I think the dentist is probably as pissed off as anyone.
Here's what I think happened:
Dr. pays what he thinks is a reputable company to guide his hunt.
Company doesn't have proper permit, but Dr. Palmer is unaware.
Group successfully baits and kills Cecil.
Group finds collar and destroys it (it's very possible Dr. Palmer wasn't even aware of this; it's not uncommon for the guides to do all the tracking, especially after 48 hours).
The end.
The whole story is just buzzword outrage. "They hunted Cecil at NIGHT, with BOWS, while BAITING him." All of these things are completely legal, not to mention completely normal and standard. As far as I am aware, most lion hunts take place at night while baiting or during the day with dogs.
At best, I think the doctor helped destroy the collar, which I'm not even sure is illegal, and even if it is it's probably "destruction of property" because killing a collard animal is not illegal in the least bit.
If Dr. Palmer was actually going over to Zimbabwe to poach a lion, he wouldn't have spent $50K to do it. He would have paid some locals a fraction of that. $50K is what legal hunters pay to hunt a lion in Zimbabwe, so why would he pay that for an illegal hunt?
Like I said, he's probably more pissed than anybody.
I think when done properly and through the right channels, hunting big game like this does a lot of good for the species. Auctioning off the old aggressive males that are no longer breeding anyways brings in a LOT of money for conservation and prevents the younger males and cubs from getting run off or killed. With that being said, this hunt was not exactly done properly, but I don't actually think that's the fault of Dr. Palmer.
Edited by Herdo, August 11 2015 - 12:07 PM.
