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Alright so the inspiration for this thread came from my husband. They do a lot of web searching for stupid videos, but this one pissed me off.

He said he saw a video the other day and they were hunting lions. He told me the guys shot the lion at a distance, then the lion chased. Duh. Well they shot it again and killed the lion as it lunged at the person.

I kept interjecting when he said hunting... I'm pretty damned sure hunting lions is called poaching...

But any ways. What are your beliefs with poaching? Do you think it is right for it to be illegal? What do you think of poachers?

I agree wholeheartedly that poaching should be illegal. The reason is to protect the unique and endangered species of our world. I mean look at how many white rhino's are left! A handful if we're lucky... I think poachers need to be prosecuted for homocide. They are killing protected species.

Dictionary.com said it is taking or killing an animal illegally. That can be a pretty wide spectrum when you actually pick it apart.

Hunting, when you are going to actually use the meat and all, is alright. But hunting for a tiger's fur or an elephant's tusks is wrong. It is all about greed.

first of all, poaching is still Hunting, so it isn't nessesarilly incorect just because it's not the most accurate word used. so I think it's a little silly to get upset over that.

but as far as whether or not it should be legal? psht! xd

look, the law only matters if you can enforce it anyway. I believe in Anarchy. but that said, I generally disaprove of poaching. regardless though, enforcing a no-poaching law in a peaceful society isn't practical, because poachers are obviously packing some powerful weapons. meanwhile, if your police force uses weapons that can keep up with that, I would question the joy of living in that nation. police-states are not generally fun.

so, the way I see it, the only real thing you can do about it is hire some bountyhunters or vigilantes to take care of the mess, and they will likely do so regardless of whether what their target is doing is legal or not.

I'd say if it's not on a reserve or a protected species that it's fair game.
Hunting a certain animal for a special item they possess has been happening for thousands of years.
If it hasn't stopped by now, it probably won't stop.

It is legal to hunt a lion, and it's not poaching. If they made a video of it, it was more than likely legal hunting of a lion. Also, lions are not endangered animals. What's more, they probably did use the meat since you never said what they did with the lion, and many people love lion meat.

to be fair though, you are realy jus assuming. I mean, where's your evidence that they weren't going to make good use of their haul?

I didn't mean game, I meant trophy. I thought I typed trophy.

But I am upset that people jump to conclusions so quickly about one another also.

I would go hunting, but for deer and the such. I would use all the meat and I would find uses for the rest. I could donate the skeleton for science or use some for archaic tools for display. I do not believe in hunting for the skins alone. That's just a waste of life.