Palmer isn't a "hunter". Please stop calling him that. He's a POS scumbag thrill-killing POACHER.

[cherokeeprogressive]

"Hunters" kill animals for food. Hunting is an activity humans have been involving themselves in for tens of thousands of years. Hunting animals for food is one of the first things humans glorified on cave walls.

Walter Palmer isn't a hunter. He employs "guides" to find his animals. It took "guides" to lure Cecil the Lion into Palmer's presence, and I'm betting a "guide" had to point out the lion before Palmer drew a bead on it. That's NOT "hunting".

I'm going to give Palmer's wife a pass. Who's to say she was a willing accomplice? Dickheads like that might say to their wives "You're going with me, and to satisfy the law you'll have to have a license so I might be able to kill TWO animals". The part about the fishing license is a yawner. Lots of people fish.

I haven't hunted for decades, but I have hunted. I was 14 when I killed the first of three deer, and YES; I cried when I walked up to where it lay. I didn't cry when we had deer for dinner instead of the "hamburger meal of the day" though... THAT was a treat. I grew up in So. Cal. and my Dad and Grandpa saved up their money all fucking year so they could go deer hunting in a place called Kennedy Meadows in the southern part of the Sierras. So it's NOT people from the south, or the Appalachians or the midwest or the "flyover states" who kill animals for food as some of you hope to believe, and I'm not even going to get into the fishing part.

Walter Palmer IS NOT a "hunter". He's a fucking POACHING thrill-killer... and his bullshit has NOTHING TO DO with any kind of "gun culture", seeing as how he killed all his animals with bows and arrows.

Walter Palmer is a thrill-killing SCUM OF THE EARTH Poacher and nothing more. Please stop equating what he did with "hunting". Stop calling him a "hunter". A "hunter", he ain't.

[Electric Monk]

1. I'm pretty sure Cecil was killed with a gun, not a bow and arrow. Palmer failed with the crossbow.

...has NOTHING TO DO with any kind of "gun culture", seeing as how he killed all his animals with bows and arrows.

The group reportedly tied a dead animal carcass to a vehicle and lured Cecil out of Hwange National Park, a protected area, in early July, according to news sources. Palmer reportedly shot Cecil with a crossbow, but the lion didn't die immediately. Instead, Palmer tracked the lion for about 40 hours, and then killed him with a gun, news sources said.

http://www.livescience.com/51698-cecil-lion-sport-hunting-controversy.html

[cherokeeprogressive]

3. I'm sorry the lion was killed. The point of my post was HUNTERS don't kill for fun like Palmer did.

I've seen posts equating what Palmer did with "gun culture". He didn't shoot a gun at the lion until he found he didn't kill it with his crossbow.

Bottom line; Palmer should NOT be called a "hunter". He should be called a "thrill killer", which is what he is.

[Electric Monk]

5. Oh, I agree with you that Palmer is a "thrill killer" but disagree that his "adventure" had nothing

to do with "gun culture".

[cherokeeprogressive]

7. I read somewhere today that all the animals ("big game") he'd killed was with bow and arrow.

I can't say whether that is true or not, but if true, how does that equate to "gun culture"?

[Electric Monk]

9. Were they also packing guns while luring Cecil ("just in case") or not? 'nuff said, Goodnight. nt

[cherokeeprogressive]

10. Don't know. I guess I'm in the dark about Zimbabwe's "gun culture".

Sweet dreams.

[Skittles]

11. I know many hunters who cannot wait for hunting season to start

*NONE* of them have to hunt for food - they hunt because they enjoy stalking and killing animals - they will NEVER admit that but that is the truth

[cherokeeprogressive]

21. I'd call them thrill-killers then, and not hunters.

I'll take my ass whoopin' now.

[WestCoastLib]

26. It's not a matter of "Have to"

I am not a hunter. I have never hunted anything and never will, barring a major collapse of society that would make it a necessity for me.

However, I do know people that have and do hunt. And they hunt for food. That doesn't mean they "have to" hunt for food. But they can, and doing so will provide a lot of game meat at a much lesser cost than buying meat at the store. Considering the nature of our meat industry, I don't see anything more cruel in legally hunting deer or elk, than in raising livestock. And even though most people don't "have to" hunt for food, doesn't mean it's not a good option for them to be able to stock their freezer with meat at a lower cost that from the store.

FWIW, homemade deer jerky is pretty freaking tasty.

[Skittles]

34. they ENJOY hunting

they find it entertaining - why don't they just admit it?

[WestCoastLib]

35. I've never met any hunter that doesn't admit it

I'm not sure what hour point is though.

[Skittles]

37. mmmmm

"I eat what I kill" "They would starve if it wasn't for hunting" "My fees pay for conservation"......no, very rarely do hunters admit that stalking and killing animals is fun for them

[TheMightyFavog]

23. The long tracking period is kind of par for the course for Bow/Crosbow hunting.

Unless you pierce the animal's heart or lungs it can often take hours for the animal to bleed to death. I've known bowhunters here in Wisconsin who spent the better part of a day or two tracking a deer they shot.

[tblue]

2. True.

I don't condemn every hunter but I don't support them either. There are other ways to feed, clothe, and entertain yourself.

FWIW, I don't eat meat--precisely because I don't like taking a life for my own momentary pleasure. Not telling you what you should do; just sayin'.

[cherokeeprogressive]

4. And I don't begrudge you your opinion.

Humans have binocular vision though... and if you believe in evolution as I do; what do you say is the reason for binocular vision? Evolution dictates that everything has a reason. Can you name an animal, cold OR warm blooded, that has binocular vision and isn't a predator?

"for my own momentary pleasure" You eat for pleasure, or for sustenance?

[malokvale77]

6. This, this and this.

I too am sick of these scumbags being referred to as hunters. Headhunters maybe.

I would just love to have one of these sick fucks head hanging over my mantel.

Not really, that is just gross, but you know where I am coming from.

[cherokeeprogressive]

8. I do know where you are coming from.

Like I said, it's been decades since I've hunted. I can't say I won't do it again before I check out... who knows? But calling Palmer a "hunter" for killing an animal someone lured into range of his weapon is like calling me a nuclear physicist because I understand how control rods are used in a nuclear reactor.

[malokvale77]

12. I'm not sure Palmer is that smart.

Just saying.

[ReRe]

13. K&R

Amen, cp. Exactly.

[BeanMusical]

14. He's a fucking cowardly brat.

[Enthusiast]

15. I agree, 100%. K&R.............

[Beowulf42]

16. Just wondering.

If Palmer has a felony conviction can he even possess firearms of any kind? His reliance on hunting with a bow and/or crossbow seems to be a convoluted means to and end.

[TheMightyFavog]

24. Did Palmer have a felony conviction?

Isn't a felony conviction grounds for having your dental license yanked? And don't most foreign countries consider convicted felons persona non grata?

[Enthusiast]

17. I would like to add something to this discussion. Maybe...

Ordinarily crossbows are lethal. It was Palmer's shot that was errant.

There is a specific vital zone on an animal. If the arrow/broadhead doesn't pass through the lung-heart area of the lion death could be long in coming, if at all.

Today's arrows are tipped with what are essentially two, three or four surgical blades that are designed to bleed an animal out within minutes.

I know this because I have killed deer using a crossbow. My last deer ever was killed in 2001 with a crossbow. We ate and appreciated every bite of that deer. Enchiladas!

I apologize to those that might find my post too graphic.

[Live and Learn]

18. Fond memories of Kennedy Meadows.

Never been a hunter but loved camping and fishing there.

I agree that Palmer is not hunter but a thrill killer. That said, I think the real focus of this entire uproar (pun intended) should be on the thrill killing aspect of it.

Even in the US, we have ranches that fence in and even hobble exotic animals and birds so that people can come in and pretend they are hunting them for an exorbitant price. It is a disgusting practice and should be eliminated. Perhaps then, we can extend our outrage to other countries. There is no excuse for "hunting" wild cats, elephants and other exotic animals that are not even eaten.

[Raster]

19. Not only is he a scum-bag poacher, this is his HOBBY. HIS HOBBY.

[hobbit709]

20. Hunters eat their kill. these bastards don't.

[jwirr]

22. Very good observation. Hunters do not lure an animal into a trap. Nor do they ignore conservation

rules. And a whole range of other stupid things he did.

[tenderfoot]

25. Do you think guys like Palmer would shoot people if they could?

I do.

Great OP btw

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

27. Seems a bit 'No True Scotsman'.

I imagine all of the 'trophy' guys out there call themselves hunters. The word is old, and generic, and covers more ground than you're happy with, but there isn't a separate word for him. After all, plenty of poachers throughout history have poached for the meat, so whether or not you eat your kill has nothing to do with whether it's 'hunting' or 'poaching'. And I'm sure most of his 'trophies' have been 'taken' legally, so that's not going to be called 'poaching'.

[geek tragedy]

29. Hunters have a code. Baiting is a big no-no.

As is breaking the law, and taking a shot that merely wounds instead of killing the animal.

Pretty much every rule they have, he broke.

[PoliticAverse]

28. People like him are why the phrase "trophy hunter" was coined. n/t

[RedCappedBandit]

30. Anybody who gets enjoyment out of killing an animal like that is a sick fuck.

I don't care if you hunt and eat it or not. I doubt the percentage of people who "hunt for food" actually need to hunt for food. They do it because they think it's fun, and that's fucked up, IMO. I'll never understand why someone would rather put a bullet or a bolt into an animal rather than taking a picture, or just enjoying from a distance.

[melman]

31. He's a hunter

You hunting people have to own him. He's yours.

[dumbcat]

32. I'm sorry, but you don't get to redefine words

to get them just the way you want.

No matter if I agree with your sentiment or not, I'll stick with my dictionary.

[cherokeeprogressive]

33. You do that.

You can also go on a "canned hunt" which is really nothing more than thrill-killing captive or hobbled animals. You can use bait to attract animals to the kill zone. You can hire a guide to take you to where he knows the animals are, and point them out so you can kill them. None of those things make you a hunter.

[PeaceNikki]

36. And real hunters do not hunt vulnerable or imprinted animals.

http://www.local8now.com/home/headlines/Norwegian-hunter-adopts-two-fawns-309029011.html

NORWAY (CBS News) -- One of Hedmark county’s most well-known hunters, Halvor Sveen, adopted two fawns after their mother died. With good help from the award-winning hunting dog named Hunter, the job goes smoothly. Hunter has become smitten by the fawns and sees himself like a father figure to them.

Sveen has named the two fawns Knoll and Tott and he even has to sleep with them in his bedroom since they need to be fed eight times a day.

Sveen is an experienced hunter and has shot predators, elk and deer in the past. But his newly assigned task as a fawn father will not put an end to that. However, when Knoll and Tott grow up they will be put on an island without any predators.

Our Town visited Hamblen County

This is what they do with animals in need:

[smirkymonkey]

38. +1000