Carol Anne Costa: Teddy Roosevelt Would Not be Pleased

Thursday, July 30, 2015

Carol Anne Costa GoLocalProv MINDSETTER™

 

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Theodore Roosevelt

I remember the pictures of Teddy Roosevelt, our nation’s 26th President in the pages of textbooks in grammar school. Often depicted as a rugged outdoorsman and  even sometimes proudly with rifle in hand, standing over an exotic quarry.  But, those are mere snippets of what Roosevelt championed. For me, his progressive values in conservation and respect of the planet are as important today as ever, perhaps more. I have no doubt ,Teddy would look extremely unfavorably on the wanton killing of Cecil the Lion, as well as the industry of “trophy safaris” designed to hunt prey in an artificial setting and money making position.

Roosevelt was a hunter and conservationist. We find plenty of evidence of hunting responsibly as a useful tool in land and animal management, in Roosevelt's own words and Presidential deeds. Let us have our 26th President unpack this act and acts which have sparked a global outrage.

Roosevelt noted at the turn of the century, “ In a civilized and cultivated country wild animals only continue to exist at all when preserved by sportsmen. The excellent people who protest against all hunting and consider sportsmen as enemies of wildlife are ignorant of the fact that in reality, the genuine sportsman is by all odds the most important factor in keeping the larger and more valuable wild creatures from total extermination."  Culling herds, hunting for for sustenance, management of wildlife populations through the sport of hunting are original intent, and although violence to any animal often elicits emotional responses, these methods are used to protect animals, feeding sources and the food chain, when engaged in properly.

I have a friend who travels to the wilderness in Alabama during deer hunting season, he and his group engage in a legal hunt; properly permitted and licensed aware of limits and in line with all local and state regulations.  They walk, track, and sometimes are successful at taking a deer or two. In turn the catch is field dressed and the carcass transported to a local butcher, in order to harvest meat for a local homeless shelter.  This may not be for you, but it represents responsible hunting, conservation and sportsmanship, all while communing with nature and all its complex beauty. I think Teddy would approve. Using this lion killing  dentist's despicable act to bash legitimate hunters and sportsmen is patently unfair and serves no purpose.

Fair-Weather Hunter

Conversely, thanks to Cecil’s killer we can now witness the admonitions of Roosevelt, in the lazy, rich man’s pay to play  trophy hunts; pay for the escorts, stay in luxury, lay in wait in a hunting reserve where the guides know every movement of a pride or herd, so that all the “hunter has to do is shoot straight.” WOW #madskill. And,  what did 26 have to say about this?  Said Roosevelt,  “The mere fair-weather hunter, who trusts entirely to the exertion of others, and does more than ride or walk about under favorable circumstances, and shoot at what somebody else shows him, is a hunter in name only. Whoever would really deserve the title must be able, at a pinch, to shift for himself, to grapple with the difficulties and hardships of wilderness life unaided, and not only to hunt, but at times to travel for days, whether on foot or on horseback, alone.” Did I mention that Cecil was baited out of his protected confines? Sounds like a fair- weather hunter to me. 

Teddy on conservation,  “Conservation means development as much as it does protection. I recognize the right and duty of this generation to develop and use the natural resources of our land, but I do not recognize the right to waste them, or to rob, by wasteful use, the generations that come after us.” “In a civilized and cultivated country, wild animals only continue to exist at all when preserved by sportsmen.”  You, Mr. Dentist,  are no sportsman. Nor are the wealthy Americans who travel abroad to indiscriminately kill for the sake of killing and a selfie. You are the ugly Americans, and I share none of your grossness. 

The gruesome details of Cecil’s end are troubling and invoke a strong emotional response, as they should. After guides tracked the crossbow wounded creature for 40 hours, the end was just as terrible; a gunshot to the head, and then the skinning and beheading party got underway, right after they disposed of Cecil’s tracking collar. So pleading ignorance rings hollow. The Zimbabwe government is looking to charge for this illegal act. More troubling is that this is not the dentist's first rodeo, as he previously paid a fine for illegally taking a black bear. #pleadingignoranceisatrend

Collateral Damage

Tragically, Cecil's cubs will likely be killed by incoming males in order to wipe out his DNA. The death of a dominant male lion creates a domino of death for the juveniles he has sired. Nature provides a cleansing and removal of future competitors with the killing of the dead lion's cubs. Conservationists remain leery of stepping in at this point to protect Cecil's male cubs and admit nature will probably take its course. This is the collateral damage of a senseless act.  Thank you, Mr. Dentist.  I hope Cecil's head looks good on your wall,  as long as you have one.

I realize that as long as there are people willing to pay big money for trophy hunts, those opportunities will remain, as it is market driven. Market driven initiatives will continue to feed the economics of this pathetic practice. Happily the market swings both ways. And,  here is where my GOP comes out, Seems, Mr. Dentist had to  close his office due to market pressure. I guess the jobs lost by his staff are also collateral damage. Sorry,  you shoot, you lie, you lose.  #Marketdriven. You may have to ultimately pawn those heads, isn't it ironic.

Legacy, What Will We Leave?

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With the challenges of climate change, the damage to our planet be exacted at a feverish pace, combined with the near extinction of many animals species, we are knocking at the door of forever change. Perhaps,26 left us wisdom on which we should seize. I can tell with a level of certainty that Teddy would be deeply displeased at what we are doing to nature. 

We must freely condemn this fake sportsmanship for it is a rich person's folly.

“The wildlife of today is not ours to do with as we please. The original stock was given to us in trust for the benefit both of the present and the future. We must render an accounting of this trust to those who come after us.”
 -Theodore Roosevelt 

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Carol Anne Costa is a public relations and community outreach specialist; she has experience in both the public and private sectors. She is the Chairwoman of the Scituate Democratic Town Committee and has extensive community affairs and public relations experience. She previously served in the Rhode Island Judiciary for nearly 17 years. Carol also enjoyed a successful development stint at the Diocese of Providence as Associate Director for Catholic Education and is currently the Executive Director of the Warren Housing Authority. Her work has been published in several local outlets including GoLocal, Valley Breeze, The Rhode Island Catholic, and Currents Magazine.

 

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