The following photograph was printed front and center on page three of the Lansing State Journal, yesterday (1/12/12) in full color. How repulsive! Why can’t some people be satisfied with taking photographs instead of rifle shots? And why should the newspaper glorify this action with such a prominent location?
Source: Lansing State Journal
The photograph above accompanied a story about how the hunter used his wily skills to shoot and kill this 40 pound plus bobcat. Personally, I found the whole story and photograph to be extremely repugnant. I also felt a deep sense of grief over the death of the bobcat – it did not need to, or deserve to die in such a cutthroat manner. This beautiful bobcat should have been allowed to live a full and productive life instead of it being cut short in an act of selfishness.
Why kill this magnificent and beautiful animal? What purpose does it serve other than to feed the hunter’s exaggerated greed and ego. I don’t have a problem with hunting for the purpose of providing food, but the idea of killing this bobcat (which are not vast in numbers anymore) as some sort of ego-boosting trophy is just despicable and makes me sick.
problogic
Panethos 
This makes me extremely sad. I’d gladly have the hunter’s head stuffed and mounted over my mantle.
LikeLike
I just wish he would learn to use a camera instead of a gun. Shoot pictures not bullets. There is no rationale explanation why this bobcat had to die other than greed and ego.
LikeLike
It should be illegal to kill such animals unless they are endangering someone. I hope the paper hears lots of angry protests for glorifying such a disgusting act. I assume that the bobcat is not on the endangered list, (I didn’t check), but to my mind, the man should at least be fined for killing wildlife like this.
LikeLike
I agree with you 100% Sent from my LG phone
LikeLike
I chatted about this with a colleague who studies big cats in MSU’s Department of Fisheries and Wildlife. While he doesn’t support the idea of trophy hunting, he takes the abundance of cats described in the story as an indication of a vibrant ecosystem capable of supporting these fairly large predators. From what I’ve seen, MDNR’s hunting limits are based on the best data available, and if the species were less abundant, the limit would be lower – even zero.
LikeLike
I think human and ecological rights are just as vaild as animal rights though so I hope I donâ t offend anyone with this post.
LikeLike