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| In Cecil the Lion fallout, hunters defend Walter Palmer and fear big game bans | In Cecil the Lion fallout, hunters defend Walter Palmer and fear big game bans |
| (34 minutes later) | |
| For many it would be a horrifying sight, but when Dan Tichenor draws his bow and aims an arrow at an animal in the wild he feels an affinity with humanity’s ancestors and the age-old contest between hunter and hunted. | For many it would be a horrifying sight, but when Dan Tichenor draws his bow and aims an arrow at an animal in the wild he feels an affinity with humanity’s ancestors and the age-old contest between hunter and hunted. |
| Humans evolved to be predators and there is no shame in perpetuating that instinct, he said. “It’s not just about observing the natural environment but being part of it. It brings us back to our roots as homo sapiens. This is how we survived through all our history.” | Humans evolved to be predators and there is no shame in perpetuating that instinct, he said. “It’s not just about observing the natural environment but being part of it. It brings us back to our roots as homo sapiens. This is how we survived through all our history.” |
| Over the years Tichenor, a leading hunter in California, has killed an impala and warthog in South Africa – and brought their skulls home – and hunted dozens of bears and mountain lions in the United States. “I can’t think of a more natural inclination.” | Over the years Tichenor, a leading hunter in California, has killed an impala and warthog in South Africa – and brought their skulls home – and hunted dozens of bears and mountain lions in the United States. “I can’t think of a more natural inclination.” |
| That is, to put it mildly, a controversial statement. The killing of one of Africa’s most famous lions by an American dentist has triggered international uproar. There are mounting calls to prosecute Walter Palmer and to ban the import of game trophies. | That is, to put it mildly, a controversial statement. The killing of one of Africa’s most famous lions by an American dentist has triggered international uproar. There are mounting calls to prosecute Walter Palmer and to ban the import of game trophies. |
| Palmer, who runs a dental practice in Minnesota and hunts big game in his spare time, has gone into hiding since the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force charity earlier this week identified him as the slayer of Cecil, a 13-year-old protected lion who drew visitors to Hwange national park and was part of an Oxford University research project. | Palmer, who runs a dental practice in Minnesota and hunts big game in his spare time, has gone into hiding since the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force charity earlier this week identified him as the slayer of Cecil, a 13-year-old protected lion who drew visitors to Hwange national park and was part of an Oxford University research project. |
| Related: Cecil the lion's killer joins long list of big game hunters skewered on social media | Related: Cecil the lion's killer joins long list of big game hunters skewered on social media |
| Palmer, who reportedly paid $50,000 for the hunt earlier this month, faces poaching charges along with Theo Bronkhorst, his guide, and Honest Ndlovu, a local landowner. A court in Victoria Falls released both Zimbabweans on $1,000 bail each on Wednesday. They face up to 10 years in jail. | Palmer, who reportedly paid $50,000 for the hunt earlier this month, faces poaching charges along with Theo Bronkhorst, his guide, and Honest Ndlovu, a local landowner. A court in Victoria Falls released both Zimbabweans on $1,000 bail each on Wednesday. They face up to 10 years in jail. |
| The expedition lured Cecil from his reserve with bait, after which the dentist pierced him with an arrow. The trio tracked the wounded animal for 40 hours before shooting him dead, skinning and beheading him. | The expedition lured Cecil from his reserve with bait, after which the dentist pierced him with an arrow. The trio tracked the wounded animal for 40 hours before shooting him dead, skinning and beheading him. |
| Figures as varied as Newt Gingrich, Jimmy Kimmel, Jane Goodall, Lennox Lewis and Neil Gaiman have joined a global outcry. Online, some people have called for Palmer to suffer the same fate as Cecil. Commentators have said the dentist deserves no empathy for now finding himself at the centre of a storm. | Figures as varied as Newt Gingrich, Jimmy Kimmel, Jane Goodall, Lennox Lewis and Neil Gaiman have joined a global outcry. Online, some people have called for Palmer to suffer the same fate as Cecil. Commentators have said the dentist deserves no empathy for now finding himself at the centre of a storm. |
| Hunters are divided. Some have distanced themselves from Palmer, saying he broke the rules and ought to be punished. They fear guilt by association. | Hunters are divided. Some have distanced themselves from Palmer, saying he broke the rules and ought to be punished. They fear guilt by association. |
| But Tichenor, a board member of California Houndsmen for Conservation, which represents thousands of hound hunters, defended the pariah in an interview with the Guardian on Wednesday, saying Palmer had a legitimate hunting permit but appeared to have been led astray by the guides. | But Tichenor, a board member of California Houndsmen for Conservation, which represents thousands of hound hunters, defended the pariah in an interview with the Guardian on Wednesday, saying Palmer had a legitimate hunting permit but appeared to have been led astray by the guides. |
| “He looks more a victim than a conspirator. I can see how it would be possible to think you’re on a legitimate hunt and then get into this mess.” The likelihood of being caught for killing Cecil, who wore a GPS collar, suggested blunder, not intent, he said. | “He looks more a victim than a conspirator. I can see how it would be possible to think you’re on a legitimate hunt and then get into this mess.” The likelihood of being caught for killing Cecil, who wore a GPS collar, suggested blunder, not intent, he said. |
| Tichenor, 67, a retired nuclear-weapons scientist with a PhD in electrical engineering, said Palmer had a long history of lawful hunting and it would have been out of character to knowingly, illegally shoot a lion. | Tichenor, 67, a retired nuclear-weapons scientist with a PhD in electrical engineering, said Palmer had a long history of lawful hunting and it would have been out of character to knowingly, illegally shoot a lion. |
| Zimbabwean authorities said Cecil’s killers removed the radio collar. Some reports said they tried to disable it. Palmer has apologised and said he did not knowingly do anything wrong. | Zimbabwean authorities said Cecil’s killers removed the radio collar. Some reports said they tried to disable it. Palmer has apologised and said he did not knowingly do anything wrong. |
| It is not his first time in trouble. He was fined $3,000 and given a year’s probation after pleading guilty over the illegal killing of a black bear 40 miles outside of a kill zone in Wisconsin in 2006. Palmer was also convicted in 2003 for fishing without a licence. | It is not his first time in trouble. He was fined $3,000 and given a year’s probation after pleading guilty over the illegal killing of a black bear 40 miles outside of a kill zone in Wisconsin in 2006. Palmer was also convicted in 2003 for fishing without a licence. |
| Related: The hunter who killed Cecil the lion doesn’t deserve our empathy | Rose George | Related: The hunter who killed Cecil the lion doesn’t deserve our empathy | Rose George |
| ‘People have lost perspective’ on our connection with environment | ‘People have lost perspective’ on our connection with environment |
| Whatever facts emerge over Cecil’s killing, Tichenor said the “bandwagon” to condemn Palmer overlooked philosophical and environmental justifications for hunting. | Whatever facts emerge over Cecil’s killing, Tichenor said the “bandwagon” to condemn Palmer overlooked philosophical and environmental justifications for hunting. |
| Urbanisation and modernity have blurred our connection with the natural environment and our “natural inclination” to hunt, he said. “People have lost that perspective as we have become disconnected from our roots.” | Urbanisation and modernity have blurred our connection with the natural environment and our “natural inclination” to hunt, he said. “People have lost that perspective as we have become disconnected from our roots.” |
| Tichenor uses hounds to catch prey, not as bait, but he said Palmer was entitled to use bait or any other method as long as it was legal and environmentally sound. “We set our own constraints and have our own preferences.” | Tichenor uses hounds to catch prey, not as bait, but he said Palmer was entitled to use bait or any other method as long as it was legal and environmentally sound. “We set our own constraints and have our own preferences.” |
| Tichenor has “treed” dozens of bears and mountain lions – forcing them up trees to escape hounds – but not killed any, he said, because the satisfaction was in the tracking and pursuit. He acknowledged a certain ambivalence, “a sadness”, in the death of any animal but said hunters were entitled to harvest prey under the right conditions. | Tichenor has “treed” dozens of bears and mountain lions – forcing them up trees to escape hounds – but not killed any, he said, because the satisfaction was in the tracking and pursuit. He acknowledged a certain ambivalence, “a sadness”, in the death of any animal but said hunters were entitled to harvest prey under the right conditions. |
| Killing an elderly adult, for instance, had no negative consequences for a species if the population was stable. In fact it helps the population, said Tichenor, when permit fees are invested in conservation. “That’s why hunters don’t feel bad about the harvest. It has to be sustainable.” | Killing an elderly adult, for instance, had no negative consequences for a species if the population was stable. In fact it helps the population, said Tichenor, when permit fees are invested in conservation. “That’s why hunters don’t feel bad about the harvest. It has to be sustainable.” |
| Related: Cecil the lion hunter Walter Palmer faces calls for prosecution | Related: Cecil the lion hunter Walter Palmer faces calls for prosecution |
| Josh Brones, another prominent California hunter, did not defend Palmer. Killing Cecil, an “ambassador of the species”, was “deplorable”, he said, an offence compounded by the use of bait. “It’s not in keeping with the meaning of fair chase.” | Josh Brones, another prominent California hunter, did not defend Palmer. Killing Cecil, an “ambassador of the species”, was “deplorable”, he said, an offence compounded by the use of bait. “It’s not in keeping with the meaning of fair chase.” |
| However, Brones shared Tichenor’s concern that the uproar could trigger “excessive” restrictions on big game hunting. | |
| There is precedent for this. In 2012 Dan Richards, the president of the California Fish & Game Commission, triggered an outcry by having a photo taken of himself grinning next to a cougar he killed on a legal hunt in Idaho. California subsequently banned hunting with hounds. | There is precedent for this. In 2012 Dan Richards, the president of the California Fish & Game Commission, triggered an outcry by having a photo taken of himself grinning next to a cougar he killed on a legal hunt in Idaho. California subsequently banned hunting with hounds. |
| New Jersey lawmaker Tim Eustace proposed legislation on Wednesday that would stop the transport of game trophies of threatened or endangered species through some New York and New Jersey airports, which have heavily travelled routes between the US and Africa. | |
| The African lion is not currently listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act, although the US Fish and Wildlife Service proposed listing it as threatened in October. | The African lion is not currently listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act, although the US Fish and Wildlife Service proposed listing it as threatened in October. |
| Laury Parramore, an FWS spokesperson, said the agency was monitoring the Cecil fallout but declined to say if or when the African lion will be declared a threatened species. “We’re taking a look at the information as it becomes available and will work with the Zimbabwean government if requested.” | Laury Parramore, an FWS spokesperson, said the agency was monitoring the Cecil fallout but declined to say if or when the African lion will be declared a threatened species. “We’re taking a look at the information as it becomes available and will work with the Zimbabwean government if requested.” |
| Conservation and animal rights groups hope the controversy will accelerate a threatened species classification – and with it restrictions on the import of game trophies. | Conservation and animal rights groups hope the controversy will accelerate a threatened species classification – and with it restrictions on the import of game trophies. |
| “We hope it gives the FWS a kick to act,” said Teresa Telecky, director of the wildlife department of the Human Society, an advocacy group. “We are writing a letter now and are asking our contacts to do everything they can.” | “We hope it gives the FWS a kick to act,” said Teresa Telecky, director of the wildlife department of the Human Society, an advocacy group. “We are writing a letter now and are asking our contacts to do everything they can.” |
| Some conservationists cautioned against overreaction. Jane Smart, global director of International Union for Conservation of Nature’s biodiversity conservation group, said trophy hunting can be a good conservation tool when handled properly and regulated. | Some conservationists cautioned against overreaction. Jane Smart, global director of International Union for Conservation of Nature’s biodiversity conservation group, said trophy hunting can be a good conservation tool when handled properly and regulated. |
| “Unregulated sport hunting and trophy hunting is a real factor in the decline of the lion and we are concerned about that. But we are also concerned about the relationship between people and lions. We need to provide that incentive to the local community so they can help conserve the area for their own benefit.” | “Unregulated sport hunting and trophy hunting is a real factor in the decline of the lion and we are concerned about that. But we are also concerned about the relationship between people and lions. We need to provide that incentive to the local community so they can help conserve the area for their own benefit.” |