An unidentified Vladivostok (Yeah, I had to look it up too. It’s in Russia.) man faces up to seven years in prison after poaching a critically endangered Amur leopard. The Interior Ministry’s Primorye branch announced Thursday that the man was caught when he tried to sell the animal’s pelt.
The only thing that’s more disturbing than the killing of an animal of which there an estimated 50 of in the wild, is the reporting of this story.
Although the Moscow Times began their story of this event by labeling the accused a “poacher” they later refer to him as a “hunter.” In fact, they do so more than once. Of course, this is about as inaccurate of reporting as it gets. The fact of the matter is that the man is a “poacher.” He killed an endangered animal undercover of the law. He had no license or permit and the species he killed is not a game animal.
Hunters are not the problem. Even in Russia, hunters’ dollars serve to protect wildlife and wild places.
Poachers steal wildlife and offer nothing in return to conservation.
The sooner the news – and everyone else – gets that, the better things will be.
Get Doug Giles’ new book, Rise, Kill and Eat: A Theology of Hunting from Genesis to Revelation today!
Click here to get a signed copy
Click here to get an unsigned copy
