Of course it is silly from a conservationist viewpoint to get excited about one lion - one lion doesn't count, the species does.
But my sympathy for the dentist guy is extremely limited, like any trophy hunter he had no valid reason to kill the lion as
- he did not want to eat him,
- he wasn't defending himself, someone else or livestock,
- it wasn't a case of lion overpopulation
- nor was the lion sick or in pain.
The dentist wanted the lion dead for one reason only: So that he could claim to have killed it. How low can you get? And learn to use a bow and an arrow properly, asshole. Plus ask yourself the question where a lion comes from if there is a national park close by. And next time try fighting the lion without hunting weapons, kill him with your bare hands Hercules-style, that will give you something to brag about, you hero!
Internet lynch mobs are disdainful, yes, but I'm not losing any sleep about this guy now experiencing some duress. Not quite as bad as what Cecil had to put up with.
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Plus this whole trophy hunting thing reeks of colonialism in its most repulsive way. Has ever anyone heard of Zambian millionaires travelling to the US to goad bisons and grizzlies out of a national park to shoot them? What would Uncle Ted then say?
I'm no vegan, I can even kill an animal to eat it (and have done so), I think it's fine if Inuit hunt a whale in line with their customs and traditions. But killing animals just for the kick of then being able to boast about having killed them is - for lack of a better word - sick.
