Western tourists pay big money to watch lions eat their prey: Why not feed them directly to the lions, like the Romans did?
Here’s another pleasant story for you:
British tourists are paying more than £100 to watch endangered Asian lions kill tethered cattle at an Indian wildlife reserve. Animal welfare groups have expressed outrage, saying such gruesome displays break the law and are not only cruel to cattle but also put the lions in jeopardy by bringing them closer to humans. They blame western tourists for encouraging the practice.
According to conservationists, the shows are being organised by tour guides and farmers in collusion with junior park officials. To ensure that tourists do not go home disappointed, tour guides are offering “baitwalla shows”, in which the lions are lured out of the forest towards villages on the outskirts of their sanctuary by cattle tied to tractors. When the lion picks up the scent, the cow is dragged towards the tour group waiting close by and finally untied so that the tourists can watch it being caught, killed and eaten from as little as 10ft away.
I’m with those animal welfare protesters, up to a point.
Of course, those tourists are disgusting and in an ideal world the lions who had been lured out of the forest would ignore the cow and devour the paying public instead.
In fact, that would make great television - or Youtube clips - which could generate even more cash for those wildlife reserves. Just a thought, but maybe worth researching. (I will charge no money for this tip. The satisfaction of seeing the idea being developed will be payment enough.)
Anyway, back to those animal welfare protests. While I agree the practice of tormenting cattle to amuse decadent Western tourists is disgusting, I disagree with the view that it is harmful to the lions.
The one good thing about this foul new holiday gimmick is that it does bring the lions in close contact with humans - and it’s probably a very good thing that, in these controlled environments, are able to learn how sick and utterly vile and murderous human beings are.
‘Know your enemy’ is still a very true and valuable lesson.
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