By Patrick Fitzsimmons
Conservation is key to the survival of many species. There have been many ways of conserving animals. Man has always felt the need to get involved with the animals and try to “help”, but sometimes it’s hard to tell if we are really helping them. “Man is a complex being: he makes deserts bloom - and lakes die.” that is a quote from Gil Scott Heron which is very appropriate. We are the most advanced species and can make a bigger impact on the animal population than any other species, for good or for bad.
In Dallas Texas at the Dallas Safari club they are auctioning off the rights to kill a black rhino. which is currently critically endangered. The black rhino can be found in Central and Eastern Africa and there are an estimated five thousand left in the world. The Dallas Safari club came up with the idea to auction off the rights to kill one black rhino and the proceeds go towards efforts to save the black rhino. The safari club says that this is the best way to raise the most money for the effort to save the species. They have it all planed out and made a deal with the Namibia government and have picked a rhino to kill. Seems like a win win, but like every story has there are two sides.
Conservation is key to the survival of many species. There have been many ways of conserving animals. Man has always felt the need to get involved with the animals and try to “help”, but sometimes it’s hard to tell if we are really helping them. “Man is a complex being: he makes deserts bloom - and lakes die.” that is a quote from Gil Scott Heron which is very appropriate. We are the most advanced species and can make a bigger impact on the animal population than any other species, for good or for bad.
In Dallas Texas at the Dallas Safari club they are auctioning off the rights to kill a black rhino. which is currently critically endangered. The black rhino can be found in Central and Eastern Africa and there are an estimated five thousand left in the world. The Dallas Safari club came up with the idea to auction off the rights to kill one black rhino and the proceeds go towards efforts to save the black rhino. The safari club says that this is the best way to raise the most money for the effort to save the species. They have it all planed out and made a deal with the Namibia government and have picked a rhino to kill. Seems like a win win, but like every story has there are two sides.
When an animal like the black rhino is this endangered there are a lot of ideas on how we, as the most powerful species, can help them survive. But are we helping, it seems that right now we are the problem. But there are some organizations that are very dedicated to helping the rhinos. But the Dallas Safari Club has a very unusual idea. The Safari Club made a agreement with Namibian government to auction of the rights to one hand selected black rhino, but all of the profit must go to rhino conservation. The rhino that the Namibians have picked, is a older male, who is no longer fertile and is very aggressive, he could cause some problems with other rhinos.
Many organizations such as PETA and Save the Rhino, are strongly against this. Wayne Pacelle president and CEO of The Humane Society, wrote on a online blog post that killing one endangered animal to save the species is an "Orwellian idea" and is afraid that it will make other hunters to pay millions of dollars for the chance to kill orangutans, elephants or tigers. They believe that there are other ways to raise money for the black rhino without killing it, such as tourism. Many other animal activists agree with Wayne and have voiced their opinions very openly.
In January of 2014, the rights were auctioned off to Corey Knowlton for 350,000 dollars. Corey did not know what he had coming. Corey is a 35 year-old hunting consultant from Dallas. He is a avid hunter and claims to have hunted over 120 species. When asked why he wanted to hunt the black rhino on Pieres Morgan Live he said "I'm a hunter. I want to experience a black rhino. I want to be there and be a part of it. I believe in the cycle of life. I don't believe that meat, you know, comes from the grocery store. I believe that animal died and I respect it,”. A very interesting view on justifying the death. Corey says more people were willing to spend more money but the protesters scared them away. Corey believes that in this situation he is doing a good thing for the rhinos and his views are supported by scientist and conservationist around world.
Many organizations such as PETA and Save the Rhino, are strongly against this. Wayne Pacelle president and CEO of The Humane Society, wrote on a online blog post that killing one endangered animal to save the species is an "Orwellian idea" and is afraid that it will make other hunters to pay millions of dollars for the chance to kill orangutans, elephants or tigers. They believe that there are other ways to raise money for the black rhino without killing it, such as tourism. Many other animal activists agree with Wayne and have voiced their opinions very openly.
In January of 2014, the rights were auctioned off to Corey Knowlton for 350,000 dollars. Corey did not know what he had coming. Corey is a 35 year-old hunting consultant from Dallas. He is a avid hunter and claims to have hunted over 120 species. When asked why he wanted to hunt the black rhino on Pieres Morgan Live he said "I'm a hunter. I want to experience a black rhino. I want to be there and be a part of it. I believe in the cycle of life. I don't believe that meat, you know, comes from the grocery store. I believe that animal died and I respect it,”. A very interesting view on justifying the death. Corey says more people were willing to spend more money but the protesters scared them away. Corey believes that in this situation he is doing a good thing for the rhinos and his views are supported by scientist and conservationist around world.
Corey, since buying the rights, has had countless death threats, and has had to put him and his family under private security after getting posts on his Facebook wall saying very vulgar things like "You are a BARBARIAN. People like you need to be the innocent that are hunted," posted one woman. Some more are violent, like "I find you and I will KILL you,". In a interview with CNN, Corey stated that he was very scared and worried about the safety of himself and family, especially when a group of around 70 protesters stood outside his hotel room, hours after the deal was done. One animal rights activist said this to Corey on his Facebook wall "A hunter afraid of being hunted?! How do you think the rhino feels idiot?".
Knowlton truly believes that he is making a positive impact on the black rhino population. He spent so much money on this because he knows how it can help the population and was happy to do it. When asked by CNN why he spent the money Knowlton said "I speak with my heart. I'm passionate about this, I think with the money that I contributed, with everything that is at stake and everything there is to be gained by the world to learn about sustainable use, I think this could be the greatest experience of my life.". He is fully aware of the risks involved and all the people who are against him but still he continues because he knows what he is doing is for the best. Knowlton knows the power he has "This is probably the most dangerous situation that I'll ever be in outside of walking around right now with all the people that want to kill me."
Although this case is based on opinion, its hard to justify what the animal rights activist are doing to Corey. They have the numbers, by killing this one rhino, it will help save more. But the activists are sticking to their beliefs and staying strong and are going to do everything in their power to stop the killing of this one black rhino in Namibia. Either way we are making strides in the right direction in animal conservation.
Knowlton truly believes that he is making a positive impact on the black rhino population. He spent so much money on this because he knows how it can help the population and was happy to do it. When asked by CNN why he spent the money Knowlton said "I speak with my heart. I'm passionate about this, I think with the money that I contributed, with everything that is at stake and everything there is to be gained by the world to learn about sustainable use, I think this could be the greatest experience of my life.". He is fully aware of the risks involved and all the people who are against him but still he continues because he knows what he is doing is for the best. Knowlton knows the power he has "This is probably the most dangerous situation that I'll ever be in outside of walking around right now with all the people that want to kill me."
Although this case is based on opinion, its hard to justify what the animal rights activist are doing to Corey. They have the numbers, by killing this one rhino, it will help save more. But the activists are sticking to their beliefs and staying strong and are going to do everything in their power to stop the killing of this one black rhino in Namibia. Either way we are making strides in the right direction in animal conservation.