Perspective needed on killing of Cecil

George Hook

I am firmly in the Ruby Walsh school of thought when it comes to animals. The Irish Champion Jockey found himself on the end of some outrageous attacks from the animal looney brigade in the aftermath of a horse’s death at Cheltenham two years ago.
‘Our Conor’, Barry Connell’s million euro purchase, had to be put down in the aftermath of a fall in the 2013 Cheltenham Champion Hurdle. It was a sad end for a former Triumph Hurdle winner, but Walsh put the whole affair into context:
“Horses are horses,” he said. “You can replace a horse. It’s sad but horses are animals, outside your back door. Humans are humans. They are inside your back door. You can replace a horse, you can’t replace a human being. That’s my feeling on it.”
The animal rights brigade had a field day and pounced on Walsh’s comments, branding them disgraceful and outrageous. The 36 year-old was also subjected to death threats from a few offended lunatics.
Never mind that Walsh was perfectly right in what he said, or that his entire career has been built around developing an innate understanding of horses of all shapes and sizes. The outrage from the animal welfare groups was almost laughable.
Last week, the entire planet erupted in revulsion at the news that a 13 year old Lion, Cecil, was hunted and killed in Zimbabwe.
The perpetrator, an American dentist by the name of Walter Palmer, was immediately portrayed as the worst human being since Adolf Hitler, with millions of angry Twitterati on social media calling for him to be arrested and punished.
Some even suggested that Palmer himself should be hunted down, shot with a bow and arrow, beheaded and skinned in some sort of ‘eye for an eye’ revenge attack.
A few hysterics saw fit to publish his business address and telephone number online, while the American actress and well-known animal rights campaigner, Mia Farrow, took it on herself to post Palmer’s home address on social media.
In the midst of a frantic storm of controversy, the world demanded vengeance and Palmer was public enemy number one.
The killing of Cecil was in itself a pretty brutal and gruesome act. I have never been able to understand the attraction that humans have with preying on innocent animals in the name of sport, and this particular hunt did not make for pleasant reading.
Palmer paid $55,000 for a permit which he claims entitled him to legally hunt and kill the lion. Together with Theo Bronkhorst, the man in charge of the expedition, the team lured the animal out of the protected Hwange National Park where they shot and killed him, before skinning his body and beheading him.  
This type of sport to me has always been about a contest where each party has a chance to survive due to its skills or capability. I also believe that animals, unless posing a direct threat to human life, should be left to their own devices. Hunting down a wild animal for no other reason than the thrill of the kill makes absolutely no sense to me.
Reaction
But the reaction to this latest lion killing has been blown out of all proportion. The threats to Palmer’s life, in tandem with the persistent attacks on his business and private home, made a mockery of those that pointed the finger at him under a banner of ethical righteousness and morality.
For me, the reaction to the death of our lion friend was completely and utterly disproportionate to the offence committed. Sure, Old Cecil should still be alive today, roaming around his natural habitat and seeing out his days chasing other wild game. And yes, Palmer displayed gross misjudgement in his pursuit of a cruel past time that should probably have been outlawed years ago.  
But calling for the American’s head on a plate for what he thought was, after all, a legal hunt, and posting his private address and personal information online for an angry mob to take whatever form of vigilante justice they see fit? Let’s lock in the brakes, shall we?  
Palmer hunted and killed a wild animal. Right now, as I write, there are atrocities and unspeakable cruelties being carried out on men, women and children the world over.
Places, some of them close to home, where child trafficking, human torture, murder, rape and mutilation are every day occurrences. Yet the killing of a lion in Zimbabwe dominates world news and provokes more fury and outrage than some of the above offences combined? Why is that?
Everyone should be accountable for their actions and I have no doubt that the day will come when Palmer has to face up to what he has done. But I personally believe that the levels of vitriol and widespread fury around this case are at odds with the reality of the crime in question.  
Society has to be better than a ‘hang ‘em high’ approach to matters of perceived social injustice. It’s all too easy to join in with a shrieking mob and demand a pound of flesh for acts or views which the majority deem offensive or inappropriate. In this case, I’m of the opinion that natural justice should take its own course.