My Controversy

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/07/150728-cecil-lion-killing-trophy-hunting-conservation-animals/

The death of Cecil the Lion strikes a nerve in me that ignites fury and disgust towards the individual who ended this last example of wild life in its purity. The article itself describes how an American dentist, Walter James Palmer, stalked the 13-year-old lion for forty hours, incapacitated it with a bow, and ended the animal's life by gunning it down while wounded.

To make matters even more appalling, Cecil was skinned and beheaded shortly after falling to the dentist's bullet. The Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force (ZCTF) has stated that hunt was illegal and Mr. Palmer was aided by known poachers. 

The aftermath of this blatant poaching of a well studied lion has sparked outcry from many pro-environment media groups- such as National Geographic.com which created this article- as well as dozens of wildlife social media centers; all calling for an international effort to end to the growing Big Game hunting phenomena among Western countries.

This controversy was especially unnerving for me because of my support for environmental conservation in these major wildlife areas; as well as, my disgust towards poaching "big game" animals for trophy purposes. What really makes me rather aggravated is the lack of international outcry, as many governments manifest this debate on the 'fine line' between poaching and killing for sport. The fact is that there should be no debate. Killing an endangered species should be illegal regardless of motive.