Jerome I didn't even want to comment on this because there is little point. I have seen enough posts from far too many to know that how I feel about these things is..........or I should probably say has, become the minority opinion. The only thing that would stop oh so many 'hunters' from pulling the trigger on this cat is that they do not have that kind of disposable income.
Shopping for trophies is becoming far more common than many want to admit. With the fenced lion hunts, as with others, the animals are a well known quantity when it comes to size and mane quality and it all factors into the asking price. Realistically there is no difference between a hunter paying a known price of $5000 for a lioness on a fenced hunt or $100K or Euros for that beautiful specimen of feline testosterone. A specific animal for a specific price in a contained hunting situation. The only difference is the depth of the pockets of the prospective buyer.
It is exactly the same thing as the tyros hunting elk behind high fence and they are paying an agreed price for a specific bull that scores a specific amount.
I can tell you that if I had a 100,000 Euros to spend on a hunt it would be a 21 day hunt in Tanzania for a wild lion of unknown size and quality........and the NOT insignificant side benefit of hunting in WILD Africa.
What most fail to consider is the irreparable damage this does when it hits the media and is read by the majority of people out there who are non-hunters but not anti-hunters. Anti-hunters are against it in all forms and use these things to further their cause to be sure............but the non-hunters are usually people who are riding the fence and really do not have strong opinions one way or the other. These sorts of things are what turn some of the fence sitters into anti's.
In the long run...........these specific examples of free enterprise are harmful and undeniably distasteful to some hunters and most assuredly to all non-hunters.
