Nobody Would Be Outraged if Cecil the Lion Didn't Have a Name

This week's internet outrage is Cecil the Lion being killed in Zimbabwe by an American who was on safari. The poor guy paid out, as reported on the internet, over $50,000 for the hunt and is now getting death threats for it.

Funny thing is, now it seems Zimbabwe officials don't understand the international anger. Why so many people are outraged over the killing of one Lion. It's simple really, the lion had a name.

Humans are very emotional creatures. Especially over things we attach ourselves to. And the best way to attach ourselves to an animal is to give it a name. Don't believe me? Try raising chickens and have your young child name them.

Now I could go on and on about wildlife conservation, but I won't waste my typing time. There is plenty of other blogs and articles out there about how it applies to our current internet outrage. Besides, I feel Wildlife Conservation is in some ways a lot like many other debatable topics like Abortion, Climate Change, the U.S. Constitution, etc. Either you get it or you don't and your mind is made up regardless of what I write. Right now I just want to explain the outrage.

A few days ago no one had ever heard of Cecil the Lion. Now some of those people are threatening the life of the guy who shot it. Yet they aren't threatening the lives of anyone else who has killed any of the roughly 600 lions that are hunted each year.

But then again those lions didn't have a name. There is nothing to draw a personal connection to. Nobody would be outraged if Cecil the Lion didn't have a name.