Cecil the lion's killer in hiding as global anger reaches Minnesota hometown

[happyslug]

102. Lets get the KNOWN facts straight here, no one is saying the Dentist knew of use of a truck...

All of the admitted facts so far is that the guide the Dentist hired so he could hunt a Lion with a Bow and Arrow was the one that used a truck to draw in the lion from inside the National Park to a private farm where hunting was permitted. Now, this is a large farm, one of the farms Mugabe has been slowly breaking up, but are also the main source of exports out of the country (and why so many still survive). One of the sources of income for such large farms is permitting lion hunting.

Now, the farm did NOT have a permit to permit a lion hunt, but it appears they did not tell that to the dentist. The farm did have permits to permit other types of hunts, and I suspect they sold this lion hunt to the dentist knowing they did not have a permit for the lion hunt and did not care of they had a permit or not, the money was what the owner of the farm wanted.

Another fact ignored in this tread is the "Guides" who used a dead animal to lure the lion out of the National Park to the private farm, did this at night and again no one is saying the Dentist knew anything about that maneuver.

You may dislike the fact that this Dentist killed a lion, a well known lion, and he may have wanted to kill a lion so bad that he ignored things that should have put him on notice that something was wrong, but nothing has come out, yet, that indicates he did anything illegal himself.

I suspect the farm owner told his employees (the hunting guides) to get a lion for his paying guest to hunt. I suspect the farm owner KNEW where the guides were going to get the lion and how, but refused to ask any questions for if the guides told the farm owner of they plans, by law the farm owner would have had to stop the guides.

That morning the Dentist flew into the country and took up residence with the Farm owner. The Dentist asked to make sure all the permits had been taken care of and the Farm Owner said it was. The Dentist did not ask to see the permits or even check with the Government office that covers such hunts (Which may have been deliberate on his part, but when you are PAYING to stay some place, you assume the person you are paying will take care of such details, like when you go into a Hotel Room, you can assume there will be a bed in the room you just paid for AND the hotel meets local fire and health codes).

Thus I will assume, until I see evidence to the contrary, that the Dentist knew nothing of the illegal activities being used to get him a lion. As I said, the Dentist flew in, unloaded his bow and arrow, went to sleep, was awaken the next morning being told by his guides they had found a lion for him to kill. The Dentist took his bow and arrow and guided by the guides, went up to the lion and shot a arrow, but did not kill Cecil. A day and half later (the 40 hours later report), one of the Guides, caught up with the wounded lion and finished him off with a rifle.

That is roughly all of the facts we know at the present time OR facts we can assume based on past practices of the locals and past hunters in the area (i.e. flying in and being told by guides a lion had been found). We also know the lion was lured out of the National Park by the Guides, for that is apparently what they told the Police when they were arrested. No one is saying that the Guides or the Farm Owner told the Dentist of their illegal acts. Thus the Dentist MAY have been an innocent person who relied on the people he paid that what they were doing was legal.

This SEEMS to be the position of the local police. They are acting like the criminals were the guides and the farm owner NOT the dentist, for the police have NOT asked for the extradition of the dentist. On the other hand the Police do have questions for the Dentist for the Police wants to know what the Dentist actually knew. Hunting Lions is legal in that country, provided you go through a licensed guide who knows the rules. The Farm Owner and his employees (the Guides), knew or should have known these rules, the Dentist would not have. The Farm owner had a licensed to permit hunting of lions on his farm. and thus knew the rules. That is NOT true of the Dentist, whose presence in the country may be counted in days not years.

Lets be honest, the farm owner saw $50,000 for his personal use. That $50,000 was to cover all permits, lodging and clean up for the hunt. The Farm Owner probably made a promise of a refund if the Dentist did not bag a lion, and did NOT want to pay that refund. It also appears the farm owner DID NOT have a permit for such a lion hunt, and I suspect he did not for either it had been refused, or the farm owner pocketed the money for the permit for his own use (Thus the massive investigation and the charges being brought against the farm owner).

You may dislike the fact that the Dentist killed a lion, you may dislike the idea of lion hunting, but I have NOT seen anything that indicates the Dentist did anything illegal himself.

Side note: The Dentist may not be as innocent as I made him above, for the Dentist may have wanted to "bag" a lion so much that he selected a guide who guaranteed him a lion, while other more respectable hunting guides refuse to make such a promise (i.e. they would TRY to get him a legal lion, but if the lions refuse to cooperate the dentist still would have to pay the bill). One such guide in the early 1900s did that to Theodore Roosevelt, but TR refused to "Take" the bear, for TR said that was NOT hunting.



http://www.nps.gov/thrb/learn/historyculture/storyofteddybear.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teddy_bear

Just pointing out the facts, as we known them TODAY, do not support any allegation that the Dentist acted illegally, but it is the beginning of the investigation and new facts may come out.