Warning: the images in this post may be distressing.
What do you do when you have lots of money and a desire to be a tough guy? You pay the Hunting Legends company tens of thousands of dollars to go on a ‘safari’ in Africa where you hunt and kill wild animals in an enclosed space. Animals like giraffes. And Elephants.
There is a market for this among rich white men and it is repugnant.
The Trump brothers disagree. Thirty-four-year-old Donald Junior and 28-year-old Eric are the sons of US billionaire Donald Trump and this is what they got up to on their recent Hunting Legends trip in Zimbabwe.
The pictures were posted on the website of the company that ran the trip, Hunting Collections. -brothers
This is from the Daily Mail, who first reported the story when the images were posted on the website of the hunting company who organised this and other trips for the Trump brothers:
The company, called Hunting Legends, detailed the brother’s trip and said that it was not the first time that the Manhattan real estate moguls arranged a trip with them.
Though the pricing for the trip is not publicly available, it was certainly a costly endeavor.
The 2012 trophy fees for each of the animals they shot, and for the deer-like animal called the Kudu they paid at least $2,795.00 and another $1,997.00 for the Waterbuck they were pictured with.
‘The Trump’s soon showed their metal and it was evident from the word go that these two amazing young men are everything but the “city slickers” you would expect!’ the Hunting Legends site reads.
‘They meant business from the outset of the hunt.’
The tour guide went on to say that they had ‘the precision of a true marksman’.
The brothers justified their actions. On Twitter, Donald Trump Jr said the pictures were: “Not a PR move I didn’t give the pics but I have no shame about them either. I HUNT & EAT game”.
They argued that their actions were justified because they gave the meat to local villagers. “I can assure you it was not wasteful the villagers were so happy for the meat which they don’t often get to eat. Very grateful,” he tweeted to a user.
Oh hello, rich white man mentality. Yuk.
Here’s what their father, Donald Trump, had to say about his sons’ adventures.
Your thoughts?
Comments
129 Comments so far
Compassion for animals is intimately connected with goodness of character; and it may be confidently asserted that he who is cruel to animals cannot be a good man.
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Having lived in Zimbabwe I know what it’s like to be surrounded by hundreds of starving people. Literally.
I can’t condemn the trump brothers. They pumped money into the local economy and fed villiages. Those animals are bred for hunting, and unlike a lot of the meat WE eat (chicken, anyone?) they get to live lives of freedom – they are not caged.
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Was a total selfish move what they did.
Elephant are class as vulnerable globally in Africa which makes it endangered in Zimbabwe.
These hicks are filthy rich and they can’t even donate but rather poach an endangered species.
These stupid poor people wouldn’t be soo poor if they stop having 8-20 kids while they can’t feed one damn kid.
Is totally selfish we’re encroaching their habitat and these hicks with a billionaire father can’t even donate money?.
The villagers will think is ok to poach an elephant and ending up wiping out the species.
Elephant life is more precious than human lives because they’re a rare species in the wild. Especially they’re more precious than stupid idiots breeding like rats.
Something rare (VU) is more precious than everything (LC) such as humans, coyote, and all other LC species.
Why they did not take on the impalas when they dwell in huge numbers they’re LC species.
Poach to feed the poor is totally unacceptable, every poachers should be shot dead or used for medical testing.
Africa is facing political turmoil, corruption and poaching problems.
These idiots are putting pressure and endangering many species by breeding themselves to oblivion.
If I would be a billionaire I would protect as many species as I can and hire conservationists that SHOOTS poachers dead like they’re already doing.
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Those Trump kids make me feel so ill. What makes them entitled to kills rare and beautiful animals? VILE examples of human beings.
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All that was going through my mind when i read this was simply HOW DARE THEY.
People like this just make me sick to my stomach. They are just pathetic.Disgusting.
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Trump son’s are void of a soul. Their behavior is beyond reprehensible! Disgusting. The sad part is they probably find the negative lime light entertaining. That’s typical behavior of sociopathic narcissists. Sad.
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This just makes me soooo mad.
I recently caught up with an old friend and when we entered his study there on the floor was a lion skinned with the head stuffed. I can’t even begin to tell you how grossed out I was. Along with the lion was zebra and warthog hides. he paid $50,000 to shoot the lion last year in Zimbabwe and as for the meat going to the village or the dollars flowing back in the community – that is just BS in Zim. It goes to corrupt officials and their families, not to the locals.
Having grown up in Africa and having an relative who runs a commercial game park where you can hunt I feel well qualified to comment. My experience has been that it is rich white men who hunt and that for the most part their justifications for their “services to the community” are completely self serving and shallow.
And in case you are wondering – I am banned for life from the game park!
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As my mum would say ‘oh they are very unfortunate looking’…. the animal cruelty makes them even uglier. There are just some things money can’t buy. How sad for them and the poor animals that they feel the need to kill to feel an emotion. Perhaps next time they could fly over a plane load of cheeseburgers I am sure the villagers would love that even more!
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Trump’s sons are disgraceful, unethical morons. The only people on this earth who should be hunting are tribal and dependant on this activity to survive……..I’ve been a vegetarian for over 25yrs because of the animal cruelty that has always existed in the animal food production industry. There is no need to eat meat in a society where other cruelty-free protein sources are available………..Trump’s comments surprised me since he seems to represent the ultra conservative right-wing element in the US and they usually take the view that they can consume anything they want, be as cruel and indulge themselves as much as they please because “The Good Lord said they could”……….his sons are fakes and cowards – it’s a pity they can’t be jailed for this crime.
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I’ve never understood why people feel tough – shooting something. What the hell is tough about that? A kid could do that. How pathetic do you need to be if this makes you feel important?
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I’ve never understood why people feel tough – shooting something. What the hell is tough about that? A kid could do that. How pathetic do you need to be if this makes you feel important?
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I really don’t get it. What part of it could be fun? It makes me sick
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Typical human behaviour! Killing anything that seems inferior to them. There are an increasing number of animals becoming endangered, we should be trying to save them, not kill them. And look at their faces, they’re happy they’ve taken away another living beings life. Little do they know that karma will come back and bite them in the @rse, and daddy’s money won’t be able to save them!
At least farmers don’t kill cattle, etc for their own pleasure.
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This just makes me sick.
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this IS SO DISGUSTING ! i have no words to describe these as.h..les ! I wish they suffer in the same way one day. I REALLY HOPE karma comes their way. DISGUSTING. killing animals should not be a sport and their smug faces is prob the worst part
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Disgusting!
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I’m seeing red. No wild cat should be killed, there are more species of wild cat endangered than not. I’m actually too mad for words, can’t compose a coherent response. #(*$^&@#*(&$^@(*
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Can someone tell what the big cat is in the first photo? Is it a leopard? I thought leopards were endangered????
I don’t understand how they get enjoyment from killing these animals for sport, can’t they see the beauty and enjoyment in watching it live?
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It’s a leopard. The African subspecies is not endangered, but it is protected via CITES restrictions. Depending on the country, you can legally purchase a permit to shoot one.
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Any omnivore who’s outraged by this is an utter hypocrite. At least these animals got to practice their natural behaviours their entire life and were preyed upon for a moment before they died; they didn’t suffer for a long time. The poor animals in Australia cop a far worse deal, being forced to live in cramped spaces, miserable, for their entire lives before they’re slaughtered. I think this game hunting is much less disgusting than the way animals here are treated, and most of you turn a blind eye to that so you can enjoy your turkey sandwich and cappuccino.
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Not all omnivores are ignorant. I eat meat, and I understand the reality of factory farming, and I choose to source humanely farmed foods.
I feel sick when I see the photo above, as sick as I feel when I hear that duck hunting season has opened once again in Victoria, as sick as I feel when I see a sow in a stall or a battery hen.
Call me a hypocrite all you like, but the fact remains that the majority of people do eat meat and dairy. You cannot change this. What you CAN do is educate people about where their food comes from and how they can make better choices. If enough people learn the reality of where their food comes from, then even us omnivores can drive the suppliers to give us what we want – humane food.
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Exactly!! You will only alienate the majority of the population by calling them ignorant. Awareness and education works best. Am disgusted with the smug, proud faces gleaming back at me while holding a severed tail. Not cool.
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And it is must be noted that those who hold the balance of power in the NSW upper house, are very keen African game hunters. Disgusting………and worrying.
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Could you please name them. I’m not comfortable with the suggestion without evidence. Thanks
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Sorry, should have put names. Was late and high on cold medicine! They are Robert Brown and Robert Borsak of the Shooters and Fishers Partyand they hold the balance of power with the Christian Dems. They advocate the right to own firearms and have a big push to allow hunting of non indigenous animals on all public lands ie in National Parks. This is something that has so far been rejected by the previous and current governments.
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Does anyone else get image of Prince Humperdink from the Princess Bride? No? Just me?…. Ok then
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hello there
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This comment is for the MamaMia team. I imagine in current times, many people, like me, are reading these posts on an iPad. Can you please only include video which can be viewed on an iPad? (couldn’t view Donald Trump’s response). Very annoying, and generally makes me switch off, as I can’t be bothered with my laptop anymore.
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Also the photo galleries. Not this one in particular, but in general, the often don’t work, don’t ave captions etc on iPad, i phone.
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The worst thing about apple products! Get a Samsung tab and you won’t have any issues!
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“What do you do when you have lots of money and a desire to be a tough guy? You pay the Hunting Legends company tens of thousands of dollars to go on a ‘safari’ in Africa where you hunt and kill wild animals in an enclosed space. Animals like giraffes. And Elephants.
There is a market for this among rich white men and it is repugnant.”
Reminds me of that movie Hostel… life imitating art?
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First a disclaimer: I do find the fact that people feel the need to shoot these animals for fun disgusting BUT there are many privately operated game parks in various African countries (and just to be clear I’m not aware whether this example is or isn’t one) and the benefits that these game parks can provide for both the local communities and conservation as a whole is remarkable. Basically what happens is that by literally putting a price on the head of some of these animals it makes them worth significantly more to the community which then values them more. This not only reduces the prevalence of poaching but also encourages greater care and interest in the environment in general. The benefits to the community are also significant – they obtain another source of income etc. Keep in mind that because the populations of these animals become so important that they are very carefully managed, animals that are shot are usually very carefully preselected, on the basis of things like age, reproductive potential etc.
So judge the men that shoot these animals all you want, but try to consider the fact that the creation of this market (if done properly) can have a very important role in both communities and long term conservation efforts.
(PS apologies for the rambling post, it is late and I’ve had a very long day. I’m a conservation Honours student and wanted to offer some insight. If you’re interested in finding out more the phrase ‘sustainable use’ is a good place to start searching)
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How much benefit does it have on conservation? Are these parks also breeding the animals to increase their numbers? I don’t understand how it could possibly be good for the animals when they’re being caught to be killed at a great profit?
Genuine question, not trying to be rude.
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Many animals (such as rhinos, for example) live in herds dominated by one alpha-male who has exclusive breeding rights within the group. Often with age – the male’s sterility dramatically falls – yet he is still strong and dominant enough to fight off younger, virile challengers during the mating season. Therefore the natural reproduction within the herd is severely compromised, and a factor adding to the reducing numbers.
My understanding is that herds are actively monitored by conservation groups – working in partnership with the local communities (who are often dependent on game hunting as their only revenue source) to identify these infertile (or less fertile) males. Without these projects the local communities would be solely reliant on black market poaching. (This used to be the case – and had a dramatic negative impact on animal populations.)
This is seen as a win/win solution for the sustainability of the animals and the local communities, and is therefore supported by most respected conservation groups.
(That said, I still can’t understand how anyone can possibly get enjoyment from killing for fun… we humans, are sometimes a horrid species…)
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So, So wrong. How dare they kill a threatened/ endangered animal, so different to killing a farm animal (humanely) for human consumption. These people are pathetic. Why can’t they do something good for the world. So much money but such a waste of space.
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None of the animals they hunted are endangered.
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I have heard the same as what Junosmum said and also in some parks (probably the smaller ones) actually have breeding programs attached so that the devastation on the animal population at that safari isn’t too dire.
I do however find it very concerning how many people find this utterly disturbing and completely up in arms about it (no pun intended) yet have absolutely NO issues with cows, pigs, chicken and sheep being slaughtered on mass for food?? It’s kind of like how people are mortified that some Chinese eat dogs. It is ONLY because somehow in our upbringing we have been taught that it’s OK to kill certain animals and cuddle and care for others. I am absolutely with Anna on this one. If Tigers and Elephant were available in your local supermarket for consumption, would this story even have gone to print? I think not.
I wish we had to kill our own food to eat it, I truly do, because I honestly believe if you aren’t willing to kill an animal yourself to eat it, then you shouldn’t eat it at all. Paying someone else to do your dirty work for you, does not take away the pain, suffering and death of a once, beautiful and innocent animal whether it be endangered or bred and held in captivity its entire life just to end up on your plate…it just takes away your guilt.
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I agree with almost everyhting you’ve said but the part about killing our own food and the impact it would have people’s willingness to partake in it. I speak only of my own personal experience. I grew up on farms and killed animals. As a young child, of five or so, I beheaded chickens and watched annually, the slaughter of pigs in our backyard. As a result of this participation, I felt that I knew first hand how animals were killed and knew that I could do it myself so I saw nothing wrong with killing animals, especially if it was ‘humane’. I think if you are exposed to the killing of animals, especially from a young age, you become desensitised to the brutality of if and think it’s normal because everyone around you tells you that it is. You also get a little arogant, especially with city folk, and get much more set in your ways.
I only began to question the ethics of eating animals, when I was asked what was the difference between eating a cat or a cow, assuming both were raised and killed humanely?
I saw no difference, and changed my eating habbits.
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M – I completely understand your situation and have no issues with how you have been raised, your desensitization to the killing of animals and have no problems with you personally killing animals to eat them. What gets me so angry is people who choose to remain ignorant as to how the meat they so easily pull out of their freezer came to being. SO many people turn a blind eye when any abattoir abuse or animal cruelty story comes in the media. No one actively wants an animal to suffer, humans are predominantly compassionate people, but what factory farm animals go through in their life is nothing short of HELL and the majority of meat eaters I know, never want to see or watch any documentaries on sow stalls, or see how cows are killed, the state the caged chickens are in because it is hard to see and to them ignorance is bliss.
As the saying goes “what has been seen, can never be unseen” and I have seen more than enough to know that I can’t turn a blind eye to the state of the farming industry, so I refuse to support it. To me an animal is animal, no one animal is greater than the other, even though I was brought up like most to believe that this is (sadly) not the case. The question you asked yourself is exactly one everyone should be asking themselves and I applaud you for doing so especially from being brought up on a farm.
So to get back on track, I always find it hard when I see people being so outraged at stories like this because they are gorgeous African animals, animals we are taught to purely admire (and protect) but couldn’t care less about farm animals that are slaughtered daily. There is no difference in my eyes.
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Well said!
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Errrr, the last time I checked, cows, chickens and pigs were not endagered.
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Was this the article about men with small penises?
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Comments like Leah’s about men with small penises are pretty terrible, but kind of to be expected on this site now. Most of the guy viewers from the past have left because there’s only so much unchecked misandry a guy can take. I guess the story of rich white women in fur coats who probably outnumber game hunters 10 -1 just wouldn’t hit the “mark”. I guess a comment of equally sexist ignorance would have been banned along time ago if it was genders reversed. Nothing new here today.
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Leah.
Why belittle the issue?
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I hope through this they will stop to reflect on why it is that they need to destroy such beauty in order to fell powerful. If they can understand that they will never need to kill again.
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So awful and soooo sad!
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Is it wrong to unnecessarily harm an animal?
Is it wrong to kill an animal for our own pleasure?
If you’ve answered yes to these two questions, then you should not only be appalled by these pictures but you should also stop eating, wearing and using animal products in your life. Wether we like to acknowledge it or not, there is no reason for us to eat animals, which means we are only doing if for pleasure.
We are not carnivores; we are omnivores! This implies that we have a choice in what we eat. Seek out any credible medical advice and all will agree that a diet without animal products is just as suitable for humans as one that contains animal products.
These images are appalling and distressing, but so is the fact that 56 billion land animals die every year for the sake of our palate pleasure.
I know most people won’t agree with me, and that I’ll probably cop a lot of flack for my comments, but I firmly believe that there is something seriously amiss when people are appalled at cute, fury, endangered or domesticated animals being killed for pleasure but find nothing wrong with killing other ‘farm’ animals without blinking an eyelid.
The way I see it is you can sit on either side of the fence but not have it both ways.
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100% agree, M, see my earlier comments!
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Totally agree also
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Cashed up bogans/rednecks, time to get a job!!!!
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Scum of the f*** earth.
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I have seen these animals close up in their natural habitat and they are mesmerising-there is no way I could disassociate from that sense of awe and shoot them in cold blood. Usually I am an open person who accepts others views, but on this issue, I feel strongly one way. I think there is something deeply wrong with you if you can shoot a vulnerable animal who is not threatening you, and is going about its business without harm. It is totally different if you are hunting that animal as your food source and that food is coming from no where else easily. But seriously, how much did they NEED that animal as food, its nothing to do with them needing to eat-its all about status and power and making themselves feel top of the food chain!
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No person in Australia needs animals for food. We all have access to to nearly every type of food in the world. By your logic, we should all stop eating animals.
I agree, that’s why I’m vegan. Are you?
ALL animals are majestic and mesmerising, if given the chance. Take a step back, stop looking at a cow as a source of meat and milk, and you’ll quickly discover how truly magnificent and beautiful she is.
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I agree M-to me, animals we are encouraged to view as ‘stock’ are as important as other more exotic animals
Im vegetarian and almost Vegan, struggling to remove some sources of animal products from my diet/lifestyle but getting there, and trying really hard (Gelatin-its in almost everything!!).
I find it really confronting, but understand, that some cultures/societies are not going to have access to the amazing variety of food we have in Oz and therefore, being vegan is not practical or healthy for them-hunting/farming meat is their best source of nutrition and more. I agree with you on your point that we just can’t use that excuse in our country-well most parts of it anyway-I also believe that it is a luxury to be able to become vegan in some parts of the world as sometimes alternative foods and products are either not available or cost is prohibitive
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Oh dear God. And I thought nothing much could surprise me anymore. These two boys need to go and help out at an African wildlife sanctuary or something similar and GAIN SOME PERSPECTIVE. Just disgraceful. Honestly….words fail me.
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Just disgusting!
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Absolutely unbelievable.
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Oh my!!!!! looking at the thumbnail on the front page it looked like 2 people were dressed up and one was dressed as a leopard. thought it was going to be a funny little story….
…..I feel sick looking at the real picture. Just horrific
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Eric and Donald Jr… You’re fired!
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Is it just rich white men?
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What a bunch of assholes.
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Ugh. Vile human beings.
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There is also this article from the Punch last year in response to Bob Katter doing the same thing as the Trump boys:
http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/hunting-and-killing-animals-can-help-to-save-them/
It is similar to what Junosmum says below.
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I can’t believe this is legal. This is sickening…
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Would you be able to further explain the furore, though?
While I agree that these photos are ‘not nice’, in the end, it’s an animal dying at the hands of a human. There’s actually no reason to suggest that these animals went through any more or any less suffering than the cows, sheep, and pigs that go through the abattoirs and end up on our plates for dinner.
And if it’s because they’re endangered, well that’s a point from an ecological, but not a moral, perspective. Because, again, why is the suffering of an endangered animal any more signficant than a poor little pig whose only fault was being born as an animal that we see as expendable?
If I had to take a wild stab in the dark, what’s unpleasant about these photos is the disrespect with which the animals have been treated after death (posed photos etc). But, in my humble opinion, that’s no more morally worse than chowing down on a steak and not considering the beautiful animal that it was before it was dinner.
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I disagree.
the killing of an endangered animal IS more significant than that of a poor little pig. We are humans, we eat meat. So do many other mammals (and yes I’ve heard the argument that we’re meant to be herbivores but hear me out).
I was vego for a year, and stopped when I was sitting at my dinner table, tucking into tofu (i love tofu) when everyone else had free range chicken, and thought ‘what is the harm in eating an animal that has been ethically treated?’. The animals are bred for eating, and as long as they die humanely I don’t have a problem with it. I do my research, I never eat any meat that I haven’t researched beforehand.
I think a lot of people need to have animals to realise that the animal does not go through a ‘oh dear god I’m dying gahhhh’ moment. I’ve killed chickens to eat, and we do it quickly and painlessly, and to be honest I don’t feel bad at all. There are many more chickens running around, it’s not endangered, and killing the chook is not upsetting the balance of the food chain.
In my life, I’ve found it’s always the people in the city who are vegetarian and say ‘oh the poor little pigs/cows’, and once you head into the country, where we kill the animals ourselves or at least know the person who does it, NO ONE is vegetarian. everyone knows how it happens. I’m not from the country, but my family is.
I love animals, I do! My cat is my baby, and I love the chooks. Even the cows, despite how stinky they are… but I also love meat. When it’s done quickly and painlessly, they don’t know what’s going on!
killing for food VS killing for fun – two VERY different things!
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I definitely agree about animals killed ethically after they’ve had a (hopefully long) happy life. This is ideal.
However, the vast amount of our meat comes from abattoirs, after the animals have been bred to be eaten and treated badly their whole lives. There is a lot of research to suggest that these animals (especially pigs, who are very intelligent) know exactly what’s going on, and are panicking in their final moments.
And while the purpose is important – fun v. food – doesn’t anything that happens beforehand matter? I mean… if the fury JUST about the purpose (ie the hunt)? I just don’t understand it! It’s disproportionate fury!
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yep I can see where you’re coming from. I think people are angry about the hunting/killing, and WHAT they killed. I think seeing a dead leopard is lot more confronting than seeing a dead chook.
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georgiepie, you misunderstood what Noelle was saying.
Is the moral outrage due to the fact that these are endangered species, or just the fact of killing and posing with a dead animal?
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I think both?
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By that logic, posing witht the fish you’ve cought, with your steak at a restaurant, or with your fur coat, are equally offensive.
Or is it only bad when the carcass is still intact? So if the animals were skinned, and cooked, would it be less wrong?
Also, if I decide to startbreeding one of these endangered animals, and am successful in getting them off the endangered list, would it be ok to start eating those animals and serving them at restaurants?
If being endangered wasn’t an issues, would you eat a dolphin, elephant, panda, and the like? I’m sure, with the right spices and cooking technique, they’d be just as delicious as that chicken you have so little regard for.
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M, I’m replying to why I think people are outraged, not why I’M outraged. I’m outraged because the animals are endangered and probably died in a lot of pain, not because they’re posing with a dead animal. yes it’s tasteless and disgusting, but there are bigger issues at hand. at the end of the day they’re both f***wits. If they were posing with a cooked animal – I don’t see the difference?! cooked leopard = same disgusted reaction from me. cooked chicken = oh look there’s a chicken.
no, because the steak on your plate or the fish you just caught is not endangered (here’s hoping). I find fur coats offensive because the animals go through agony when skinned, but thats another rant for another time.
and YES. I would eat a panda, a dolphin, an elephant etc. if they were not endangered – it’d be interesting, and yes, probably turn out quite delicious. I’ll probably cop a lot of flak for this comment (I already have) but if pandas or any other animal like that had a population equal to chickens, I wouldn’t have a problem with it!
Chicken is delicious. If I buy it, I research where it came from. If I kill it, I do it quickly and painlessly. I can eat animals and still have a regard for them. that may seem like a stupid statement to some people, but it’s what I believe and I’m sticking to it
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I can see that you are more rational about this issue than the vast majority of people in our society.
I strongly disagree with your stance, but you are consistant.
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It was the opposite for me. I was born on a pretty small, run-of-the-mill cattle farm. I was very young but the things I saw and smelt there have left me unable to justify eating animals.
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this is disgusting. I was nearly in tears. those beautiful, majestic, rare creatures ‘hunted’ by a human. Big whoop, you can pull a trigger. GAH hunting for fun makes me furious.
there is a BIG difference between killing a chook for dinner, and killing an endangered animal. I’m a meat eater, don’t have a problem with killing animals for food, but only animals like chooks, cows, pigs – they’re not endangered!
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In tears because the animals look pretty?
If they weren’t endangered would you care?
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nope. for example, cows are gorgeous lovely creatures, but they’re not endangered, so I have no problem eating them as long as they are humanely raised and killed!
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Georgiepie, I see no difference because the one and only reason the animals you mentioned aren’t endangered is because we breed them to be eaten. Cats and dogs? Because we breed them to be cute and cuddly. Comparing wild animals to animals bred for food living in atrocious conditions is nonsensical in this case. Apples and oranges. If we ate cheetahs for dinner they sure as hell wouldn’t be endangered.
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I wrote this big long reply but I just can’t get my words out right, it either sounded rude or not serious, so just read my reply to anon
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I read your reply to Anon, and I understand where you’re coming from but to me it is just all so strange.
I find it sad to think the only other creatures aside from humans, plants and general habitat that still exist are there because we have use for them or because we actively decided to let them live, in reserves, etc. I can’t wrap my head around the fact that we could turn an endangered species around by intensively farming and eating them, or that we as a species have decided how almost every other creature and organism gets to live. If you get down to it, you could argue the animals on these hunting reserves are lucky because someone found a use for them, allowing them to live at all. I think we all know that’s not an excuse, though.
Getting back to your comments …
I think you’re more rational about it than most. So many people could never fathom eating dogs because they are so personally close to them. I think if you’re going to be a meat eater you should be able to face up to the fact that it’s all a cultural thing. Also I believe the reason dogs became pets is not because they don’t taste good, apparently they do. They just had other uses around the house/farm, etc. so didn’t get killed and eventually we grew to love them.
Sorry for the massive reply!
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no don’t apologise I liked reading it!
your first paragraph was really interesting, I’ve never seen it that way before, it’s given me some food for thought! it’s really interesting to think that we, the humans, decide which species live or die.
Thanks for saying I’m more rational than most, that’s what I’m trying to get across! I believe you’ve got to be on one side of the fence – you can’t say ‘ohhhh poor dead puppy’ then tuck into your factory farmed chicken. All or nothing I say, because who can say that a dog’s suffering is worth more than a chicken’s?
interesting fact about dogs, thanks!
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Yes, exactly! But people will still get up in arms about it and swear there’s a massive divide between species. ‘But dogs are so cute and loving and they are different!’
How can you argue with that ‘logic’?
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So if we started mass breeding endangered animal’s for food, you’d be happy to tuck into a leopard steak or tiger ribs? What about dogs and cats? So many people are up in arms about puppy mills, but that’s nothing compared with the conditions pigs, sheep, cows and chickens are kept in. So would puppy mills be ok if they were being bred for food?
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yeah I would actually. It’s what we’ve been brought up to think, we don’t eat dogs, we do eat cows etc. Dog meat is apparently really gross, which is why I guess we started keeping them as pets? But I’m being completely serious here, if in some weird parallel universe dogs were being bred for food, yes I would eat them. Just because you have a pet doesn’t mean you can’t eat their species. If you have a bird do you not eat chicken? Same with endangered animals. If leopards and elephants had the same population as chickens and sheep I’d eat them too. They wouldn’t be endangered, they’d just be another animal. Maybe their meat is really yummy.
also I have said above that I don’t eat meat that has been bred and killed in inhumane conditions – I do my research. I’m not heartless! I rarely eat cow or pig, as it’s very difficult to know where they came from, but I tuck into ethically farmed and killed chickens and fish regularly. If puppy mills were being used to breed dogs for food, I wouldn’t eat them, because that is inhumane and cruel. But if those dogs were free range and got to do all their sniffing and playing before being humanely killed for food, then yes I would.
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Recently, a friend of mine put up a picture of roasted dogs on her facebook page. They were photos from a side of the road stall, somewhere in Asia. The dogs were headless but had the rest of their bofdies intact and looked exactly like the peking Ducks that we see in lots of Asian restaurants. Now when she did this, there was an outcry from a lot of her other freinds about how graphic and horrific the images were. She probably lost a few FB freinds as a result.
I just don’t get it, why can people walk past a Peking Duck and their tummy can grumble and theythink delicious, and the when they walk past a Peking Dog, they squirm, and are horrified to the point of tears?
Explain it to me people, I just don’t get it?
What is the magical quality that a dog has, that deserves your love and comapssion, and that a duck, or any other animal for that matter, lacks?
I’ll say it again, you can sit on whichever side of the fence you like, but you can’t have it both ways!
To me that’s like seeing a white slave and being horrified, but condoning the slavery of black people.
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Oh, this is so horrible. The pictures made me want to cry, I just don’t get the appeal of killing animals for fun.
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That is disgusting…obviously he has taught them nothing about morals and respect for others and animals in their upbring, only things that can be bought with millions…a cheap (or expensive) thrill !!
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The saddest thing is they could be doing so much good with all that money
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clearly all that money didn’t buy the Trump boys a good education or a conscience…..it is never OK to kill for the thrill of it….. clearly they have too much time and money and it’s a shame they don’t pursue more useful endeavours. Sickening…….
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I’m all for eating meat, but hunting with a gun??? How pathetic! Any idiot can shoot an animal! If you want to be called a hunter then go face that animal with just your bare skin and fight to the death! If you come out a winner then call yourself a real hunter!
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