Posted on 05/22/2017 12:17:25 PM PDT by nickcarraway
SNIP
A professional hunter was killed when an elephant that had just been shot fell on top of him, according to reports.
South African big-game bagger Theunis Botha, 51, was leading a hunt in Zimbabwe on Friday when his group accidentally walked into the path of a herd of breeding elephants near Hwange National Park and three of the elephant cows charged at them, the Telegraph reports.
Botha fired at the rampaging pack but was caught by surprise when a fourth cow came in from the side and picked him up with her trunk.
SNIP
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
"Get Some!"
The legal hunts are usually done because of over population and the hunters pay big $$ and the money goes to manage the reserve. At least that’s the theory. So it’s a good thing in the big picture.
Usually with a .458/.460 safari rifle.
Aren’t hunters supposed to wait until whatever they shot falls down or something? Shoot a buck and you wait until it stops thrashing about.
In Washington state they had people out to get petitions signed to get animal traps put on the ballot. (They did, and it passed.) Of course the Liberals were just thinking of the cougars and bears and mink and stuff.
A group was out in front of the hardware store. I said “Oh - this is a great place to be. They need to ban all of the traps in there.”
“OH? I don’t think they sell them here - but this is just a busy place on a Saturday.”
“What do you mean - of course they sell the traps in there! Mouse traps, rat traps - even mole traps!”
“Oh NO! We’re not trying to ban THOSE traps.”
“Well why not? Mice are cute and part of God’s wonderful creation. My son has a pet rat - he’s the cutest thing. Why would anyone want to hurt something so cute?!”
Hmm - I guess I could have asked when the petition to ban mosquito repealant was coming. (I’m sure it probably has - hard to find stuff with a high DEET content anymore).
I believe the last figures I have seen are around 3 or 4 percent to communities affected by these practices, and that is from even pro hunting organizations. The rest goes to national governments or foreign-based outfitters.
When trophy hunters select the biggest and the strongest male animals—not females, who are generally smaller, or the sick or weak or young, which is all extremely anti-evolutionary I don’t see how it is possible the money they pay to hunt lions is spent in ways that benefit the species. If it were the wild population of lions would be growing in South Africa, instead it is only the number of captive-bred lions used for canned hunts that has increased.
A different hunter shot the elephant that fell on him. (That might be against best practices too)
You clearly haven’t the first clue what happens when a licensed hunter kills an elephant legally.
First of all, the fees for the hunt provide employment for a number of people and funding for anti-poaching efforts - in this case, in Tanzania, which has probably the best and most aggressive anti-poaching unit in Africa. Secondly, legally-taken elephants provide a significant amount of food for the local population and provide raw materials for native crafts, which are sold to tourists to support a very meager income. Local villages are notified of a hunt in the area and stand by to butcher the elephant, which happens in very short order, so very little is wasted. Poaching, on the other hand - almost always intended to harvest only ivory, provides income only for criminals and the carcasses usually lie and rot.
I would invite you to do some research on the health of the elephant herd in Kenya, which banned elephant hunting over 40 years ago. When banned in 1973, the elephant population in Kenya was about 275,000. After 44 years of no elephant hunting, the population is now estimated to be in the neighborhood of 30,000 and continues to decline because the Kenyan government lacks the funds to hire wardens.
Yes, I am a hunter and I’ve been to Africa, but never hunted there. While I have no desire whatsoever to kill an elephant, I don’t object to someone willing to pay 40-50 thousand dollars or more who does. I do, however, have a real problem with idiots who wish death upon people pursuing a perfectly legal undertaking just because they disagree with it, don’t understand it and choose not to participate themselves. Sounds very much like the liberal argument against the Second Amendment, now doesn’t it?
I thought this was FREE Republic...
My sentiments also............
“...but I am willing to give credit when the animals fight back.”
I’ve never hunted dangerous game (I find a grouse erupting 10 feet in front of me exciting enough!) - but I’m guessing that part of the intensity and “thrill” of the hunt is knowing that it IS dangerous, and that there is a chance that you might end up dead. Sometimes you get the elephant, and sometimes it gets you.
Is your mangina sore?
You’re certainly in a foul mood....
Every pound of meat is eaten, not by the hunters, but by locals. If there weren’t any sport hunters, all elephants would be killed protecting their farms.
Don’t think he wants any. He died doing something he loved, honestly, I’m jealous.
For years I’ve told my kids I’d like to be 90 and killed by a cape buffalo, or eaten by a lion while hunting, as opposed to being remembered as a weakling in a nursing home with a diaper on.
For one thing, it would be a story everyone could remember me by.
Weird. So a hunter shot the elephant where this other guy was standing close enough for it to land on him? Was this a “Hey, hold my beer” moment?
agreed. All anti hunters should get a month’s wages working in a slaughterhouse! Being a cattleman’s son, I’m pretty aware of where hamburger comes from, it’s from the part you can’t make steaks out of.
Just make sure your kids don’t arrange a special hunting trip when you are about 70....
They are putting his body in a trunk and sending it home.
This was quite a surprise to his fellow squash players.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.