I do not try in any way to verbally "assault" a person that I disagree with, so I hope you will allow me to outline my thoughts and the genesis of my feelings and beliefs. You may not agree with me, and you may decide to totally ignore me and continue your hunts that many of us disagree with. But at least I will have have tried and approached you about my deep concerns about your animal hunting trips.
I am not currently totally against hunting, but will qualify that comment in a major way as I write. If you are a person who hunts in order to put food on the table, and you actually eat whatever you hunt, I can make an attempt to live with that. However, as an avid animal person and nature lover, I just admit to having a hard time with the whole "hunting as a sport" thing. It bothers me on a visceral level to think of animals being killed for the reason of "well, it's a sport". Nothing personal, I just want to say that it bothers me that animals are killed when life and the ability to put food on the table are not the primary issue.
I will be open and honest and tell you that I am appalled at your numerous trips to Africa to hunt endangered species. Yep, this one steps far over the line for me. The pictures of the magnificent animals you have slaughtered in the name of "sport" has made me physically ill. I have racked my poor brain, and I cannot fathom a justifiable reason to travel thousands of miles to hunt animals, especially animals that are are on a number of endangered wildlife lists, and the only reason seems to be "well, it's legal, it's a sport, and it's fun".
I do not care if it was "legal" in Africa or not because as someone who has done some international travel, this blanket statement of approval is disingenuous at best. Can you deny that the economy of Africa is the definition of "third-world", and that (IMHO) the whole "permitting process" where the various "licenses" to hunt animals (and I cannot quit emphasizing that we are talking about endangered species here) is probably very suspect and riddled with corruption and bribery?
I do not mean to just go on an endless rant on this, but when I saw the pictures of the numerous endangered species in Africa that you have hunted and killed, well, it just made me sick to my stomach. Is mankind/woman-kind/whatever so desperate for a "blood sport" that we tolerate behavior that erases endangered species off the face of the Earth in the name if "fun?"
As part of my hope for an open and honest dialogue with you, I'm going to write from my heart and also use some comments from one of the worlds kindest and most caring women I know, a trusted friend and someone who I have no doubt would make any sacrifice necessary for her animals, and I am betting she would do the same for the ones that have been indiscriminately killed. The two of us have traded a lot of commentary back and forth in the days since the story of you and the animal hunts, and I am confident that there are things she has said that are pieces of advice and wisdom you should evaluate and (in a perfect world) incorporate this into your thoughts towards animals.
Hunters for "sport" will justify their killing by stating major money is paid to "hunt" and thus goes to conservation efforts for animals already on the endangered list. There is a reason the animals are on that list to begin with, and it is solely due to human greed (habitat loss, poaching, or over hunting). The simple fact of "money walks, bs talks" means that enough money can override the protections of the endangered species, which to many of us as animal lovers means the way the endangered species act currently work provides a suggestion that the greed and priorities of hunters need serious evaluation. In my opinion, let's take the high powered guns out of the hands of hunters and put them in an arena to go toe-to-toe with any of these animals and then it could truly be called "sport". The opinions of many people is that that the "sport" of hunting at its core is a need to dominate someone or something on the very basic levels of which no person could stand a chance, which then leads to the barbaric behavior of hanging the trophy on the wall as a misguided symbol. I am and will always be appalled by this behavior in humanity, and find it twisted and sad. I realize others have their entitled opinions, and my own opinion is not going to change.
People can dress it up however they want, but a rational person with a scintilla of compassion cannot (IMHO) make any discussion about the proverbial unregulated killing of animals (both endangered as well as others, most of which are classified as "trophy animals"), into a dialogue that could ever "justify" the "trophy hunting" of these precious and rare animals. While I do not think animal slaughter is an answer to world hunger, I will acquiesce that we do unfortunately live in a day and time when there are still far too many segments of the worlds population who only survive and gain sustenance by their skills at "hunting and gathering". But there is an absolute "line in the sand" that should be drawn to eradicate, shame and legislate the slaughter of majestic and endangered animals out of existence, and this travesty of allowing these "hunts" of endangered and precious species just shows how cold and callous humanity can be. Are there no depths that our species cannot sink below? Do these people have no shame? Yeah, I know the answer, but I had to ask.
My friend and I agree, and it is absolutely a direct correlation to greed that many of these animals are on the endangered species lists. If we actually took care of the environment and the ecology of the Earth we would not have an ever increasing list of species that are vanishing, never to reappear or be seen by future generations. Einstein stated that "the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result". How many animal species will we lose, never to see again, before the "adults in the room" look at big-game or "trophy" hunting like what you have been doing and just say "Enough! No More!"
I want to assure you that I go out of my way to make every attempt to try and have an open dialogue with people who have opinions about hunting. However, due to the intransigence and refusal to at least consider and speak about my side of the theory, I just sadly smile inwardly and tell them that in cases and instances like this story, they have been and will always be wrong. Nothing personal, but I cannot imagine any amount of discussion and justification will ever be enough to provide an argument that would show where the extermination of numerous species is OK because of "sport". I try and have a hope that humanity will somehow wise up and learn a lesson now and then, but that is a wish list that just seems unfulfilled.
My animal-loving colleague tells me that if there is any summation she could make, it is that regardless of what anyone thinks or believes, regardless of their actions or ways of life, we cannot pick randomly in nature what man wants to feebly try to manage and then turn around and somehow be proud of it. In the end nature governs every last one of us no matter how we try and view it and no matter our guns or how many ivory tusks we have. They once exterminated wolves by the thousands, hung their pelts and traded them for nothing, and then listed them endangered. They worried about their near extinction and reintroduced them, and now in the name of "sport" shoot them from the air. Prime example of greed and an attempt to single out in nature a species that should never have been targeted to "manage" in the first place.
None of this discussion would be valuable unless we have a honest, open and frank discussion of the killing of animals that are headed towards extinction. Looking at the information from The World Wildlife Fund, they provide a pretty complete catalog that frequently updates the animals with varying degree's of danger: Critically Endangered, Endangered, Vulnerable, Near Threatened.
I'll first address a couple of "fact-finding" topics that might be educational. When looking at the animals around the world, the two organizations that stood out in classifying and tracking animal life that is a potential candidate for having their population at risk is the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). These two agree and provide the significant breakdown between the animals with dangerous population levels as follows.
- "Critically Endangered" is used to classify a species and is the one that causes the most immediate concern, a list of animals which has been categorized as facing a very high risk of extinction in the wild in the immediate future" It is the highest risk category assigned.
- "Endangered" is described as: very high risk of extinction in the wild in the near future.
- "Vulnerable" is described as: high risk of extinction in the wild in medium-term future.
- "Near Threatened" is described as: a "focus of a specific conservation program" without which the species would enter one of the above categories.
Just for the sake of discussion, research from the scientific community using the above classifications mean that we currently have an estimation of over 49,000 animals on Planet Earth that have a population that has them ranging from "near threatened", which means that without some help they will get moved to one of the top three dangerous lists, to animals listed as "critically endangered", meaning they are 'facing a very high risk of extinction in the wild in the immediate future" And is it a surprise that a large number of those were (and still are) classified as "trophy animals" for the "big game" hunter. Let me run that number again: OVER 49,000 SPECIES AND SUB-SPECIES ARE ON ENDANGERED LISTS! Call me just a bit cynical, but a number of the large animals on the lists seem to be very popular with the "gun enthusiast" animal-slaughter crowd like the animals you shoot. I think that (and based on close examination of the animal-kill photos posted by you) you have clearly been crossing off members of the various endangered lists.
Some things pop-out to me pretty quick on your website and those blandly supporting you. While I do not purport to be an animal expert based on just the review of a photo, I can make an overall observation on some of the pictures. For example, I think it would be obvious to point out that some of the animals you killed were elephants. According to the World Wildlife Organization, elephants appear to run the gamut from "Critically Endangered" with the Sumatran Elephant, "Endangered" with the Asian Elephant, Indian Elephant, and Sri Lankan Elephant, and "Vulnerable" with African Elephant, Forest Elephant, and Savanna Elephant.
Switching to the "big cats" I saw among the photos you posted of your kills, I saw large and majestic felines that could have been "Critically Endangered" if it was Sumatran Tiger, "Endangered" if it was a Amur Tiger, Bengal Tiger, Indochinese Tiger, Snow Leopard, or Tiger, and "Near Threatened" if the slain cat was a Jaguar.
Next, we would need to evaluate the numerous pictures of the rhino's that were slaughtered. I admit to not knowing one rhino from another, so how do we know that the pictures we have seen over the decade you have killed is not one of the ones listed on the Endangered Species list? Black Rhino, Javan Rhino, and Sumatran Rhino are all at the top of the list and shown as "Critically Endangered", the Greater One-Horned Rhino is classified as "Vulnerable", and the White Rhino is listed as "Near Threatened".
So while I cannot state with 100% certainty the exact species shown in your various photos, I am pretty sure I would feel very comfortable in stating that a fairly large number of the pictures that are shown on just your Facebook page sure seem to match the profile of the various species as listed as Critically Endangered, Endangered, Vulnerable, Near Threatened.
The facts as known today is that illegal wildlife trade has exploded to meet increasing demand for things like elephant ivory, rhino horns, and tiger products. Controlled by dangerous "under world" crime syndicates, wildlife is trafficked much like drugs or weapons. Wildlife criminals often operate with impunity, making the trade a low-risk/high-profit business. Today, it is the fifth most profitable illicit trade in the world, estimated at up to $10 billion EVERY YEAR. The world is dealing with an unprecedented spike in illegal wildlife trade, threatening to overturn decades of conservation gains. Ivory estimated to weigh more than 23 metric tons (a figure that represents 2,500 elephants) was seized in the 13 largest seizures of illegal ivory two years ago. Poaching threatens the last of our wild tigers that number as few as 3,200.
The only way humanity can do something about our wildlife disappearing from the environment and our planet is not to "throw money" at the problem by deluding ourselves that hunting fee's, permits, and other "hunter money" will somehow offset the loss of animals thru money. Nope, the way to save vanishing animals species is thru conservation, not assassination, and to stop the senseless hunting of animals, and especially those that are even remotely related to the endangered category. I know that you have declared that due to your hunts and money that you have helped somehow in the various "third world" countries where you hunt. However, I do not agree that your money will "balance the scales" of what you have killed.
A "light bulb going off" moment was when I evaluated the causation itemization for the various specifics that are currently leading to natural extinction. The list of "reasons" for "natural extinction" are as follows: By Catch, Climate Change, Deforestation, Illegal Wildlife Trade, Infrastructure Development, Oil and Gas Development, Over Fishing, Pirate Fishing, Illegal Fishing, Pollution, Soil Erosion and Degradation, and Water Scarcity. Out of that list of 12 causes that have been declared as a direct (or indirect) corollary events or causes to the endangerment, reduction, and elimination of animal populations, can anyone truly claim to be surprised that EVERY one of the factors outlined are are (either in whole or in part) the results of the impact and interactions of man?
While a couple of them are "global" and "environmental" ( such as Climate Change, Soil Erosion and Degradation, and Water Scarcity), even that assertion does not properly assign the correct "impact" and "weight" mankind has had on separate or combined factors from the 12 animal extinction causation factors listed just above. I gladly admit to a new found illumination from research while writing this. As a friend and fellow nature lover wrote to me, "we cannot pick randomly in nature what man wants to feebly try to manage and then turn around and somehow be proud of it. In the end nature governs every last one of us no matter how we try and view it and no matter our guns or how many ivory tusks we have" That little tidbit of info sums up this issue pretty succinctly.
There are many of us that are part of a large group of aware and concerned people who see these hunts for what they are, senseless waste of animals for self-satisfaction. As mankind has continued to expand on the Earth, over decades there are numerous flora and fauna already extinct in the wild. There is a simple fact that they were first in the "endangered" category, and that it was human factors that led to their demise. These are lost forever, and we are left to ask why? Then we could consider the numbers of species on the brink and yet again take a hard look at the human factors involved. The sad fact is, as long as there are people who find it perfectly acceptable to kill threatened and endangered animals for whatever reason: be it to make snortable aphrodisiacs, a pair of boots, a wall trophy, rug, or stew for 1000, then those people see no fault as their own. It's always easy to find an excuse and a way to blame killing on something or someone else. That makes it alright and justifiable for people who know no better. You don't appear to care if the animal is threatened or endangered and frankly never take responsibility and make the connection that your actions are the reason why. I've been horrified and made physically ill too many times in trying to open my mind as to why someone finds logical need to kill a lion. Anyone interested can read all about the Western black rhino and why this subspecies is now extinct. And further, to think we are at a point where elephants are killed in the numbers they are tells me we've got major extinctions ahead. For what?
The rapid loss of species we are seeing today is estimated by experts to be between 1,000 and 10,000 times higher than the natural extinction rate. The World Wildlife Fund is currently on record outlining the fact that depending on the total current number of unique species that we co-exist with on Earth (which could be as high as 100 million different species), then we are experiencing an extinction rate of between 10,000 and 100,000 species EVERY year! Even if you split the difference, the lost of 50,000 species PER YEAR should catch the attention of somebody! Unlike mass extinction events of geological history (like the Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction event that devastated life on earth and is estimated to have killed off over 90% of the species at that time, which included the dinosaurs), the current extinction challenge is one for which a single species - yep, the good ol "human race" - appears to be almost wholly responsible.
I read last night that scientists have classified five "mass extinction events" in the history of the planet, and there are some who claim that based on the rapid increase in the loss of species, that the Earth has already begun the process of the sixth mass extinction. Some are stating that the sixth mass extinction we are in (if they are correct) is happening at a faster rate than the Cretaceous-Tertiary tertiary extinction that wiped out the dinosaurs. That is pretty darn scary. What is also alarming (at least to me) is that the the current extinction events are pretty much exclusively due to major human activities, rather than events of the five previous mass extinction events that were due to geological events or the huge asteroid that hit during the Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction. Scientists are placing huge weight on habitat destruction and deforestation, and over half of the world’s forests have been destroyed in the last 10,000 or so years, and the majority of this loss has occurred in the last 50 years alone. Human-induced climate change due to things like greenhouse gases, and pollution of water, earth, and air, are linked to to human overpopulation in causing an advance in the extinction of species. Finally, as the ultimate irony based on our current discussion, a major extinction factor is from the over-harvesting of animals due to rampant and out of control hunting and fishing!
Major extinction events are nothing new for the planet, but species are now dying out at an alarming rate thanks to humans. Humanity should not be proud of their pattern of senseless and cruel treatment of the rest of the inhabitants of Earth. I saw a quote once that said "Animal cruelty is one of the most unfortunate and barbaric demonstrations of human beings manipulating "power" over other species", and that pretty much sums things up in a cohesive statement. Heck, I even have a comment from Martin Luther King on animals, where he said "Never, never be afraid to do what's right, especially if the well being of an animal is at stake. Society's punishments are small compared to the wounds we inflict on our soul when we look the other way" If the extinction numbers are correct even in minor percentages, then we have already lost an incalculable number of precious, rare, and magnificent species, and once gone, there is no "re-set" button to get them back. We have lost far too many magnificent members of the big cat family (lions, tigers, cheetahs) alone, and the big cat group has more members from their species than any of the other major groups on the endangered and soon to be gone forever group. We are close to losing various wildlife types such as the rhinoceros, the gorilla, elephants, pandas, polar bears, lemurs, whales, dolphins, turtles, eagles, zebras, peacocks, giraffes, and an ever-growing number of birds, mammals, and amphibians. The current IUCN Red List has over 49,000 species and subspecies that are endangered in one way or another.
I've read comments and interviews from you, and I would challenge you to rationally convince me the reason why or for what! As the current "poster child" for hunting, I challenge and encourage you, as just one of the people who hunt and kill exotic wildlife for "sport", to give me and the rest of the world a detailed reply in an attempt to explain your various "theories" on how you are HELPING nature thru your hunting. We have so many laws on the books in this world to protect human life, why the hell is it so hard to extend and diversify that protection to include all forms of life, which would include the flora and the fauna on the planet? Reading about all the killing of animals you have done sure makes me wonder how we humans as a species can truly look at our reflection in the mirror and be convinced that we are "civilized".
I saw a couple of quotes that I saved recently that I think you should think about. "Show kindness to animals also, as well as to all people. For as you treat all other created beings, so will you, in the long run, be treated.", and the one I really like, “The purity of a person's heart can be quickly measured by how they regard animals”. Thanks for a good discussion. It helps ground me and remind me of how we should remain vigilant in the pursuit of taking care of animals.
So I leave it to you, Ms. Jones, to decide on whether you will reply or respond to me. You live in your world, and I live in mine, but I assure you that I am fully prepared to discuss and debate this issue at any time and at any place. If the venue is online thru Facebook where you have a presence, or you want to trade messages back and forth, then so be it. But if you ever want to meet and discuss it in person, either on or off the record, I am always up for an interesting discussion of the facts of the world of nature. I look forward to a reply to you, and who knows, maybe we can open a dialogue along the way. One never knows where natures path will take you.
