In the days since the Cecil the Lion story broke, dentist Walter Palmer has been trolled and hunted online. He has since (allegedly) written a letter to his clients, saying, “I had no idea that the lion I took was a known, local favorite.” He blamed “local professional guides” for allowing him to shoot a national Zimbabwe treasure. In other words, Palmer isn’t sorry he killed a lion. He’s only sorry that he killed a lion that people would notice.
Many voices have weighed in on the lion’s senseless killing, including Jimmy Kimmel, Ricky Gervais, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. All of those voices were sympathetic to Cecil’s plight, which is how most of the internet has reacted as well.
Someone was bound to feel differently. That person is Ted Nugent. The last time we spoke of Nugent, he was vociferously defending Donald Trump. Nugent is a big hunting enthusiast. There’s nothing he enjoys more than shooting a live target. One of Nugent’s fans engaged him on Facebook to ask for his idol’s take on Cecil. Nugent doesn’t buy the story at all:
“[T]he whole story is a lie. It was a wild lion from a ‘park’ where hunting is legal & ESSENTIAL beyond the park borders. all animals reproduce every year & would run out of room/food to live w/o hunting. I will write a full piece on this joke asap. God are people stupid”
Nugent hasn’t written his promised “piece” yet, but his missive promises to be a doozy. Nugent considers Cecil’s death to be a “joke,” and his Facebook commenters seem to agree with him:
In related news, a Gizmodo piece reveals that Walter Palmer donated to animal conservation efforts in the past. This information doesn’t change what happened to Cecil the Lion.
(via Ted Nugent On Facebook & Boing Boing)