People have been writing about "the Cecil
effect" for several months, but I only came across the term in a recent
article in the online UK news publication telegraph.co.uk written by Peta Thornycroft. I have already given
my perspective on the killing of Cecil the lion by an American dentist last
year in another blog I publish (On the Killing of Lions), so I am not going to
rehash that here. But I am intrigued by the fact that the demise of a single
animal is having such a lasting, and controversial, impact.
Zimbabwe's Wildlife problem
According to Thornycroft, the outcry over the killing of Cecil the lion has caused other big game hunters to stay out of Zimbabwe where, as in many areas of the world, it is the hunters who support the economics of conservation. As a result, Zimbabwe's largest wildlife area, the Bubye Valley Conservancy, has an overpopulation of lions. Bubye's lions are decimating the populations of antelope and even reportedly attacking giraffe, cheetah, leopards, and wild dogs. As the area's top predator, their numbers will continue to expand unchecked unless humans step-in or until the food supply runs out and their own populations crash from starvation.
Some conservation proponents suggest that contraception is the answer, but this is hardly a workable solution. It would be too expensive and impractical to implement. Stopping breeding in any natural population is hardly the answer to a long-term, healthy population of animals. In the case of the Bubye Valley Conservancy, culling several hundred lions maybe the only solution.
Where are those animal loving protesters now? All of those people who were outraged, who wrote those angry posts, who picketed that dentist's office and tried to put him out of business. Their actions have placed hundreds of animals at risk. If they want to oppose hunters (and zoos) who support wildlife conservation with millions of dollars every year, they should be willing to step up and put their money where their mouths are.
Contraception is not the answer
Some conservation proponents suggest that contraception is the answer, but this is hardly a workable solution. It would be too expensive and impractical to implement. Stopping breeding in any natural population is hardly the answer to a long-term, healthy population of animals. In the case of the Bubye Valley Conservancy, culling several hundred lions maybe the only solution.
Where are the "Animal Lovers", now?
Where are those animal loving protesters now? All of those people who were outraged, who wrote those angry posts, who picketed that dentist's office and tried to put him out of business. Their actions have placed hundreds of animals at risk. If they want to oppose hunters (and zoos) who support wildlife conservation with millions of dollars every year, they should be willing to step up and put their money where their mouths are.
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