broadcast on NBC.

Video in first link.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/ellievhall/nra-strategist-kills-elephant-on-nbc-sports-show

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nra-lobbyist-tony-makris-sparks-outrage-by-killing-elephant-on-nbc-show-under-wild-skies/story-e6frg6n6-1226726899511

NRA Strategist Kills Elephant On NBC Sports Show

Quote :

"NBC Sports Network is facing criticism after airing an episode of the outdoor sports program Under Wild Skies in which a National Rifle Association lobbyist shoots and kills a bull African elephant. In the episode, which aired Sunday night, NRA strategist Tony Makris and a hunting guide track an elephant in Botswana’s Okavango Delta. Makris spots an elephant and shoots it in the face twice, causing the injured elephant to trumpet and run away. “Somebody got a little cheeky there,” Makris chuckles as the animal attempts to escape. He and his guide eventually catch up to the elephant and Makris delivers the fatal blow. After posing next to the elephant’s body with his “lethal” Tyrannosaur rifle and .577 ammunition, Makris and his guide return to their lodge to celebrate with champagne."

This is so disgusting. Just because it is legal does not make it right. They killed a magnificent giant beast just to say they did it

Fuck them and their ilk. Very sickening how he nonchalantly talks to the camera and poses with the murdered elephant, as if he is killing rats.

I pray he, his South African guide, and all involved in making the show and carrying out the hunt, get murdered in the most brutal way possible.

Quote :

"Controlled big game hunting still goes on in Africa and many reserves are set up by governments, who use money paid by rich safari hunters to fund broader conservation efforts. Elephant numbers in Botswana, however, have declined so greatly that a ban on hunting has been legislated. That ban won't come into force until next year."

Fuck Botswana and the governments of the other African countries where this is legal. Just last week 81 elephants died in Zimbabwe of poisoning by poachers who poisoned their water hole with cyanide . When elephants are being killed in great numbers every year, it is shockingly stupid that some governments allow legal hunting ostentatiously to earn money to fund conservation. Well yeah, if they didn't squander billions due to corruption and theft by leaders, they wouldn't need to let rich cruel bastards come in and legally destroy majestic wildlife so they can get some money for conservation.

[Edited on September 28, 2013 at 4:46 PM. Reason : Fuck him again]

9/28/2013 4:45:45 PM

Quote :

"IT IS LEGAL"

9/28/2013 5:23:02 PM

George Zimmerman killed Trayvon Martin just to say he did it.

9/28/2013 6:11:00 PM

The seems more like a Soap Box issue, but I'll bite.

Seems like there's very little sport in hunting elephants. They're a non-predator species the size of a small barn, they leave tracks you can spot from a plane and a visible from miles away. Not to mention, while they're no longer listed as endangered, they are still considered a "vulnerable" species and most other countries have made it illegal to hunt Elephants and are spending tons of money to combat poachers through conservation efforts. More often than not, the hunting community is the biggest supporter of conservation.

Maybe I'm missing something. What are the pros to elephant killing?

9/28/2013 7:35:55 PM

I am far from an expert on the subject but I do know there are parts of Africa where it is necessary to hunt elephants to control their population. Like any other species there is a point where more is detrimental to their conservation. Elephants are huge animals that eat something crazy like 500lbs + per day, have a very long life expectancy, and very few predators. Having too many of them can wipe out natural resources for other animals and themselves if the population grows too large. Allowing legal hunting to control these populations prevents that and raises money for conservation and other things. Poachers on the other hand can be very disruptive to this process.

I for one would never hunt an elephant because I would have a hard time killing an animal like that but believe it or not it can be pretty necessary.

9/28/2013 7:52:41 PM

Youre not an expert on the subject.

There arent enough elephants anywhere to approach carrying capacity of their surroundings.

Unless theres a drought or something, and then theyre dead anyway. Too bad theyre so big they cant be relocated easily.

Douchebags that kill elephants just want to say "I killed an elephant," and justify their extremely niche rifle purchases.

However that same weapon could be put to better use killing a dangerous/overpopulated pest like Cape Buffalo or something, and they actually fight back (so it would be a challenge).

Or go kill Wildebeest or something. I hate this about as much as the god damn Japanese whaling because "its a part of our culture, and btw we are just researching them."

Yeah, with their mouths. Yellow devils should just stick to making cameras.

9/28/2013 9:02:51 PM

Quote :

"I pray he, his South African guide, and all involved in making the show and carrying out the hunt, get murdered in the most brutal way possible."

Maybe Allah will answer your prayers and this human being will be murdered in the most brutal way possible

9/28/2013 9:49:10 PM

It's a religion of peace, you know

9/28/2013 10:36:26 PM

This has nothing to do with religion.

Anybody who goes around killing animals like that for fun, especially animals which breed so slowly and live so long and are relatively rare, deserves to die. Whether some rebel group takes care of that, or some animals, or gang members, or a bus, it doesn't matter.

9/28/2013 11:25:01 PM

Quote :

"I pray he, his South African guide, and all involved in making the show and carrying out the hunt, get murdered in the most brutal way possible."

fucking militant extremist.

9/29/2013 10:15:48 AM

My wife and I had this discussion last night. I'm all for hunting if you are going to eat the animal (deer, duck, squirrel) or if the animal is destroying something (beaver, groundhog, yote etc). I love hunting, and enjoy the time I spend in the outdoors.

THAT being said, I never kill something I dont intend to eat or that isnt trying to eat me/damage my property/crops.

9/29/2013 11:17:01 AM

The use of an outfitter/guide service (that employs a lot of people in that local area I might add) is going to cost a hunter an average of $20k or more. I think Jim Shockey (look him up) charges like $50k.

The ecological impact that sportsmen pose on the elephant population is very minimal. Not to mention, harvested elephants feed a lot of people. The minute that no one cares to hunt an animal is when it's habitat begins to dwindle. Believe it or not, your hunters can be and often are, your biggest conservationist.

The focus needs to be on habitat destruction and poaching, not your wealthy sportsmen who pays a ton of money to hunt one.

I am an avid hunter, but even with a ton of money I would never hunt an elephant. If this guy wants to pay for it? Go for it....

And you saying "I pray he, his South African guide, and all involved in making the show and carrying out the hunt, get murdered in the most brutal way possible." is far more disturbing than a dead elephant.

[Edited on September 29, 2013 at 11:22 AM. Reason : ,]

9/29/2013 11:18:27 AM

can you at least acknowledge that was a terrible decision to put it in their tv show and the blowback should have been entirely obvious to anyone who had thought about it?

9/29/2013 11:37:51 AM

^Agreed. Keep it on the Outdoor Channel

9/29/2013 11:50:06 AM

Quote :

"And you saying "I pray he, his South African guide, and all involved in making the show and carrying out the hunt, get murdered in the most brutal way possible." is far more disturbing than a dead elephant."

I wouldn't say far more disturbing, just marginally.

Bloodlust is bloodlust.

9/29/2013 2:56:09 PM

No challenge in hunting an elephant unless it's been on a murderous rampage.

9/29/2013 3:07:30 PM

they only stay in rampage mode for about a month during rutting season, and then they're back to gentle again.

9/29/2013 4:25:26 PM

hunting an elephant is just plain stupid IMO.. and doing that and putting it on tv are pretty bad... but...

Quote :

"I pray he, his South African guide, and all involved in making the show and carrying out the hunt, get murdered in the most brutal way possible."

some of you people scare me a little

[Edited on September 29, 2013 at 7:26 PM. Reason : ]

9/29/2013 7:25:36 PM

thomas edison did it first

RIP topsy

9/29/2013 8:20:16 PM

If it were a dog instead of an elephant, you'd all call him a sick fuck. shooting an animal in the face three times isn't a humane way to deal with overpopulation. It's savagery in the name of 'entertainment'- that is to say profiteering, which is making someone millions with which to grease the palms of the crooks on capital hill.

9/30/2013 12:31:36 AM

at least he didn't shoot it with a machine gun, like the maharajah of Kotah used to do

9/30/2013 12:46:31 PM

OEPII1, I agree this is unfortunate. But it was one elephant. Where's your thread and protest of the poachers that killed 26 elephants within a week in a protected area? Seems like that's far worse, especially since they were poisoned and thus their meat cannot be used by anyone for food.

http://news.sudanvisiondaily.com/details.html?rsnpid=222440

[Edited on September 30, 2013 at 2:05 PM. Reason : grammar]

9/30/2013 2:05:33 PM

Of course that is horrible and a travesty. but it was a criminal act, not sanctioned by anyone claiming to represent the interests of the victims. Maybe that was glorified in their cultural spotlight and portrayed as a healthy fun family activity as well, but I hope not.

9/30/2013 5:00:11 PM

Any human who says another human should die for killing an animal should, themselves, die.

GTFO. It's called sporthunting for a reason. Yes, they hunt it for sport. Get over it. You don't like it? Nothing is changing so just whine about it.

I went to Africa on a small game hunt (not LARGE game). I killed a kudu. Look it up, they're pretty damn big. The champagne that was served to the elephant killer was also served to me. I was treated like a king. Wanna know why? I was told that the kudu I killed would feed the neighboring village for nearly 2 weeks. I couldn't bring the meat home, but it was put to great use there and the locals were so grateful. Everything that can be salvaged from the animal is used over there, unlike most American hunting (deer, boar, antelope, moose, etc).

9/30/2013 5:28:45 PM

So did you actually hunt it, or did someone drive you around and point out the animal to you and you used a high powered rifle to the point where the animal had no chance? Just wondering.

9/30/2013 5:38:37 PM

I'm sure locals couldn't have hunted one of them without your all mighty white ass flying over there to do the honors. If you say they couldn't afford the permit, well take a guess why the permits are so expensive

If you like killing animals for sport, just say so. Like you said, it's not illegal, and you have a right to do so. But please get off your high horse about helping out the locals. If you knew the meat was gonna rot there, would that have been a reason enough to cancel your trip?

9/30/2013 5:43:17 PM

I don't like it, but I understand hunting when it comes for population control, or food purposes. However.... If you can't kill it quickly and humanely, then you shouldn't be doing it.

This case doesn't sound like it was a required kill for population control, so in addition to being a drawn out kill, it seems pointless.

9/30/2013 5:55:54 PM

Only Americans would be worried about how comfortable our animals are before we kill and eat them.

[Edited on September 30, 2013 at 7:24 PM. Reason : ^so you don't see how the hunting fees benefit the locals as much as the meat does?]

9/30/2013 7:23:50 PM

hunters (here and abroad) are some of the biggest conservationists you will ever meet. Every hunter that I have met has great respect for nature, animals, and their habitat. (I also don't know anyone who just hunts to hunt... they consume and/or give away the meat.)

9/30/2013 7:43:10 PM

Bull elephants at times become dangerous to villages and hunters are allowed to kill them. The villagers get the meat, which is certainly not insignificant in third world countries. Mass poisonings for ivory is a totally different thing.

9/30/2013 9:23:20 PM

Quote :

"Youre not an expert on the subject. There arent enough elephants anywhere to approach carrying capacity of their surroundings."

Now I'm not claiming to be an expert on elephants, but I have listened to lectures from those that were in Kruger Park when I spent four months in South Africa. On a microsystem scale, there are certainly areas in Africa that are overpopulated with elephants. That is why there is justified elephant culling in some locations. There are only three animals in the world with the potential to seriously alter their ecosystems: humans, beavers, and elephants. In the case of the latter, research has shown that solitary bull elephants that are not raised by a matriarch are prone to severe aggression later in life. Was the animal killed one of these rogue bulls prone to destruction and deforestation? We'll probably never know, but it was an old male that was probably on its way out. In a vast ecosystem like the Okavango Delta, there are essentially zero negative repercussions for the environment by killing a solitary bull elephant. Killing a female matriarch or a young/juvenile elephant would be a completely different story.

I don't know if anybody else on TWW has tried elephant but me, but it was the nastiest tasting meat I ever eaten in my life. It literally tasted like shit. To me it's unfathomable that this hunter used the meat at all for himself though it may have been donated to a local tribe which would be the respectable thing to do. From an international standpoint, this is extra fucked up because game guards in Botswana are not allowed to carry guns so this douchebag had to go to South Africa to get his guard and bring him over the border so he could feel protected in the bush. When I was tracking game on foot in the Okavango, you know what my guide had? A piece of rebar about the size and shape of a golf club. That was it. Talk about scary. International ivory regulations would not have allowed him to take the ivory and it likely ended up locked away.

Botswana has the second highest percentage of adult population with AIDS. For comparison, they have about 1/4 the amount of people with AIDS as the US and have less than .05% the population of ours. In terms of corruption by African standards, corruption in their government is relatively low and the AIDS pandemic is actually undergoing measures to be curtailed. Game hunting carries enormous trophy fees, with lions and elephants demanding the highest figures. I don't know about Botswana, but in neighboring Namibia and South Africa it is on the order of tens of thousands of dollars. Foreign hunting on national lands means that the government likely gets the trophy fees, which is a substantial boost to impoverished nations. One may therefore argue that such tourism is actually for the better of the people.

For the record, I got my zoology degree at State and I am a liberal and a conservationist. The NRA disgusts me. But as far as things like this go, it pisses me off that a single elephant hunt in Africa gets more media attention than does a rattlesnake roundup in Texas which gets glorified as all hell. The charismatic megafauna should be afforded no more regard than any other species. And when it comes to African game hunting, there are a lot more factors in play than people realize.

10/1/2013 8:18:20 AM

the only reason populations are too high for some areas is because the artificial fenced in game reserves are too small

10/1/2013 8:56:11 AM

Far worse

http://news.yahoo.com/hunt-a-rare-rhino-so-you-can-save-rare-rhinos-143758730.html

Are there any statistics that show 750k will definitely save even one rhino? Last I heard, rhino's will be extinct in the very near future and 750k isn't going to change that

[Edited on October 24, 2013 at 3:25 PM. Reason : asdf]

10/24/2013 3:24:40 PM

Well maybe a conservation group will come up with the money for the permit and not shoot it.

I have a feeling that $750k could make a big difference, in a place like Nambia you could hire quite a few people to protect against poachers for that, poachers that do far more damage than killing one rhino.

10/24/2013 5:25:44 PM

That's actually a smart idea. The Conservation fund should just buy the permit from them. Than they can determine themselves whether they want to resell it or just toss it. It's a 0 risk investment

10/25/2013 11:21:17 AM

http://tinyurl.com/nqqla5t

Quote :

"According to the club, auctioning the hunt of an older male rhino beyond the age of breeding was the best possible way to raise funds for the Save the Rhino Trust. The trust has distanced itself from the auction, noting on its home page that it does not have "any decision making power on issues such as hunting rhino in or outside of Namibia and we are not at all part of these decisions. "We do not directly receive money from hunting, we have nothing to do with hunting, and we have not at all been approached in this regard either, so to say that we will be receiving money from a rhino hunt is entirely inaccurate," "

I find it fairly unnerving that the supposed recipient of the funds has said they have nothing to do with it and won't be receiving the money, meanwhile the hunting club has made no statement that I can find regarding their stance on this

1/16/2014 1:25:39 PM