F*ck Yo Lion: Zimbabweans Say They Have Economic & Resource Issues To Be Concerned With – Blogged by @niksofly

There is no doubt that the unlawful hunting of Cecil the Lion ruffled more than just feathers. There is world outrage regarding the big cat’s killing. So much so, some in Zimbabwe cannot understand the “big deal”.  They feel it is terribly sad and that the poacher, Dr. Palmer, should be reprimanded. Zimbabweans don’t understand how the lion’s death takes precedence over the economic and health concerns the country faces daily.

Via Business Insider

While the death of a protected lion in Zimbabwe has caused outrage in the United States — much of it centered on the Minnesota dentist who killed the animal — most in Zimbabwe expressed a degree of bafflement over the concern.

The discovery that Cecil, the star of Zimbabwe national park had been lured out and killed by American bow hunter Walter James Palmer has resulted in online anger and protests at his dental clinic.

Outside Zimbabwe’s environmental and activist circles, however, the reaction been muted.

“It’s so cruel, but I don’t understand the whole fuss, there are so many pressing issues in Zimbabwe — we have water shortages, no electricity, and no jobs — yet people are making noise about a lion?” said Eunice Vhunise, a Harare resident. “I saw Cecil once when I visited the game park. I will probably miss him. But honestly the attention is just too much.”

An economic meltdown over the past few years has closed many companies and left two-thirds of the population working in the informal economy while battling acute water and electricity shortages.

Most people questioned in downtown Harare hadn’t actually heard about the lion and said they were too busy trying to make a living to care about it.

One resident, however, noted that the lions were needed to bring in tourism and Palmer should be fined with the money going toward animal conservation.

“It’s very sad that the American chose to travel all the way to kill our animals,” Clinton Manyuchi said.

Palmer is believed to have shot the lion with a bow, and then the wounded cat was tracked for 40 hours before he was killed with a gun.

Zimbabwe authorities, however, have not announced any charges against Palmer, saying only that they want to speak with him, and the US embassy was not aware of any extradition requests.

Prosecutors have charged the hunter who supervised Palmer’s outing, Theo Bronkhorst, with killing a lion not authorized to be hunted. The country’s safari organization also said the way in which the lion was lured out of a national park was unethical and possibly illegal.

If convicted, Bronkhorst faces up to 15 years in prison.”

This issue raises several eyebrows. I too have pondered how AMERICANS are so enthralled with Cecil’s death and turn a blind eye to the slayings that happen on our soil or negate the socio-economic plunders abroad. Out of all the things to be enraged about, the death of a Lion was the straw that broke the camel’s back. On the other side, are humans obligated to be responsible for other humans? 

-Niko Rose