The world came together yesterday when it become known that an American dentist bribed two guides in Zimbabwe to help him kill beloved lion Cecil. The world is outraged by the heinous way they “hunted” and murdered this magnificent creature. The details are sickening. They lured a very special and iconic lion by tying meat to a truck to get him to leave his protected place. American dentist Walter Palmer then shot him with a bow and arrow wounding him. Poor Cecil was then tracked for 40 hours to be shot again with a high-powered rifle. Cecil left a family of lion cubs, his pride, which will now most likely be killed by the next male lion who will take over his pride.
One has to wonder about the mind of this man and others like him. What makes a person turn to violence and the murder of wild beasts? Walter Palmer is not the first to commit such an atrocity, it seems that there are 50,000 members in his so-called “big game club” and that does not include all the poachers and other “clubs” around the world that share an unfortunate preoccupation with this trophy inspired murder of innocent creatures. Did they start as young children pulling wings off of insects then graduate to killing small animals? Did they come from households that encouraged killing as a sport? My mind can not grasp what makes a person so depraved. What makes it extremely disturbing is that they kill without any consequences the majority of the time and we hear nothing about it. They behead, skin, stuff and display their wares in their homes. They are proud of what they have done.
Cecil will become the face to bring awareness to the plight of all creatures murdered by callous people who have not a thought of the devastation they leave with the shot of a gun, the slice of a knife, or the bow from an arrow. Cecil is dead but he will live on to help protect and preserve our wonderful planet of animals. His handsome face will be the symbol of the power of social media, how all of us together can work as one to change laws that allow anyone to pay money for the ability to murder innocent creatures.
May God protect this planet from people like Walter Palmer who is now one of the most detested men on Earth. Let his depravity educate the people who have never given a thought to the slaughter that takes place all over the globe of innocent creatures. May the death of Cecil bring awareness to all that we have to speak up for our planet and the lives of wild animals that inhabit all nations. God bless poor Cecil and may he live forever in our hearts.
Hummings from Paradise 