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[starchild excalibur]

.

And yes, I've listened to the Radiolab episode on big game hunting on how it can benefit animals, assuming the people who sell the licenses actually put a fair share towards conservation and not just back into their own business model. I don't regard the person who died as a poacher and there is a part of me that definitely feels some sadness for his family.

But at the same time, the elephants were doing what any species - regardless of if they're bred for hunting or not - would do. And so if I'm being honest, there's only so much sadness that I can feel for this dude and his love of trophy hunting.

 

[Ether_Snake]

Paying to kill an elephant wouldn't make it any better, it's as shitty, nobody should be allowed to do so for entertainment.

I'm not talking about the hunter. You wanna shit talk the hunter? Fine. I'm talking about the wife. Like wow, such a crime to fall in love with someone who is a hunter. Gonna send her a note telling her I'm glad her husband is dead! Like fucking really? What is the point of going that far? To show how tough and steadfast you are in your morals?

Don't marry someone who enjoys killing elephants? Divorce? Find someone else?

Without rich game hunters many of these resevations wouldn't be able to be funded and even more animals would be endangered tho.

Bullshit, the governments have the money and the means to raise money without this. Corruption, because of other rich assholes, prevents proper funding, for that and many other things people and nature would benefit from.

 

[Syder]

Lot of vegans in this thread. As others have said legal hunting is an unfortunate fact of life for now, kids left without a father isn't exactly something to make snide remarks about.

The guy hunted wild animals. He knew the risk.

 

[Rentahamster]

I'm not going to do anything, it's beyond my control. But i won't refrain from expressing how much it revolts me.

It actually is not beyond your control. The least anyone could do would be to donate money to African wildlife conservation organizations or African economic development organizations. Or, they can recognize the uncomfortable truth that a world without hunting leads to a faster pace towards the extinction of these species than a world with hunting.

the Homo Sapiens is only about 200k years old.

And where do you think their ancestors came from?

 

[panama chief]

damn. bye elephant
another one of my favorite animals gunned down for no reason.

 

[Dreams-Visions]

Is the elephant going to make it?

 

[Drencrom]

Says the guy who didn't even read the OP 😂

What are you talking about?

 

[aspiegamer]

To die, knowing you were outsmarted by elephants after they ambushed you and were then killed despite having a damn gun? I'll allow it. List of people who died after being bested in tactical combat by elephants has to be pretty short!

"Conservation hunting" for cash and running around poaching shit are extremely different, even if you want to go that route. And, hell, even if this was a paid conservation hunt he's still a dumbass who should have known the risks involved. And, hell, even if it was paid I'm not required to like it or feel any sympathy because it was technically legal. Reading the article, there's nothing to suggest this was a legal paid hunt, anyway.

 

[aliengmr]

Paying to kill an elephant wouldn't make it any better, it's as shitty, nobody should be allowed to do so for entertainment.

I'll take some rich asshole paying to kill an elephant over the rich asshole thousands of miles away that pays for the tusks because he can't get it up.

Prohibiting legal hunting isn't going to stop poachers or the assholes paying for the parts from exotic animals. If there's a third option that doesn't consist of hopes, dreams, and magic, I'm all for it.

 

[-COOLIO-]

Lot of vegans in this thread. As others have said legal hunting is an unfortunate fact of life for now, kids left without a father isn't exactly something to make snide remarks about.

You can both eat meat and be revolted by hunting for sport.

 

[DrSlek]

 

[v1oz]

They allow a limited amount of hunts of big game because they have to control numbers. Too many large elephant in a game park leads to deforestation which affects the ecosystems affecting other wildlife. Country borders and increased use of land for agricultural purposes means the elephant's traditional migration routes are blocked off and the game parks(reserves) can only carry so much. The money earned through hunting also goes towards animal conservation.

There is nothing wrong with sustainable hunting. The mass produced meat you buy in supermarkets also comes from animals.

 

[Riposte]

Failed the ol' El Gigante QTE.

 

[SuperStiltzkin]

It's not an assumption, the article said "wife" not "ex-wife". They both took a look at his hunting at some point, calculated the risks and morality. Decided it was fine for him to do it despite the potential for leaving his kids without a father.

But sure you're right, we don't know the wife but I'm not sending any condolences to any people associated with folk that think hunting down big game so they can take a fucking selfie with it, as "good people".

You can still be married to someone and have arguments about your future as a family.

But fair enough, you don't have to have any sympathy for the wife. Personally, my moral barometer doesn't tip as easily.

Don't marry someone who enjoys killing elephants? Divorce? Find someone else?

Answers that are easy to give, but difficult to execute once you think you've found the one. Maybe she married him because he was a hunter or maybe she saw him as a swell guy she liked first. Who fucking knows.

For me, being married to a hunter doesn't speak as much on someone's moral fortitude as, say, being married to a racist. The hunter can at least try to justify by saying he's helping control numbers or using funds for whatever.

 

[Akainu]

Life falls on you fast.

 

[BeforeU]

Fuck yeah... Hope he had painful death.

I fucking love Elephants so sad

 

[BBWCongaLine]

Traded

lol this post got me

 

[Shmuppers]

Failed the ol' El Gigante QTE.

quality post

 

[Aske]

life is precious. I only hope that his children don't become hunting animal haters and start trying to get revenge for their father.

"I abhor elephants. I have hated the detestable pachyderms since childhood; the rage within me set aflame the night my mother woke me, pale as a ghost, tears streaming down her face, to inform me my father had been viciously murdered by a falling elephant. 'He wasn't even hunting elephants that day!' she wailed piteously; a sentiment which became her mantra throughout the ensuing months of grief. Elephants thrust my family into darkness, without the slightest provocation. As they say in their culture, 'I never forgot.' It is my most sincere and dearest wish that every one of these vile behemoths be wiped from the face of the Earth."

 

[Azuran]

Pretty gross how many folks are happy that a fellow human being died.

Nobody won in this situation.

Fuck that fellow human being.

Why should I have empathy for a piece of shit? Just because he was a human doesn't mean he's special.

 

[Dude Abides]

Sometimes you eat the bear. And sometimes the bear, well, he eats you.

 

[akira28]

"I abhor elephants. I have hated the detestable pachyderms since childhood; the rage within me set aflame the night my mother woke me, pale as a ghost, tears streaming down her face, to inform me my father had been viciously murdered by a falling elephant. 'He wasn't even hunting elephants that day!' she wailed piteously; a sentiment which became her mantra throughout the ensuing months of grief. Elephants thrust my family into darkness, without the slightest provocation. As they say in their culture, 'I never forgot.' It is my most sincere and dearest wish that every one of these vile behemoths be wiped from the face of the Earth."

#dead

 

[Moppeh]

Are threads involving hunters usually like this?

 

[Unbounded]

ITT:

"I'm so glad someone who spent more on conservation efforts of endangered animals than everyone in this entire thread combined died."

 

[Mister Wolf]

Failed the ol' El Gigante QTE.

Man no checkpoints neither.

 

[WooHooAlex]

I'm glad he's dead.
Everyone who hunts elephants can go fuck themselves.

 

[necrosis]

shame about the elephant, at least

 

[The Giant]

Good. Scum like him don't deserve to live.

 

[God Dayumm]

Man no checkpoints neither.

Who knows, maybe he respawned in some alternate universe.

 

[Carcetti]

ITT:

"I'm so glad someone who spent more on conservation efforts of endangered animals than everyone in this entire thread combined died."

You don't become captain planet just because you shoot animals. The man was a trophy hunter who toured with big money tourists to kill leopards etc. He was a parasite at best.

 

[Aske]

ITT:

"I'm so glad someone who spent more on conservation efforts of endangered animals than everyone in this entire thread combined died."

Virtue ethics.

 

[Speevy]

ITT:

"I'm so glad someone who spent more on conservation efforts of endangered animals than everyone in this entire thread combined died."

Well I mean, if he died mountain climbing, you'd say something like "It's tragic, and I pray for his family. He probably knew the risk."

So at the very least, he died doing something risky.

But in addition to that, he shot an animal that has at the very least the right to kill him back. Leave out the endangered part.

So yeah, while I'm not all "FUCK YEAH CRUSH THE BASTARD.", it's far less sad than a child getting hit by a drunk driver or something.

 

[Living the Dream]

Great

 

[Seth Enosh]

Are threads involving hunters usually like this?

The ones I have seen are like this. OT posters really dislike hunters who hunt animals not found in western supermarkets.

Edit: e.g. from 4 years ago http://m.neogaf.com/showthread.php?t=682217&page=1 "I want a pic of an elephant triumphantly standing besides a trampled hunter. Fuck this guy. Scum of the earth." is pretty close to the top of the first page... I think nothing much has changed in NeoGAF big game hunting threads since then.

 

[reckless]

The ones I have seen are like this. OT posters really dislike hunters who hunt animals not found in western supermarkets.

Or because killing things just for "fun" is fucked up. Food is an entirely different matter.

 

[dankir]

Karma bitch.

 

[Speevy]

The ones I have seen are like this. OT posters really dislike hunters who hunt animals not found in western supermarkets.

Well, I mean, I don't like to get into the details of what animals are and are not okay to hunt. I don't enjoy hunting deer out of personal taste, but my brother in law loves it, and I don't hate him for that.

I just always wonder what goes through the mind before you shoot a lion or a rhinoceros. I can't help but be in awe that these animals even exist, whether they will go extinct or not.

I couldn't do it.

 

[Violet_0]

ITT:

"I'm so glad someone who spent more on conservation efforts of endangered animals than everyone in this entire thread combined died."

it's nice that the money he spent for absolutely selfish reasons is used to good effect. Doesn't mean anyone has to feel sorry for him. Most people don't

 

[Seth Enosh]

Or because killing things just for "fun" is fucked up. Food is an entirely different matter.

Aren't the animals killed in legal trophy hunts often fed to locals who need or want the food?

Well, I mean, I don't like to get into the details of what animals are and are not okay to hunt. I don't enjoy hunting deer out of personal taste, but my brother in law loves it, and I don't hate him for that.

I just always wonder what goes through the mind before you shoot a lion or a rhinoceros. I can't help but be in awe that these animals even exist, whether they will go extinct or not.

I couldn't do it.

Yeah, I personally wouldn't find hunting of those types of animals tasteful or interesting. Fishing is the only type of hunting I care to partake in, and even that only rarely.

It always reminds me of Orwell's essay on "shooting the elephant" which I read a long time ago and does make you feel sorry for the animal.

That said as long as it's legal hunting and not poaching, I don't think someone who does it is an awful human being unworthy of being mourned. I've read that animals like cows and pigs can show remarkable intelligence and emotion, yet most of us eat them everyday without a problem. From that perspective, I'm not sure killing a big game animal is much worse, morally.

 

[akira28]

It looks like the leopard clan had put a call in to "The One who Never Forgets", and he came in and marked Botha for death pretty much a week in advance. All those elephant sightings up until the event were setups to lure Botha and his crew out into the open.

The One operates under a code, and wanted to make sure his target's family wasn't harmed.

 

[commedieu]

Craziest part is that everyone involved will never forget.

 

[Nerokis]

Fuck that fellow human being.

Why should I have empathy for a piece of shit? Just because he was a human doesn't mean he's special.

Honestly, the thing that's kind of gross is that it all seems so...reflexive. Celebrating someone's death should require at least a certain amount of processing.

I don't know anything about this guy beyond what was written in the article. I suspect most of us had the same starting point, and ended more or less around the same place. He was a well-regarded big game hunter (a career that seems to have a mixed impact on animal life overall), and had a wife and five children. Is that really enough to celebrate the fact that this person is no longer in this world? "Simply being a human being doesn't mean you're special. Therefore, there's no inherent need to empathize with you. The moment I learn anything about you I find strongly disagreeable, you're very possibly in 'I will celebrate your death' territory.'" Isn't there something wrong with that logic? Something broken?

 

[Ether_Snake]

Honestly, the thing that's kind of gross is that it all seems so...reflexive. Celebrating someone's death should require at least a certain amount of processing.

I don't know anything about this guy beyond what was written in the article. I suspect most of us had the same starting point, and ended more or less around the same place. He was a well-regarded big game hunter (a career that seems to have a mixed impact on animal life overall), and had a wife and five children. Is that really enough to celebrate the fact that this person is no longer in this world? "Simply being a human being doesn't mean you're special. Therefore, there's no inherent need to empathize with you. The moment I learn anything about you I find strongly disagreeable, you're very possibly in 'I will celebrate your death' territory.'" Isn't there something wrong with that logic? Something broken?

You like cheetos so "I will celebrate your death", really? Isn't there more to this story than just an abstract "disagreed with the guy"?

ITT:

"I'm so glad someone who spent more on conservation efforts of endangered animals than everyone in this entire thread combined died."

"I'd be so thankful to KFC if they added elephants to their menu, it would do a lot to help conservation efforts."

 

[Nerokis]

You like cheetos so "I will celebrate your death", really? Isn't there more to this story than just an abstract "disagreed with the guy"?

...didn't I write out literally everything there is to this story, at least within the parameters of the article at the center of discussion? Why are you asking me this question?

Also, "find strongly disagreeable" != "disagreed with the guy." Maybe I should be returning your question.

"I'd be so thankful to KFC if they added elephants to their menu, it would do a lot to help conservation efforts."

Ironically, KFC adding elephants to their menu might imply a much brighter future for them than their absence does. Assuming you place a premium on existing, that is.

 

[Alex Stroud]

Poor guy, feel terrible for his family.

RIP.

 

[Speevy]

You like cheetos so "I will celebrate your death", really? Isn't there more to this story than just an abstract "disagreed with the guy"?

He died killing endangered elephants.

Hard cut, Cheetos.

 

[Mister Wolf]

The ones I have seen are like this. OT posters really dislike hunters who hunt animals not found in western supermarkets.

Edit: e.g. from 4 years ago http://m.neogaf.com/showthread.php?t=682217&page=1 "I want a pic of an elephant triumphantly standing besides a trampled hunter. Fuck this guy. Scum of the earth." is pretty close to the top of the first page... I think nothing much has changed in NeoGAF big game hunting threads since then.

All you had to say we is we don't like trophy hunters.

 

[Host Samurai]

Not the first time Hunter got squashed.

 

[Aske]

Honestly, the thing that's kind of gross is that it all seems so...reflexive. Celebrating someone's death should require at least a certain amount of processing.

I don't know anything about this guy beyond what was written in the article. I suspect most of us had the same starting point, and ended more or less around the same place. He was a well-regarded big game hunter (a career that seems to have a mixed impact on animal life overall), and had a wife and five children. Is that really enough to celebrate the fact that this person is no longer in this world? "Simply being a human being doesn't mean you're special. Therefore, there's no inherent need to empathize with you. The moment I learn anything about you I find strongly disagreeable, you're very possibly in 'I will celebrate your death' territory.'" Isn't there something wrong with that logic? Something broken?

I think this is an entirely valid question. But gallows humour and a cavalier attitude to mortality help people process the finite nature of human existence. Striking a balance between enjoying a little shadenfreaud at a big game hunter being crushed by a big game animal, and being so incapable of empathy towards perceived undesirables that one supports something like the torture of criminals, is a balance we tend to figure out and enforce on a cultural level.

More empathy is always better, but empathy costs energy, and treating every human death with solemnity requires repressing psychological coping mechanisms to a degree I think very few would consider tolerable.

 

[gutter_trash]

Pretty gross how many folks are happy that a fellow human being died.

Nobody won in this situation.

Planet Earth is better off with that particular human.

Planet Earth won that day