Do you really think Cecil's killing had something to do with either a poverty-stricken hunter or landowner, or have you mixed some apples in with your oranges? (I wonder if we'll ever know the
real story?)
On the other hand, there's
"Texan Pays $350,000 To Kill Endangered Black Rhino", which glosses over the fact that the rhino in question, having already killed several cows and calves, was a danger to the survival of its own species. (CNN documented that hunt, but I can't find the link again)
Raising the standard of living in Africa is a wonderful idea, but at the moment, at least, I think it's more of a pipe-dream than "
a long hard row to hoe". The cost of the multitude of projects that would be necessary to supply Africa with cheap electric power would be staggering even if they could be carried out efficiently and free of corruption, so imagine what they'd actually cost, the state of affairs in so many African countries being what it is.
In the meantime, though,
well regulated hunting
is a viable means to fund conservation efforts.
In a slightly different vein, is burning ivory, of which several countries have stockpiles in the TONS...Kenya having over 100 left after having already burned some, a good idea, or is it, effectively, grandstanding in the face of the facts that selling it could both aid the conservation effort and perhaps even put a dent in the flow of money to terrorist poachers?
