Summary:
Melissa Bachman, a big game hunter, is being protested against hunting animals in South Africa. More than 250,000 people have signed an online petition against her actions ever since she posted a photo of her with a dead lion on Facebook. The petition launched by Cape Town resident Elan Burman also includes a letter to South Africa officials, convincing them to ban her from access to the country. The main issue is the fact that Bachman is killing rare big game that has been criticized before by animal rights activists. However, money is being made from the hunters which has helped the local economy. Bachman's actions were legal, but are still not favored by most.
Analysis:
I agree that Bachman's hunting of big wild animals is not the greatest idea. These animals are not just around everywhere, therefore they should not be hunted by humans for the fun of it. I don't think Bachman meant any harm on purpose, she was hunting because she enjoys it.
However, on the other side of the argument, if lions were endangered in this part of the country, hunting them would be illegal. Her actions were not illegal, so maybe she shouldn't be hated so much.
http://news.yahoo.com/melissa-bachman-big-game-protest-161458798.html
I think this is absolutely disgusting. This woman probably knows that lions, and other animals like them, are animals that are already struggling to survive in our ever-urbanizing world. Regardless of any economic benefit, her thoughtless killing of animals, particularly ones such as lions, is not something that should be looked upon as heroic or just in any way.
ReplyDeleteI feel the same as you - I can see how her actions could be somewhat reasonable, but I do not favor them. However fun she thinks it is, endangered animals ought to be protected and not killed off. It's good that they're helping the economy and their actions are technically legal; but what if a bunch of American hunters suddenly decided to all hunt lions in Africa at the same time? Then the lions would pretty much go extinct! Would that still be legal? One has to consider things from the perspective of protecting the wildlife in this case, otherwise things might get out of hand.
ReplyDelete-Hannah Selby 4th