Trumping Wildlife: Heinous Trophy Hunting, Not Conservation

Just when many people are beginning to think that things are getting better for other animals we've learned more about the heinous, sick, revolting, digusting — whatever else you want to call it — hunting spree and massacre by Donald Trump's sons (see also and). For those who don't know about their adventures, these two rich boys went out and killed various charismatic animals, including an elephant, cape buffalo, and leopard, in canned hunts on a game farm in Zimbabwe, displaying their total disregard for the lives of these other beings. Not only did the Trump boys pay on the go and clearly enjoy their killing spree, they also had the audacity to pose proudly with some of the animals, or body parts of the animals, they killed.

Eric and Donald Trump, Jr. write off their killing spree in the name of conservation by claiming their activities save animals and habitats and help local people. Of course, this is merely a self-serving justification for a henious killing spree (that apparently suprised their famous father). Trophy hunting animals for "sport," including, and perhaps especially those who can't escape from the game farms to which they've been brought solely so they can be killed, is a thoroughly selfish and perverse act that should be banned immediately. How much fun it must be to pay a lot of money to kill animals in these staged encounters.

This story of the Trump boys is important to share because when notables like these two guys go out and wantonly slaughter wildlife, in this case on expensive canned hunts, it calls attention to the lame excuses people use for killing other animals. These sorts of canned sport killing forays do nothing for the animals or their homes. While some people feel trophy hunting might help conservation efforts, a view with which I disagree, they don't support slaughtering wildlife "Trump style." This sorrowful story really takes the cake not because of who did they killing but because of how it was done and how the killers clearly enjoyed what they did.

The accompanying collage and the teaser photo and other grisly pictures can be found here, and the other photo can be found here.