwean Cecil the Lion by
an American dentist and big-game hunting enthusiast. The
controversy attracted international attention, resulting in
major backlash from conservationists, celebrities, politicians
and global and social media. Cecil’s story has reignited a
debate on the flourishing business of African trophy hunting,
the sport of killing wild game and keeping heads, antlers
and pelts as souvenirs, and the industry’s effects on wildlife
conservation.
Walter Palmer allegedly paid $55,000 to professional
hunter and guide Theo Bronkhorst for the opportunity to kill a
lion. Cecil was lured a kilometer from Hwange National Park,
Zimbabwe’s largest game park, and shot with a crossbow. On
July 1, 2015, 40 hours later, Cecil was tracked and killed with
a rifle.
Cecil’s ruthless killing has sparked global outrage.
Palmer’s 1.1 million dollar Florida home has been vandalized.
After having his personal details posted online and
numerous hate messages and death threats, he has gone
into hiding. The online petition "Justice for Cecil", demanding
the Zimbabwean government cease issuing hunting permits
for endangered animals, has over 900,000 signatures. The
president of PETA, Ingrid Newkirk, has called for Palmer to be
tried and hanged. Big name celebrities have been extremely
vocal about the issue, from Jimmy Falon to Mia Farrow.
Initially I was delighted to see a call for action for lion
conservation. With less than 30,000 left in the wild, the lion
population has dropped an estimated 30% to 50% in the past
20 years alone. Over 665 lion carcasses are exported from
Africa annually and the industry generates approximately
$613 million to South African reserves. Multiple studies have
concluded that trophy hunting negatively impacts African
lion populations, including the Oxford University research
study on the impact of hunting on Hwange National Park, of
which Cecil was a subject. Of the 62 lions studied, 34 lions
have died during the study period, 24 of those deaths as a
result of sports hunting.
Many hunters and researchers argue that trophy hunting
is beneficial to wildlife conservation as its substantial
revenue funds conservation initiatives and assists African
communities. However, this argument was disproven by
the International Fund for Animal Welfare’s 2013 report
demonstrating that trophy hunting only accounts for 0.27
percent or less of the GDP of each African country in which
it’s conducted.
The history of hunting runs deep with colonialism and it
"The history of hunting
runs deep with colonialism
and it is a ritual of white
dominance. When Britain
invaded Africa around 1870,
British sportsman often used
their ideas of "fairness" to
distinguish themselves from
Indigenous hunters."
is a ritual of white dominance. When Britain invaded Africa
around 1870, British sportsman often used their ideas
of "fairness" to distinguish themselves from Indigenous
hunters. Imperialist American president Theodore Roosevelt,
was an avid big-game hunter, and firm believer in eugenics.
Cecil himself is named after Cecil Rhodes, the founder and
colonizer of Rhodesia.
Today, trophy hunting remains a "white man’s" sport
throughout southern Africa. Professional hunters are
often white men willing to pay thousands of dollars to kill
endangered animals, which they are able to afford thanks
to their large disposable income. With over 70% of the
Zimbabwean population living below the poverty line, most
aren’t able to afford the "luxury" of hunting. Many hadn’t even
heard of Cecil at all, despite reports of him being the most
famous lion in Africa.
That’s when I realized the campaign to avenge Cecil was
also displaying the presence of colonialism today. Why
aren’t Westerners concerned about Zimbabwe’s staggering
poverty rate? Why isn’t there continual media coverage about
the human rights violations at the hands of Zimbabwe’s
authoritarian president Robert Mugabe? Of all the issues to
tackle in Zimbabwe, which one deserves the most attention?