[Johnd]

When I first read this thread there were seven or eight posts in the first three pages calling for pretty extreme sanctions on the dentist, his family and, by extension, his employees. I'm well aware of the practice on social media of ginning up the mob to ruin the life of people for various reasons. I don't agree with that practice and thought that this thread may be veering off in that direction. This is a senior community and we have all gained more knowledge and perspective then we had when we were younger. I don't want to see our social media go in the mistaken direction of the ones dominated by younger people.

Finally, no matter what each of us might think about trophy hunting, there are other points of view that are worth hearing. Here's one:

"And then there’s trophy hunting. Because it attaches a large economic incentive to the continued presence of animals that often live in conflict with us humans, it contributes to, if not outright ensures their survival. Can the link between high-dollar trophy hunting of endangered species and their conservation be quantified? Conservation Magazine studied the issue and found:

“According to a 2005 paper by Nigel Leader-Williams and colleagues in the Journal of International Wildlife Law and Policy the answer is yes. Leader-Williams describes how the legalization of white rhinoceros hunting in South Africa motivated private landowners to reintroduce the species onto their lands. As a result, the country saw an increase in white rhinos from fewer than one hundred individuals to more than 11,000, even while a limited number were killed as trophies.”

What’s going on there is that a specific economic incentive was introduced that benefited the white rhino population. Yes, this resulted in some being killed and turned into the world’s most morbid umbrella stands or whatever, but by and large, the white rhino population was able recover from the brink of extinction specifically thanks to trophy hunting. Your social media outrage didn’t save the white rhino in South Africa, trophy hunters did.

Because a hunter like Walt Palmer is prepared to fly over and pay someone a large sum of money to kill a big, endangered critter, an economic opportunity attached to that critter is created. So, an enterprising individual will do anything from breeding to fostering to protecting and/or providing a habitat for a population of those critters. In order for that economic opportunity to last and for the investment to pay off, many more critters need to be added than the Walts of this world can ever kill. And because Walt and his pals want prime examples of that critter hanging on their trophy room walls, those critters need to be happy, healthy and wild. Yes, Walt will kill some of them, but many more will be able to go about their happy, healthy, wild lives as a result."

I still say get a grip. Try to keep that grip as this stuff swirls around.