Cecil the lion was a beloved animal in Zimbabwe’s Hwange National Park. Walter James Palmer, a dentist from Minnesota, murdered him during a hunt he took for pleasure. Due to the millions of people posting their opinions, this cruel and unacceptable act has lead to a global controversy over all kinds of social media. These different opinions base themselves on two topics: economics and ethics. It is because of how cruelly Palmer killed Cecil that this story has gained so much attention.

Let’s begin with the fact that Zimbabwean law states that the National Park is a “free roam” zone. This makes it 100 percent illegal to kill any animals while in the park. Palmer, however, found a way around this law. His two accomplices, Theo Bronkhorst and Honest Trymore Ndlovu, are currently facing charges for helping Palmer with the murder of this beautiful creature, while Palmer's fate remains in question. The three men strapped an animal carcass to a car right outside of the park in order to lure Cecil out of the park’s borders. Once Cecil was outside, Palmer shot him with a crossbow, which only injured him. Palmer, Bronkhorst and Ndlovu then tracked him for 40 hours, where they finally shot him with a rifle. Once Cecil was dead, they skinned and decapitated him. This entire operation cost Palmer about $50,000.

The reason why people around the world are so outraged is because of the gruesome and inhumane techniques used to kill the animal. Poaching is already something people do not support. It’s the stalking, killing and skinning of wild and beautiful animals found in national parks for trophies. It happens on a regular basis, which is already upsetting. The reason that this specific situation has had such a large impact is because of how popular this lion was in and out of the park. Cecil was a high-profile lion and was considered Zimbabwe’s national parks' mascot due to his distinctive black mane. Not only was Cecil an important animal to the people of Zimbabwe, but on an international scale, Cecil was part of Oxford’s study on lion conservation.

While Palmer states that the kill was legal, the Zimbabwean government has a completely different opinion.The government says that Palmer did not have the proper permission or permits to hunt and therefore government officials have arrested Bronkhorst and Ndlovu on poaching charges. Palmer is also now wanted. This is all also part of a bigger problem. According to National Geographic’s Brian Clark Howard, “Nearly a century ago, an estimated 200,000 lions roamed across Africa. Now there are [fewer] than 30,000, and they are considered highly vulnerable.” A 2012 study done by Duke University uncovered the biggest problem — loss of habitat. While human population expands, the lions’ space to roam and hunt decreases.This is causing humans and lions to interact with each other, which unfortunately is leading to the killings of more and more lions.

Thanks to this disgusting man, Cecil’s family is now in danger. Cecil was the leader of two prides along with another male, Jericho. The pride included six lionesses and 12 cubs. Cecil and Jericho’s job was to protect the prides from other lions. Now that Cecil is dead, Jericho will have to defend both prides alone which is basically impossible. Male lions will come and attack the pride in order to become the alpha, which will then lead to the death of the cubs. Males enforce their bloodline and do not want another male’s cubs running around in the pride.This will help decrease the number of lions found in the world.

This entire situation has been all over the news and social media. Millions of people have come together to express their outrage. Many are pleading for a ban on trophy hunting, and I am on their side, no doubt about it. The goal of advertising the murder of Cecil is to show the world how bad it is and to spark a change. Poaching is murder. If this were to happen to a human being, I can guarantee that people and governments all around the world would be taking a stand to put these men behind bars. Why should it be any different for an animal, such as a lion? That lion could in no way defend itself. It was facing three men with guns, and it had absolutely no idea they were there in the first place.

In other words, Palmer is a coward. Anyone can go and hunt, but everyone knows the other animal has no chance against advanced weapons. When hunting, you should be a man and face the animal the same way the animal will face you. In Palmer’s case, maybe if he had faced the lion with a spear it would have been equal. Palmer would have probably died, but at least it would have been a fair fight. He had no reason to challenge the lion in the first place. Instead he decided to shoot Cecil from afar. On top of that, what on earth is he going to do with the skin and head? Sell it? The beauty Cecil has to offer is a lot more valuable when he’s alive. His mane and skin are not the only valuable things found in a lion.The way they hunt and interact with each other and other animals is mesmerizing. They respect the circle of life, which is something we can learn from them.

Two celebrities I respect, Sophia Bush and Jimmy Kimmel, have helped advertise how crazy and repulsive the heinous crime he committed is. Bush made an Instagram post saying how there is not a single cool thing about sport hunting. She also expresses how important it is to coexist with animals and how poaching is ruining the animals’ and people’s lives who live in the surrounding area. My favorite part of this post is when she says, “To the loser who felt like this act would bolster his manhood. Find another way to prove that you could win a big swinging dick competition (which we all already know from your embarrassing cowardice you never could in the first place.)” It’s a bit harsh, but she gets straight to the point. PALMER IS A COWARD.

Jimmy Kimmel said, “So his douchebag buddies can sit around and drink scotch and tell him how awesome he is. That is just vomitus.” He quickly changed the focus of the topic and tried to make it more positive. He told his audience that Cecil’s death should not have been in vain and asked for people to make donations to the wildlife conservation website that was using Cecil for their research.This website belongs to Oxford’s Wildlife Conservation Research Unit. His plea and donation has led to more than $150,000 in donations by 2,600 people in less than 24 hours.

The Zimbabwean government is now urging for Palmer’s extradition so that he can be held accountable for his actions. Over 500,000 people have called for his extradition.The United States Fish and Wildlife Service are looking into Cecil’s killing in order to determine whether or not his actions are punishable. According to The New York Times, "The United States has a treaty with Zimbabwe under which someone charged with an offense punishable by a sentence of at least a year in both countries can be extradited." Due to these circumstances and the number of enraged people in the United States leaving messages for Cecil outside of his office and door, Palmer has gone into hiding.

I believe that Palmer should be extradited. Killing an animal, whether it’s for sport or not, is wrong. Yes, he says that he relied on his helpers’ expertise, but it’s his job to be aware of exactly what’s going on. Regardless, it’s illegal whether or not he had killed Cecil or another lion. What right do people have to grab a gun and kill any innocent and magnificent creature? With this I refer to not only lions but to all animals.You are in no way equal to them so it’s not like it’s a fair fight. Additionally, there is absolutely no need to kill them and they are being protected in a national park for a reason. It’s not like you’re living in the wild and need its meat for survival. Cecil is just the spark of a movement.This movement will hopefully make all forms of hunting and poaching of animals in, or near, national parks illegal.