We live in a world where emotion and outrage have increasingly trumped rational thought. The most vivid example comes with the recent story of Texas Tech cheerleader Kendall Jones.
Jones,19, posted pictures on her Facebook page from her recent safari in Africa. One of the pictures is posted here. Somebody complained to Facebook and they took down her page claiming it was a violation of their policy.
“We remove reported content that promotes poaching of endangered species, the sale of animals for organized fight or content that includes extreme acts of animal abuse,” Facebook stated, although it did not comment further.
One picture showed her with a rare white rhino, which is endangered. However, it turns out she didn’t kill it, but hunted it with a team of researchers and tranquilized the beast to allow veterinarians to treat the animal for a leg injury. Such activity is called a “green hunt.” It’s literally catch-and-release hunting.
Some of the animals she bagged were identified as nuisance animals that had been preying on local livestock herds, such as her leopard. The predators would have been killed by locals or destroyed by wildlife control officers. Instead permits were sold and generated badly needed revenue for the poor economies of Zimbabwe and South Africa where she hunted to take the same action. Her trip provided much needed jobs to many local residents who made their living guiding and tracking foreign hunters.
None of the animals was being sold or trained for organized fighting and responsible and regulated hunting is not an extreme act of animal abuse. However, the consideration is lost on those who would vilify this young lady.
Reports indicate the Texas native had all necessary permits which were drawn in lottery fashion. She paid all fees and license costs and all of the animals were taken in a manner which is legal according to local game management laws. She did everything “by the book.”
The problem is, to some none of this matters. Animal rights groups lash out without the benefit of rational thought. They consider man is always the problem and never the solution. Animals are in nearly all ways superior to mankind in the minds of many of these individuals. Their line of thinking is revealed in some of the overwhelmingly hateful vitriol spewed forth by some of those who commented on Jones’ pictures.
“Come to South Africa and try to hunt our endangered animals, you will be shot on sight and believe me, there will be celebrations.”
“I hope you get eaten by a lion, you cow,”
“How about we have a real hunger games? I vote we hunt this horrible woman down first.”
Just a sample of the blow back the young hunter saw flooding her Facebook page in the wake of posting her pictures, something most of us have done. Some even went so far as to create the ” Official Kendall Jones Hate Page” on Facebook. Posts there doubled down on hateful remarks and death threats. Facebook wisely saw the problem and took their site down as well.
There is no reasoning with unreasonable people. The extreme members of the animal rights movement are unreasonable and in some cases have even been classified as terrorists. My experience has been there’s no use to argue with them because facts and data are meaningless in their minds. However, others who are not as hard lined, are rational thinking people who simply have a soft spot in their heart for animals. They desire to do what they can for wildlife and all animals, but often are misguided in their efforts.
The truth is hunters have done more for animal conservation than any other group. Hunters spend millions every year on equipment, license, and other associated costs to enjoy the activity. A high percentage of those dollars wind up being poured back into game management. The dollars spent on hunting in some communities both here in the United States and abroad are vital to local economies. Lawful hunting produces a means of healthy and organic food sources.
If someone wants to celebrate those attributes with what would otherwise be a discarded head on their living room wall or with pictures shared on Facebook, there’s nothing wrong with it. But some will never be convinced otherwise.