Hunting is in the cross-hairs after Cecil the Lion's death, says the writer. Photo: Facebook Hunting is in the cross-hairs after Cecil the Lion's death, says the writer. Photo: Facebook
Cape Town - South African conservationist and wildlife filmmaker John Varty has lashed out in an open letter at the hunter behind the recent shooting of Cecil, Zimbabwe’s most famous lion.
He wrote that professional hunter Theo Bronkhorst had displayed a lack of ethics, knowing he was going after a protected big cat when the lion was lured from Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe and shot with a bow and arrow.
He suggested that Bronkhorst had been lured by the large amount of money, around $55 000 (about R670 000), offered by American dentist Walter Palmer who had fired the fatal shot.
“I am suggesting that is where your ethics evaporate. The lure of big dollars!”
Bronkhorst was arrested in Zimbabwe and charged last week for failing to prevent an illegal hunt.He said that the hunting trip had gone wrong from the start, with a series of unfortunate events, from delays at the airport to being diverted from the planned hunting area, culminating in the accidental killing of Cecil, a protected lion at the park.
He told British newspaper The Telegraph that it was only after he had killed the big cat that he saw the collar and realised they had killed a protected lion. The paper reported that he had taken off the collar, putting it in a tree.
Varty wrote that Bronkhorst was aware he was dealing with a big cat that would take a fair bit of fire power to take down.
However, dentist Palmer went out armed with nothing but a bow and arrow.
Varty said this was to fuel the tourist’s “giant ego” and did not take into account the suffering the lion would go through as it bled to death. According to reports it took the lion at least 24 hours to die.
“So Theo, every which way you turn, you are compromised. You are shooting a dominant male with an inferior weapon because (Palmer) is paying you more money.”
Preempting attempts to defend the hunt in the name of conservation, Varty said the death of Cecil had created zero benefit for the park and the local lion population.
“How does the death of Cecil and all the other lions you have taken benefit the camp fire project? How many trackers do you employ compared to the eco tourist operators who photographed Cecil day after day, week after week, year after year?”
Cape Argus