Dallas Safari Club Holds Virtual Trophy Hunting Convention

​worldanimalnews.com/breaking-dallas-safari-club-holds-virtual-ego-driven-trophy-hunting-convention-february-11-14-auctioning-off-threatened-endangered-wildlife/

Dallas Safari Club's annual trophy hunting convention runs from February 10th - 14th, this year going virtual due to the pandemic. The convention's purpose is to auction off opportunities to slaughter innocent and often endangered animals to the highest bidder. Along with these horrific auctions, there are a plethora of hunting / animal related products available for purchase including polar bear rugs, lion / elephant trophies, guns & ammunition, and fur products from animals like leopards. The convention's goal is to raise 3.5 million dollars for the Dallas Safari Club. The photos from the convention are both frightening and saddening, indicating that there is still so much work to do when it comes to conservation and animal welfare.

Photos taken from World Animal News.

Looking at the pictures provided by World Animal News is horrifying. These "trophies" are nothing more than the actual heads of the endangered animals slaughtered during one of these auctioned hunts. Looking around and seeing men, women, and children admiring the beheaded remains of endangered animals is so disturbing, not to mention the ease of access to hunting weapons and ammunition. It's honestly like looking at a scene from a movie; so utterly unbelievable that so many people are desensitized to what they are surrounded by. Each and every animal I saw in the photographs provided was endangered including snow leopards, lions, and rhinos. The blatant disregard for the possibility of extinction to fulfill one's own sick desires is astonishing.

Among the opportunities auctioned off were;

• Canned Hunts in the U.S., Argentina, & South Africa. Canned hunts allow the hunter to shoot and kill animals that are enclosed and have absolutely no opportunity to escape. Extra cringy.
• 319 species were up for hunting opportunities 
• 183 hunts in 24 countries were donated for auction to kill 200 animals from leopards to rhinos
• $70, 000 Hunt in Mexico to slaughter Desert Big Horn Sheep
• $52, 850 Brown Bear Hunt in Alaska
• Killing Elephants in Zimbabwe / Zambia
• Killing Giraffes in South Africa
• Killing Leopards in Namibia 

Photo taken from World Animal News

I think what horrifies me most is the cost associated with some of these horrific hunts. Can you imagine having an extra $70, 000 to piss away just to shoot and kill an endangered animal that has absolutely no chance of escaping? What kind of sick person would save that kind of money solely to slaughter an animal? As I said, there's such a disconnect between the perils these animals are currently facing, and the desires of incredibly twisted and clueless people. With the exception of one or two of the auctions, the remaining opportunities include animals that are currently listed as endangered or threatened. This means that extinction is a possible outcome if more is not done to protect these animals. How in the world can these people truly believe that they are aiding in conservation when these animals are already facing the possibility of extinction?

Let's look at how endangered some of these available animals truly are;

• ELEPHANTS 40 - 50, 000  Remaining in the Wild
• SNOW LEOPARDS Fewer than 7, 000 Remaining in the Wild
• LIONS Approximately 20, 000 Remaining in the Wild
• RHINOS Fewer than 27, 000 Remaining in the Wild
• GIRAFFES Approximately 68, 000 Remaining in the Wild

To put this in perspective, my hometown of Windsor, Ontario has an estimated population of 300, 000 people. We are a small city in comparison to Canada's much larger and recognized cities. Our population totals more than all of the animals listed above combined. Our teeny, tiny city has more inhabitants than all of these animals combined remaining in the wild. This needs to be alarming because the fact is, these animals are dying and rapidly. Their habitats are being decimated, their populations are being fragmented, they are losing access to water and food, and continue to have conflict with local communities that results in their deaths. All of these factors considered and yet we are witnessing auctions to slaughter them for astronomical costs? This is an utter disgrace and a complete disregard for the actual struggles these wild animals are facing.

Trophy hunting is disgusting. It's a sickness, one that condones the need for salacious murder. This is not a sport, it is not aiding in conservation, it is simply wealthy people with such overwhelming desires to kill. Putting a bullet in the head of an unsuspecting, endangered animal, should not be considered anything other than murder. It's abhorrent looking at these photos of the heads of animals that were shot and killed, displayed as nothing more than hunting trophies. Forget that they were once alive and facing unimaginable perils in the wild because all they are is trophies.

We are in the midst of an extinction crisis, like it or not. It is wholly hypocritical to claim that a country is committed to conservation while simultaneously promoting trophy hunting. There is only one solution, and it is to ban trophy hunting permanently. You might have some butt hurt wealthy people who cry out because they can no longer shoot unsuspecting animals but at this rate, they won't be able to anyways in the next 30 years because each and every one of these hunted animals will be extinct.

Extinction is permanent. Ban trophy hunting.

​HAPPY VEG