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Skye Was The Limit – Another Cecile Case

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Another Cecil? Secrecy surrounds June trophy lion hunt

  • A U.S. trophy hunter baited and killed a male lion on June 7th in Umbabat Private Nature Reserve, a part of Greater Kruger National Park, South Africa. Suspicions are that the animal shot was Skye, a beloved lion in the region.
  • U.S. citizen Jared Whitworth allegedly paid nearly $80,000 for the hunt. Authorities say the animal killed wasn’t Skye, but have offered no proof. Skye hasn’t been seen since the day Whitworth made his kill, and one of the lion’s cubs was found dead, which often happens when other males take over a pride.
  • If the killed lion was Skye, this would be a breach of South African regulations, because the lion was too young to be legally hunted. Authorities also say that if it is confirmed that the lion was baited, that could violate South African laws.
  • In response, the U.S. Humane Society and Center for Biological Diversity sent a letter to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service asking it to reject importation of the mystery lion’s body. In March, the Trump administration’s USFWS announced a new policy to consider African trophy import permits on a case-by-case basis.

by Jeremy Hance on 13 July 2018 -  Mongabay.com

On June 7th, a trophy hunter shot a male lion in Umbabat Private Nature Reserve in South Africa, a part of the Greater Kruger National Park. Nothing surprising about this: around 500 lions, usually males, are killed every year by trophy hunters on the African continent.

What’s made this different is the suspicion that the hunter baited and killed Skye a beloved lion, the dominant male of Kruger’s so-called “Western Pride,” who has not been seen since June 7th. Also, one of Skye’s cubs was recently found dead, a common occurrence when other males take over a pride.

The hunter was U.S. citizen Jared Whitworth, on a trip organized by Graham Sales Safaris. This fact only came to light due to the investigative work of local journalist Don Pinnock. News reports say Whitworth allegedly paid nearly $80,000 for the hunt.

The Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency (MTPA), which approved the hunt, has contended that the lion killed wasn’t Skye, but has offered no proof it was another individual. MTPA has also confirmed that the lion was baited, a fact that may run afoul of South African legislation. If the lion was Skye, his killing would break at least one South African regulation, given that the big cat – under six years old – was too young to be hunted. The MTPA has not responded to requests for information.

Hunting organizations are taking note of the incident. The International Council for Game and Wildlife Conservation (CIC), an international not-for-profit group that promotes hunting has “requested information” from South Africa. A spokesperson for the group said that if the hunt was illegal it would classify it as “poaching.”

Source: Mongabay.com - 7.13.2018

Kruger lion killer Jared Whitworth threatened on social media

The trophy hunter believed to have shot and killed a lion lured to its death from Kruger National Park in South Africa has been identified as a wealthy American from Kentucky.

Jared Whitworth’s mobile phone number and email address have been shared widely on social media, accompanied by threats, after he was alleged to have paid £60,000 for the controversial kill and kept the lion’s skin and head as trophies. Graham Sales, a South African professional hunter, has been identified as having organised the shoot on June 7. He offers clients a choice of shotguns or bows and arrows.

Source: thetimes.co.uk - 7.10.2018

Jared Whitworth Vice President of Whitworth Tool Inc. shot Kruger Lion

Skye has not been seen since the hunt. A sad spin-off of his alleged killing is that his cubs have been killed by incoming males. This is what happens. Once the leader of the pride dies incoming males kill his offspring and mate with the females to produce their own offspring. And a number of Skye’s lionesses have been attacked by male lions.

As mentioned, the hunt organises say the lion killed was not Skye but a journalist on the Daily Maverick, Don Pinnock, writes:

“It’s not definite it was the pride male until the carcass has been checked by an independent viewer, but evidence is stacking in that direction.”

Whitworth Tool Inc.

Whitworth Tool Inc. has a good reputation in Hardinsburg, Kentucky. The business was started by Kenny Whitworth in 1998 who I believe is Jared Whitworth’s father. They are a hunting family. Jared is relatively wealthy and a member of and sponsor of the Safari Club, a wealthy organisation which promotes and organises hunting trips including to Africa. It is big business. Between 2005 and 2014 trophy hunters from America killed 5,552 African lions! Can you believe that? All for fun.

Well Jared has just followed in the footsteps of the infamous trophy hunting dentist from Minnesota, Walter Palmer and shot a lion from the Kruger National Park. There is a lot of covering up going on.

Similar to Cecil’s killing

Jared is trying his damnest to avoid the crippling publicity dished out to Palmer. Palmer had to hide for an age until things subsided. Jared Whitworth’s killing of Skye (if it is Skye) very much echos the killing of Cecil by Palmer. Cecil was lured from the Hwange NP in Zimbabwe in a similar fashion.

Pressure from America trophy hunters

There is huge pressure from wealthy America sport hunters on South Africa hunt organisers to find lions and anything on four legs to kill. There’s thousands of rich Americans who dream of travelling to Africa for trophies. It is of no concern to them that the lion is endangered. They’ll claim shooting lions is good for conservation. Yawn. How can killing a dominant male lion and the loss of his cubs be good for anything?

Illegal Hunt?

The important thing about this lion shooting is that it may have been illegal because (1) the lion was allegedly a pride leader, Skye, who was under six-years-of age and (2) he was baited to leave Kruger NP to be shot in the Umbabat Private Nature Reserve (UPNR) which is adjacent to Kruger NP. This is a violation of the terms of the 2007 Threatened or Protected Species (TOPS) legislation. The organisers are saying the Jared shot a tired old skinny lion who was dying anyway. They would say that wouldn’t they?

It has been impossible to verify the lion killed because they (the guys who organised the hunt and Jared) have kept the lion’s skin and head as trophies. The hunt was organised by Graham Sales, a South African professional hunter. He offers clients a choice of weapons with which to kill: shotguns or bows and arrows.

Source: pictures-of-cats.org - 7.11.2018

Trophy hunter shamed and threatened on social media

A wealthy American trophy hunter is facing a harsh backlash on social media for allegedly luring a lion to its death at the Kruger National Park.

A trophy hunter who is believed to have lured a lion to its death at the Kruger National Park has been identified on social media as a wealthy American from Kentucky, who is facing a harsh social media backlash.

The social media justice Jared Whitworth has faced so far has included the sharing of his cellphone number and email address, along with vilification, outrage and threats.

The trophy hunter was alleged to have paid £60 000 (or more than a million rand) for the controversial kill, and kept the lion’s skin and head as trophies.

The South African professional hunter who reportedly organised the shoot, Graham Sales, is facing a much smaller, but still significant, backlash.

Conservationists fear the lion was a dominant male called Skye, the leader of the park’s western pride, who has not been seen since the hunt.

African Geographic reported the trophy hunting team had denied this, claiming the slain animal was in fact an old male lion with worn teeth and a protruding spine. However, they refused to provide a photo of the dead lion to prove their claim, citing legal and personal safety concerns.

Canned lion hunters are never popular on social media, with some believing the backlash against identified culprits could lead to the ‘sport’ being banned.

In 2015, a Minnesota dentist called Walter Palmer faced a massive backlash after he killed Cecil, a beloved lion who was a major attraction at the Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe.

After Palmer was named as the hunter who killed Cecil, his dentist practice at the Bloomington clinic and Eden Prairie home became the focus of protests. Animal welfare groups also vandalised a holiday home Palmer owns in Florida.

The clinic was shut for weeks, eventually reopening without him.

New details emerged earlier this year that Cecil the Lion’s killers lured him out of a protected park in Zimbabwe with an elephant carcass, causing renewed outrage.

Source: citizen.co.za - 7.11.2018