BBC2 taxidermy programme

[misspatricia]

Is it legal to got to Africa and shoot big cats willy nilly? Aren't they protected?

[kkeggie]

i would love to know the answer to that too.

i watched it and was gutted that he was after a leopard and accidently killed a lioness, then decided to kill a load of gazell to entice the leopard.

[newtron]

I don't know the exact rules, but I think that hunting big cats in Africa is illegal only in specific areas such as national parks.  In other areas, hunting is legal at certain times.  There are many outfitters such as this one:  http://www.africanhuntingsafaris.com/

who will lead a hunting trip to kill any type of animal you wish.  Personally, I have no problem with hunting animals to eat.  I don't think I could bring myself to shoot something as beautiful as a leopard.  Seeing all those dead coyotes also bothered me a little.  Killing something for the sake of killing just does not make sense to me.  I guess if I was a rancher and saw the coyotes as pests, it would be different.  Who knows.