An American millionaire big-game hunter has died after being crushed by a group of elephants during a hunting expedition in Gabon.

  • CombatWombat@feddit.online
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    2 days ago

    If we’re gonna pretend hunting is sport, you’ve gotta be prepared for the other team to show up and play.

    • hayvan@piefed.world
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      2 days ago

      He was hunting antelopes, not elephants at least. But I’m still glad the elephants showed up.

      • el_twitto@lemmy.world
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        2 days ago

        He had hunted elephants previously and had elephant trophies, so I have no sympathy for him.

      • SippyCup@lemmy.world
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        2 days ago

        The was hunting yellow backed duiker which, A, are evidently insanely easy to hunt. So easy that you can evidently shine a light at it at night, walk right up to it, and club it to death.

        They’re a vital food source for a bit part of central Africa.

        And 2, they’re so heavily hunted that they’re at serious risk of endangerment.

        I said something in another post about there being a chance this was a genuine conversation effort, but after doing some reading; no. This guy is just an asshole. He got justifiably trampled by elephants doing something for fun that the people of central Africa do every day to feed themselves.

        • jago@lemmy.ca
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          2 days ago

          They’re a vital food source for a bit part of central Africa.
          And 2, they’re so heavily hunted that they’re at serious risk of endangerment.

          Food source or at risk of endangerment? Pick an argument.

          …this was a genuine conversation effort…

          Ah, I see. Don’t bother.

            • sigmaklimgrindset@sopuli.xyz
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              2 days ago

              They’re also just being an asshole because OP accidentally wrote “conVERsation” instead of “conSERvation”, and that obviously invalidates the whole argument, duh.

          • SippyCup@lemmy.world
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            2 days ago

            You sound like a cool dude with many real world friends. Certainly not like some chronically wrong chode who likes to pick at strangers on the internet to make himself feel bigger.

      • osanna@lemmy.vg
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        2 days ago

        Why are the antelopes less important than the elephants?

        • vaultdweller013@sh.itjust.works
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          2 days ago

          One has a fragile population and is well respected the other doesn’t. It’s for the same reason Bison hunting is looked down apon but annihilating a boar with a landmine wouldn’t be.

          Edit: Just noticed that the species he was hunting was endangered, fuck him. My point still stands for boars though

          • osanna@lemmy.vg
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            2 days ago

            Why does being endangered matter? They both have a preference to live, and would choose to not die. They both feel pain and fear. They don’t know they’re endangered. All they know is they want to live.

            Humans killing animals is mostly unnecessary.

      • CombatWombat@feddit.online
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        2 days ago

        I mean, the guise we use for hunting is that it’s for population control to properly conserve the environment. I suppose if you wanted to say there were some populations that needed controlling on environmental grounds, like billionaires or something, I might be amenable.

        • grue@lemmy.world
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          2 days ago

          It’s more like that hunting permit fees fund actual conservation efforts, not that there’s really much of a legitimate conservation effect from the hunting itself. (Except maybe when it’s an invasive species.)

          • CombatWombat@feddit.online
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            2 days ago

            Sure, I guess you could apply license fees for hunting permits on billionaires to conservation efforts if you insist.

            • DokPsy@lemmy.world
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              2 days ago

              I vote to use their hoard similar to the Susan G Komen foundation. Awareness of the issue, funding the members(mass populous) with a bit going to research

          • Wispy2891@lemmy.world
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            2 days ago

            I wonder what percentage goes to the actual conservation efforts, after all the cuts and bribes by the middlemen

            • Apathy Tree@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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              2 days ago

              It depends heavily where it is. Some of the programs are very very good, others are corrupt af.

              The best ones give the people living in proximity to the animals recourse when said animals destroy crops or property. This plus giving back a portion of the fees to help community enrichment projects incentivizes protection of the animals by the locals, which deters poaching and stuff.

        • hayvan@piefed.world
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          2 days ago

          When prey animals are “saved” from their natural predators, they tend to over reproduce and wreak havoc on their environment. Deer in North America is an example that needs to be controlled.

          Is don’t know to what extent though.

          • givesomefucks@lemmy.world
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            2 days ago

            When prey animals are “saved” from their natural predators, they tend to over reproduce and wreak havoc on their environment.

            Exactly…

            When corrupt capitalists are “saved” from taxation, they tend to hoard wealth and wreck havoc on the economy. Drastically lowering not only everyone else’s quality of life, but in many cases their physical health and well-being along with everyone they know and interact with

            It’s a classic trolly problem.

            Track one: about 8,300,000,000 people

            Track 2: 3,500 people that aimed the trolleybat track 1.

            Would you turn the switch back so it saves 8.3 billion people, at the expense of of the less than 4 thousand people that put us in front of the trolley?

          • Tollana1234567@lemmy.today
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            2 days ago

            deer reproduce very fast, elephants take 22months to gestate a baby, big cats like wise. the forest elephant which is a different species is pretty at risk.

        • Tollana1234567@lemmy.today
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          2 days ago

          elephants, cape buffalos, lions and most of the cat species in africa, and forest elephants are pretty much endangered right

      • altphoto@lemmy.today
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        2 days ago

        Billionaire hunting billionaires? The Victor gets the spoils? I’d watch that on Netflix. For free. While browsing.

        • Solumbran@lemmy.world
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          2 days ago

          I mean they already do that, at least if it were official it would give a legal way to get rid of them

  • Albbi@piefed.ca
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    2 days ago

    Should taxidermy him and give him to the Elephants. Based on the amount of “trophies” he had, it’s what he would have wanted. To the victor go the spoils.

  • webghost0101@sopuli.xyz
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    2 days ago

    I will never not feel sadness towards the loss of life, if not just for the people around them that mourn.

    But I can’t say much value was lost. Every child death in gaza had more potential to create value then whoever this was.

  • sem@piefed.blahaj.zone
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    2 days ago

    Pshh millionaire?

    You have to be a thousand times richer than that these days to have any clout.

    /s