How hard is it to shoot an elephant?

Not true, he said he doesn't hunt, he never said he was against hunting.

 

Why do people think that just cause one is "trophy hunting" that the meat is not getting used? Seems to me, the older, more mature "trophies" are the ones that should be pursued, not younger animals.

 

I'm no hunter, but I'm pretty sure there are thousands of pictures of hunters holding up heads of animals just to show the antlers. How is that different? A lot of people also cut those heads off and mount them on their walls....

 

I agree with both of you regarding trophy hunting if the meat is wasted. If some rich bastard strolls in and wants to shoot an elephant and it benefits the locals because they will eat well off the meat produced, I have no issue with it. If it's killing soley for the 'trophies' and the rest is left to rot, then let the shooter burn in hell because that truely is horrible. Not knowing the full story, I can't make that determination.

The fish was just an example... lots of poeple go on hunting expeditions, hire guides and shoot game. You'll find lots of people take pictures holding antlers or a large fish or standing over a big ass bear. What makes this any different other than it's Trump's boys and it make the top of a website? I'm not a hunter and probably never will be but I don't see the point in getting bent out of shape because someone else is killing an animal providing it was done humanely and the animal parts don't go to waste.

 

I stayed at a hunting camp in the Okavango Delta of Botswana. We weren't hunting, and the season wasn't open, but we had hunters/trackers with us who explained what they do.

Killing an elephant is hard because the bullet must enter behind the skull at a precise angle and in a small target area to have an immediate kill. The meat from trophy hunting in Botswana goes to locals or people in the camp, while the heads/tails/etc go to the person paying for the expedition. As of two years ago, the price for either an elephant or tiger hunt was $50k. I forget if it's $50k an animal (like I think) or for the trip, but I can ask.

I'm not a hunter, and I don't condone trophy hunting.

 

hey, if you are out on a hunt and are patient enough to wait for the mature buck. Then you are a proper hunter. The trophy would be proof of it.

 

I sort of lean toward the opinion of OZ-T and I do partake in hunting every year during deer season.

I am not against safari hunting as it is legal and strictly regulated by the governments in Africa. People drawn to that are usually motivated by the challenge of seeking dangerous game. Wild elephants are extremely dangerous to approaching humans.

But to me there are varying definitions of "hunting". There's survival hunting, such as practiced by Native Americans or our ancestors years ago, where a prayer of thanks might be sent up for the animal who was sacrificed to provide for a family.

Then on the other end of the sprectrum there is hunting just for ego and competition for the biggest trophies. Most hunting today is somewhere in the middle of those and I strive to keep it more towards the spiritual end personally.

 

well said

 

OP obviously has never tried elephant's tail

 

This video shows the most unbelievable shot while under pressure that I've ever seen. Ron, the man who fired the single shot, was easily going to be killed by this lion. He was also the hunter we used in Botswana.

Quick backstory: This was a trophy hunt. The woman who paid for this merely wounded the tiger's paw, and they didn't finish the job, so Ron and his tracker Maburu were brought in to finish the lion off. It has to do with animal compassion at this point, they said, for whatever it's worth. The woman has the lion's head.

DO NOT VIEW IF YOU DON'T WANT TO WATCH AN ANIMAL GET KILLED.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rCy5M5Y74o

fwiw, I don't like the reason this animal was killed. Hate it w/ a passion actually.

 

lol, that's true that being said, i'm out.

 

My thoughts on the subject are if you kill it you eat it. If you don't want to eat it don't kill it!

 

Its not like this is the first elephant ever hunted for a trophy. Its been like this since before gun powder was invented.

Cutting the tail off is a local custom, its made into a braclet. I would imagine that goes as far back as locals haveing to use spears to kill them, before bows were invented.

They also dont just pick a random elephant and shoot it, they have certain ones picked out that either have bad genetic defect, injured (broken leg, blind), or isnt able to reproduce. They also take into account many elephants are able to be sustained on them amount of land that they have.

You really have to take any news story with a grain of salt. Look at who is wrighting them article or producing it or where them info comes from. In this case, them info comes from peta and TMZ. Imo, not two sorces I would call unbiased.

 

AGREED and quoted for truthfulness!

 

when braised with bird's nest soup and served in a bed of shark's fin

 

Wholly Cheit!!! I'd have to shovel my pants out after that one!

 

Dammit, they got me again!

 

Agreed. If you eat what you kill, then you are doing exactly what they do in the slaughterhouse. If you are killing for the trophy alone, then I truly can't relate. Seems a little psychopathic to me. No, I do not belong to PETA, do not believe the silly line "meat is murder", and am not a vegetarian. I am opposed to the needless suffering of any animal. My .02