“There is not another group that does more for ensuring a positive future for wildlife than hunters,” Boone and Crockett Club President Ben Hollingsworth Jr. asserts in a position statement. “Trophy animals are a byproduct of sound wildlife management and are intrinsically intertwined with all hunting . . . The calls to end trophy hunting are transparent calls to end all hunting.” Yes, well, could you shoot a lion?
That depends… Is it comin’ right for us? 😉
My love of animals verges on the edge of pathological.
If it was coming at me, hell yes. Otherwise, hell no.
The way they played yesterday I would have no problem.
HA! I feel your pain…
Pfht, of course I could. I just have a moral prohibition against unnecessary killing of anything. And lion and other predator hunting is usually not necessary.
This.
The last time I actively sought out to hunt a predator was when then property owner of the land we hunted on specifically ASKED me to (I didn’t succeed, the bobcat got away clean and I’m okay with that).
I suppose it’s kind of like a sympathy for a fellow predator- I’m not going to try to eat them, and as long as they extend me the same courtesy I’m content to let them live.
This is all very easy for me to say, of course. I don’t have land of my own with livestock or pets I need to protect. I literally don’t have a dog in this fight. To those that do, do as you will- ill make no attempt to judge or stop you. 🤠
Ditto, I am no trophy hunter.
If it was for management, or personal protection, absolutely.
No trophy hunting for me.
They are wonderful and majestic creatures. Their existence proves that man has not irretrievably wrecked the landscape. They remind us that land is not merely for townhouses and airports.
If there were proof that ALL trophy hunting was very well managed and positive, then one could see widespread support for it. Yet remember, much of it occurs in very corrupt societies.
https://www.transparency.org/news/feature/corruption_perceptions_index_2016
Only if my life was in danger. They are too beautiful otherwise.
If the habitat in question could only support a specific number of lions, there should be a tag issued for every lion beyond that number. Care should be taken to issue the correct number of male tags and female tags. The alternative is to upset the balance of the habitat in question. In the distant past, mother nature took care of this herself. As human kind carved its place in the world, we literally upset the natural balance. As a result we now have to manage the wild habitats that are left. This includes removing animals that are beyond the habitat’s carrying capacity. So yes I could shoot a lion if it were on the hit list.
Managed hunting serves a purpose, could I do it or do I have a desire no. I am not going to discount someone who wants to or does. Americans are free within the laws to spend their money and time doing as they wish. I lump it it with sports (playing and following) do what you want but don’t get up set if I endorse or fail to endorse your team or sport. Too many people are busy bodies throwing opinions around but don’t help them by posting in open social media.
If I happen to find myself having to defend my life, regardless of whether the animal has 2 or 4 legs, I’m ok with that. If you mean going out of my way to hunt a lion? Hell no. Not my style. Unless it’s just me and it, trapped on a deserted island, and he’s all the protein left……
“Question of the Day: Could You Shoot a Lion?”
Attacking, yes…for “sport”, no…
Yup. Just don’t have that kinda scratch. Tags are usually around 25K.
I can do some serious plains game for 25K.
A buddy of mine just got back from Namibia. Got two leopards on problem animal tags. On problem animal tags you aren’t allowed to keep the animal. Kind of a bummer, since he was there to hunt leopard. He just didn’t come up with one on his regular tag.
Pretty much this. If I had the kind of money where I was willing to spend it on an African lion hunt, I’d probably have the kind of money to make it legal here in Texas (through “buying” politicians). It’s specifically illegal to have such animals for the purpose of hunting in Texas, which is stupid. It’s legal to own them.
I’ll answer that question when an African lion attacks me in CA.
There are plenty of mountain lions in CA, and some of them are ill-tempered.
Like the african lion, I’ll deal with the mountain lion when he gets froggy.
Of more concern for me is the skeevy pair of dudes that were checking out my 4runner in the hunt area. I’m a large, ugly dude and when I popped out of the brush with a shotgun in hand they decided to leave.
Animals are easy. It’s people that suck.
“There are plenty of mountain lions in CA, and some of them are ill-tempered.”
I’ve heard the most dangerous one is the LA-area gold-digging peroxide-blonde ‘California Cougar’…
*snicker*
You mean Anna Nicole Smith??
Depends. How hungry is he; or how hungry am I?
I would not only be willing to kill a lion, but I would be willing to try to eat it as well. Pass the A-1.
I’d love to hunt a lion! Facing a charging lion is a challenging dream! And Cape buffalo and everything else in Africa that you can hunt!
If I’m hungry enough I’ll take him on with a busted Smirnoff Ice bottle. If he charges me I’ll shoot to preserve life and limb. Paying 25 large to go hunt him in a fenced in preserve? Uh no way, seems kinda unfair to me. I mean he can’t get away from me I can chase him around the preserve and eventually pin him up against the fence to get my shot if nothing else works. No I’d rather hunt predators on open terrain. I have the same view on deer farmers. You know the guys that fence in big tracts of land with high fence to keep the deer herd in and plant food plots to try and grow monster bucks.
Absolutely. Not only is it politically incorrect, but legally-hunted lions hunts protect the rest of the lions. Poaching sure doesn’t.
My hunting budget is about to give way to my holiday shopping budget, so I don’t see any more armed hikes in my near future.
True. Overpopulation means that some animals will have to be killed. The reason for this is that human population growth steadly reduces their natural environment—-there’s only so much room for lions to live in. Still, there are some deep cultural archetypes at play here. Having someone pose with a dead lion trophy symbolizes (whether true or not) that they didn’t kill the animal for food and, even worse, that you killed the lion because they enjoy killing. There’s a lot of ritualism involved in hunting and killing just for fun—or appearing to do so—just goes against the grain for many hunters. Intellectually, I think there’s merit in killing animals as a way of saving the species. Emotionally, I’m still processing my father’s subsistence hunter’s ethos that if you’re not hunting for food you shouldn’t be hunting. We live in different times now, however, although I tend to question just how trophy hunting animals that are also being aggressively poached can work. But to answer your question, Robert, yes I could kill a lion. But I wouldn’t particularly like doing it.
I don’t personally have an interest in hunting a lion, but I don’t have a problem with people who do as long as the conservation is being done properly.
Now, if the lion was looking at me or mine like we were walking steaks, then I’d have no problems having a new rug.
Ok, shift aim slightly. . .
could you shoot a lyin MF?
Cause one day you might find that there’s a dew places of power that need some conservationists.
No.
Uh… yea.
Me killing that lion (and the funds I would have to provide to do so) directly benefit the community, the funds for protecting the lions, and the propagation of more lions.
If I shot a lion and two more were made for every one that I shot – that would be a net positive. I don’t know that is the case, but I certainly know that for each that is killed a greater than unity factor goes into boosting their ranks.
Think about it this way. Just a few short decades ago, the Suleiman Markhor sheep was on the verge of extinction in Pakistan due to the locals shooting them for food.
There were an estimated 200 left in the wild.
A hunting program was implemented and a limited number of tags to shoot trophy males only sold for 250K.
This allowed the locals to hire guards to protect the species.
Today there are around 3,000 Markhor in the wild.
That is how conservation through hunting works.
Completely agree. I’m just too cheap to travel to the armpits of the world and pay big bucks for a trophy. When and if shit breaks loose I want to be in America.
Yes. I don’t really have that desire, but if I could make it challenging enough, then sure.
The Cape Buffalo remains the only African game that enthralls me.
If Leo was trying to kill me yeah. I’m a lot more concerned with 2 legged animals. I don’t hunt so it probably won’t come up…BTW a large herd of deer raced across the road deep in Cook co. (only a few blocks from my home).Barely missed hitting one in the dark. I’m a lot more likely shooting Bambi than a freakin’ Lion…
I kill for personal protection, food, or predation of my personal food source. For me an African lion is pretty unlikely to ever fit one of those categories.
If a threat from an animal, YES. Other wise no. I am not a game hunter. Most of my friends hunt, been invited to go with them. No thanks I tell them. I have no reason to kill something that isn’t a threat to me.
I have ZERO reservations shooting animals for food. Shooting an animal only for a mount: I am not in favor of that.
If I could afford a safari, and wanted to go on one, and a lion was on the tag? You betcha I’d shoot the sucker. Why not? It was my money and so far as the country is concerned, it’s legal. SO what’s the BFD? Some pantywaist animal rights group get their titties in a wringer? I care as much about them as they care for me.
‘Nuf said.
Could I? Sure, but I’m not going to put myself in a position where I have to choose that option.
That’s like giving me a weapon and saying get in the lions cage. Well….no?
Trophy hunting doesn’t do a damn thing for me. I’m confident enough in myself that I don’t have to kill something to prove myself. Other excuses for doing so (trophy hunting) are total bull shit and I’m confident enough in myself to tell people that. It’s like being able to extol my distaste for Hildabeast, Watts, Feinstein and Bloombag.
…protection, yes. Trophy, no.
Yes.
I have a tremendous soft spot for big cats. I could shoot one in self-defense, but that’s probably about it.
Only if the lion was on my pajamas.
A lion wouldn’t have any problem eating me for dinner. The feeling is mutual.
Agree with you 100% Best thing is to stay the heck away from these things. I can’t put myself in the shoes of someone who lives around these beasts and sees their livestock or their children and families under constant threat of being eaten however. I wonder how they feel about it? I would fight to the death if my life were threatened by man or beast. Would I run out there to hunt them for fun? No way! I just don’t see the point.
“One morning I shot an elephant in my pajamas. How he got in my pajamas I’ll never know”. – Groucho Marx
As for shooting a lion in my pajamas, no, thank you.
I don’t hunt. Not because I have anything against hunting, I just don’t need to. If I found myself in situation where I needed to hunt, I will shoot anything that needs shooting. Lions included.
If it kicked my front door in.
yes
me and that bitch I will give her fair fight ready when you are .yoh piece of shit.