Rowdy Returns to Trucks with Pocono Win

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Outstanding success for the osprey in Pennsylvania

<p>It&#8217;s all in the name.</p><p>That&#8217;s the only reason I can think of why there is so much outrage over the killing of a lion in Zimbabwe named Cecil.</p><p>When it was learned that a dentist from Minnesota went to Zimbabwe and shot a lion that not only had a name but was a tourist attraction as well, tempers flared.</p><p>And rightly so.</p><p>Based on news reports, the killing was a poaching incident. According to authorities, the lion was allegedly lured off a protected preserve by the scent of an animal carcass strapped to a vehicle.</p><p>Essentially, it was baited.</p><p>Illuminated by a spotlight, the lion was shot by the Minnesota dentist with a crossbow and, almost two days later, the wounded cat was found a dispatched with a firearm.</p><p>While the legality of the hunt will be determined by Zimbabwe authorities, it was certainly unethical.</p><p>By why all the outrage now?</p><p>According to the charity LionAid (lionaid.org), approximately 93 percent of lion populations have been wiped out over the last 50 years. The organization&#8217;s website also points out that 74 percent of the male lions that inhabited the border of the same park where Cecil lived have been shot by trophy hunters.</p><p>Why haven&#8217;t people protested and celebrities cried over those tens of thousands of African lions that were killed by poachers for years before the Cecil incident?</p><p>Simple.</p><p>Because those lions didn&#8217;t have a name.</p><p>When we personify animals and give them names, it creates an attachment based more on emotion than fact. Because this lion was cute, furry and had a name it struck an instant emotional attachment with everyone.</p><p>Would we be as upset if this dentist from Minnesota went to Zimbabwe and illegally hunted and killed a black mamba?</p><p>The fact is &#8220;Cecil&#8221; was a wild animal, not a domesticated pet, and the only names it should&#8217;ve been known by were African lion or <em>panthera leo. </em>Not Cecil, Ted or Larry.</p><p>Cecil the lion was no more important or valuable than the thousands of other big cats that have been tragically killed by poachers over the years.</p><p>Still, from the perspective of a hunter, the incident reeks of wrongdoing.</p><p>In defense of the hunter from Minnesota who shot the lion, it was reported that he paid a guide around $50,000 for the hunt. When a hunter hires a guide, they depend on him to take care of all the steps to make sure the hunt is legal. Guides are used by hunters who are unfamiliar with the terrain, the species and the regulations of a certain place. A hunter puts his faith in a guide to make sure that all regulations are followed.</p><p>I can&#8217;t fault the Minnesota dentist for trusting his guide, or even his claim that he didn&#8217;t know this particular lion was fitted with a radio collar as part of a research project by Oxford University.</p><p>But here&#8217;s where things went wrong.</p><p>In a statement printed in newspapers across the nation, the hunter claimed he didn&#8217;t know the lion had a radio collar and was part of a study until the end of the hunt.</p><p>But that didn&#8217;t stop him or the guides from skinning the lion and removing its head, according to reports.</p><p>What they should&#8217;ve done upon discovering the radio collar is immediately report the incident to authorities. Come clean, and if it was determined a mistake was made own up to it.</p><p>Whatever happens next, there&#8217;s no changing the tragic end for a creature that should be respected, and not named.</p><p>More importantly, considering the alarming decline of lions in Africa, there&#8217;s really no need to hunt them at all. They should all be protected and we should be outraged when one is killed, whether it has a name or not.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Venesky </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/web1_Venesky-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Venesky </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Tom Venesky</p><p>tvenesky@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Tom Venesky at tvenesky@www.timesleader.com or on Twitter @TLTomVenesky</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Outdoors with Tom Venesky: What about the lions without names?