The first question any logical person would pose upon hearing the Cecil the lion story should be along the lines of whether or not that lion meat (presuming it is edible) was used to feed the people of Zimbabwe. Too bad the story didn’t attract any logical people, those who might give two cents about the suffering of the people, not the animals of Africa. For Western, middle-class and celebrity animal-rights activists, it is simply easier to leave Africa to the Africans, many of whom don’t really get why killing a lion in a nation largely without running water is such a big damned deal:
Outside Zimbabwe’s environmental and activist circles, however, the reaction been muted.
“It’s so cruel, but I don’t understand the whole fuss, there are so many pressing issues in Zimbabwe — we have water shortages, no electricity, and no jobs — yet people are making noise about a lion?” said Eunice Vhunise, a Harare resident. “I saw Cecil once when I visited the game park. I will probably miss him. But honestly the attention is just too much.”
An economic meltdown over the past few years has closed many companies and left two-thirds of the population working in the informal economy while battling acute water and electricity shortages.
Most people questioned in downtown Harare hadn’t actually heard about the lion and said they were too busy trying to make a living to care about it.
At least a few people still have their priorities straight. Too bad they walk on two legs. I hear four is far better these days.
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