This hunter wants an endangered rhino’s head as a trophy. Looks like he’ll get it

[G_j]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2015/03/26/this-hunter-wants-an-endangered-rhinos-head-as-a-trophy-looks-like-hell-get-it/?hpid=z11

Big game hunter Corey Knowlton's long wait to kill an endangered black rhinoceros in Africa is finally over.

In a decision Thursday that's certain to rile animal rights activists, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service removed the last hurdle in the way of Knowlton's quest. More than a year after the wealthy Texan submitted the winning $350,000 bid for a Namibian government permit at a Dallas auction to shoot the animal, the agency announced that it approved his application for a separate U.S. permit to import the animal's carcass back home as a trophy.

As soon as Knowlton verifies that funds sitting in an escrow account have been wired to Namibia, a Fish and Wildlife official said, the permit is his.

The agency explained its controversial decision by saying hunting rhino bulls such as the one Namibia selected for Knowlton is a necessary evil to increase the population of a species in peril. Older rhinoceros bulls are known to keep younger bulls from mating with cows in their groups even after the elder males can no longer reproduce. After studying Namibia's conservation program, the agency deemed that culling certain bulls "will benefit ... the species," according to a statement released as part of the announcement.

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Fish and Wildlife Service usually receives no more than eight public comments on applications for permits to import international hunting trophies. Knowlton’s and Luzich's applications drew 15,000 e-mails and 135,000 signatures on a petition. The approvals of their application will mark the second and third time the U.S. has allowed black rhinoceros hunting trophies in 30 years. Last year, Fish and Wildlife approved the first permit to import a rhino horn trophy in more than three decades, according to a statement on the agency's Web site.

Jeff Flocken, the North American regional director of the International Fund for Animal Welfare, condemned Fish and Wildlife's decision Thursday. "We are disappointed in the news today that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has chosen to allow the importation of black rhinos hunted for sport," he said. The agency's approval will only inspire other hunters to kill animals on the verge of extinction, Flocken said. "The real value and worth of the species — and all critically endangered species for that matter — should be in their life, not the price tag for their death."

..more..

[NoJusticeNoPeace]

1. Texans and guns, guns, guns, guns, guns, guns, guns....

[Paladin]

5. It's the feds who are OK'ing the paperwork on this, not Texas. (nt)

[ScreamingMeemie]

7. I don't own a gun, gun, gun, gun, gun... nt

[NoJusticeNoPeace]

9. Not just picking on Texans, yes they are often obnoxious, but guns are, as usual, at the core of

this issue...

Texan or not...

Asshole or not...

guns gotta go, but they wont until america evolves and matures like many other countries already have

[NM_Birder]

29. you skipped the part about

The REASON for harvesting the rhino, as well as where the funds will go.

GUNS BAD,..... TEXANS BAD,.... other countries laws GOOD.

That rhetoric is the reason I will never worry about my right to hunt being taken away. Ammo got expensive there for a while, so there was that. But it's all good again.

So long as the anti firearm and anti hunting movement is expressed the way you and others are expressing, I'm not worried. Which countries do you think have "matured", as you put it.

[KamaAina]

25. Well, y'all have only been down there a few years.

[WillTwain]

30. From the land of Chris Kyle not surprised a bit

Even if it is good for the herd, the only reason he is involved is the dick lusts for blood. Sick bastard.

[Coventina]

2. No words to express my rage about this. No words.

Who on earth is even friends with this guy?

I would disown him publicly if he were at all connected to me socially, professionally, or by blood.

I would call him scum, but that would be an insult to scum.

[get the red out]

3. May the rino kill him

May he rot in hell.

[NoJusticeNoPeace]

8. Arrogant fucking human beings, thinking we can kill whatever we want or own whatever we

want...

2057, Waikiki Hawaii and Yellowstone will be home to "kochland" where you can pay to go and kill the animal of your choice....

[aikoaiko]

32. This case is really just the opposite -- it was a considered & deliberative process that is limited

The rhino has to be separated from the herd. Perhaps next time a preservationist can pony up the highest bid and pay for a new reserve for it or transport it to the zoo.

They need the money.

[NCTraveler]

4. Will the species benefit from this older male being removed from the herd?

Is the organization this money going to effective at promoting sustainability among species?
Would a zoo be willing to pony up that kind of money for this rhino in order for him to live out his last years in confinement?
Would removing him from the herd devastate him making the zoo thing a non-option?
Could really care less about this one guy as long as the decision is the best for the rhino's in the end. I am not educated enough on this group to know the answer to that. Seems I would rather his money go to the betterment of the species than to the NRA. Wildlife in this country is also better off every minute this guy spends abroad.

[tammywammy]

12. It is better for the herd to remove an older rhino like this.

And the govt there gets a lot of money. I'm not a hunter, I see how it looks but the reality is this is conservation.

I remember reading a lot about this when Dallas Safari Club first put it up for auction.

[NCTraveler]

21. Thanks for the reply.

Hard to come to a conclusion without knowing a number of details and becoming educated on rhino herds. The yearning to be the one to pull the trigger to the tune of 350 grand is crazy to me. I can also see how it could be a beneficial move with respect to conservation. Could be many things.

You say it is better to allow the herd to remove the rhino. Is that under normal circumstances or all circumstances. What I mean by that, when dealing with endangered species, and one member of the herd suppresses reproduction through its actions, and killing that one member would increase reproduction; would it then be beneficial?

I think it would be better to allow the herd to take care of it under normal circumstances. The argument being made by this group does make sense to me though. Lots of ideas can make sense when one doesn't know shit. lol.

[tammywammy]

22. If the older male rhino can no longer reproduce and prevents younger bulls from reproductions,

Then it's best to cull him from the herd. That would allow makes that can breed the chance to reproduce and enlarge the herd. I think it would be beneficial in circumstance like this. Increasing teproductive chances and the herd itself should be the main goal when you're dealing with endangered species like this. Since the population is so small and protected by their government pretty well, that may be the reason the bull has lived so long. Allowing the herd to wait it out only decreases chances of future additional members.

I'm not a hunter and a big animal lover (see avatar for a pic of one of my cats). I read a lot on this when it was first in the news and agreed with the conclusion that he needed to be removed from the herd. And since they'd have to cull him anyway, if the government can get money off it to further their own conservation goals then that's good too.

I know its a distasteful idea and seems awful, but the reality is culling him is better for the herd.

[Dawson Leery]

6. Pity it would not be if the Rhino ran over this Kennedy Murdering

Right Wing, Trophy Hunting Texan.

[leftyladyfrommo]

10. That is so sick.

There is something seriously wrong with that guy.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

11. $350,000 for an animal part to hang on his wall. He could get a chicken leg from the supermarket

for about a buck.

[surrealAmerican]

18. Ah, but that would not be a constant reminder to him ...

... of killing a animal that is larger than he is. Maybe he could go work in a slaughterhouse, and hang a steak on the wall.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

24. Exactly. A fetish for dead animal parts is a bit weird.

[MisterP]

31. bbbbut he'll give the meat to the POOR! you can't criticize this!

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

33. Who probably won't hang it on their walls to prove their Real Men.

[Calista241]

13. This guy is a douchebag

Though, I wouldn't mind so much if they restricted his weapon choices to a spoon or a Swiss army knife.

[joeybee12]

14. Please stop with the lies that hunters are "conservationists"

If this major douchebag were that concerned, he'd give them the $350K and leave the rhinos alone.

[sir pball]

19. The rhino is going to be culled either way. It can't stay in the wild.

Whether you like it or not, the rhino is past breeding age, but still quite aggressively defending his territory, keeping the females from breeding. It has to be removed from the population so that a younger, still-virile animal can sire more rhinos. It's not terribly uncommon, but it's usually just quietly killed by a wildlife agent; this time it seems the government decided to do it publicly and make a very good pile of money in the process.

I suppose you could advocate for capture and confinement to a zoo/wildlife park, but it's a cold conservational reality that this animal must be removed from the wild one way or another.

[el_bryanto]

15. I'm of two minds on this one

I am not a hunter and don't own a gun; but I am reading/listening to a book on Theodore Roosevelt, so maybe that's influencing my thinking (I'm pretty sure TR would be fine shooting Rhinos). There is a claim made by the Namibian government that these older rhinos are a threat to the other rhinos and need to be killed. Either that claim is factually correct or it is factually incorrect. If it is factually correct, than, well I wouldn't want to do it, but I'm not sure I see a problem with what this guy is doing. If it is factually incorrect, than of course it's a big issue, and this guy shouldn't be allowed to do it (and in fairness Namibia shouldn't have auctioned off the rights to shoot this elephant.

Bryant

[sir pball]

20. The claim is correct.

Basically, he's sterile from age but still aggressively territorial; in order to allow younger, viable males access to females he has to be removed from the wild somehow. It's an unpleasant reality, but IMO the government is taking the best option here.

[Dreamer Tatum]

16. I am willing to bet that hunting assholes have diminished the stock far more than older bulls.

And not hunting them will allow the breed to live on as they should, according to nature.

[Javaman]

17. my only hope is that he misses and the animal tramples him to death. nt

[LeftinOH]

23. Corey Knowlton has bagged a lot of exotic animals- just look!

This is what a one-percenter creep looks like. Thing is - he seems to be fully aware of the level of contempt the public has for him.. and he doesn't give a shit. He's a rich psychopath.

[NM_Birder]

27. your anti gun and hunting hatred aside,

Did you even read WHY the rhino was to be harvested ?

[KamaAina]

26. Can I go hunting baboons on Capitol Hill?

(A group of baboons is called a congress. Srsly! )

[Rex]

28. People that have a love for death and killing for no reason are sick in the head.

This guy is sick in the head, like all the other people that smile standing over a just dead or dying animal they cowardly shot from a long range. Just for a bobble. They make actual hunters look bad.

I bet a zoo or wildlife refuge would have paid good money for him, but instead so much easier to kill him off and make it a publicity stunt.

Then again, we have a culture of death that covet guns in America. A unhealthy love for killing and mounting the heads as a trophy. Something I view as barbaric as it comes.

[Lee-Lee]

34. The number of people who either didn't read any of it of can't comprehend here is staggering

The animal needs to be killed anyway to ensure the greater health and survival of the the herd.

They could have either just shot it, or allowed him to do it and in return get $350,000 for conservation.

What, exactly, is the path people critical here are suggesting? Cull the animal anyway and turn away the money for conservation? Don't cull the animal at all and let it continue to stop breeding?

[Willem]

35. what up?

There is something wrong with a culture that considers a man, who likes to kill for the pleasure it gives him, a normal human being.