The latest social media outrage surrounds a controversial episode of NBC’s sports show “Under Wild Skies,” in which NRA lobbyist Tony Makris shoots an elephant in Botswana, and afterwards drinks a glass of champagne to celebrate.
Huffpost at least was honest enough to report on the legality of the hunt, and how it actually helps fund conservation:
Controlled big game hunting still goes on in Africa and many reserves are set up by governments, who use money paid by rich safari hunters to fund broader conservation efforts. Elephant numbers in Botswana, however, have declined so greatly that a ban on hunting has been legislated. That ban won’t come into force until next year.
But other media outlets spewed only outrage and few facts under headlines like, “NRA Lobbyist Shoots an Elephant in the Face Then Drinks Champagne to Celebrate His Kill.”
http://twitter.com/#!/BauervanStraten/status/383022735292526593 http://twitter.com/#!/phubar/status/383003010789416961 http://twitter.com/#!/MissAbsinthe/status/383011611453046784 http://twitter.com/#!/bunster10/status/383001182869803009 http://twitter.com/#!/NakedAxiom/status/382971860142391296 http://twitter.com/#!/MelissaEGilbert/status/383031845065326592 http://twitter.com/#!/MCL1VE/status/382850221304057856 http://twitter.com/#!/Oshianna2U/status/383005793550749697Really? People in all countries other than the U.S. oppose Big Game hunting? That guy needs to stop watching MSNBC and get out more.
Then there’s this charming woman, whose reaction to the show was to hope that Africans starve:
http://twitter.com/#!/sandrabooker/status/382921065632391168At the time this post was published, a petition being circulated had gathered only 2,141 signatures to cancel the show.
Read more: http://twitchy.com/2013/09/26/nbc-sports-show-on-legal-elephant-hunt-outrages-twitter/
