Was I Wrong About Hunting?

Jun 1, 2017
Editor's Note: The following Was I Wrong About Hunting? addresses social media responses to the death of South African Professional Hunter Theunnis Botha. According to media reports, Botha, 51, was leading a hunting group when he was first attacked, then crushed by an elephant.

A friend of mine died quite unexpectedly. He left a wife and five children. He was respected professionally and an innovator in his field. He staunchly fought for the preservation of wildlife with both coin and deed. He was a good man who will be missed by many. And yet my friend's death is celebrated by thousands who did not know him. Why? Because he was a hunter.

Tommy Knut Im so happy he died. All hunters deserves to die

Intellectually, I know the world is full of haters. I know most anti-hunters are either uninformed about the role hunting plays in this 7 billion-person world or chose to ignore facts and feign righteous indignation. But the magnitude of vitriol; the tsunami of unadulterated, black-hearted hatred spewed by these people is hard for me to get my cerebral arms around. The sheer weight of it all gives me pause to consider my own position on the issue. Could I have been wrong about hunting? If right and wrong were determined by majority-rules social media postings, hunting would have gone the way of the pager/beeper and New Coke long ago. Then I looked more closely at the harsh rebuke of the progressive masses and came to a startling conclusion: I differ from them.

@BFairthorne this news has literally made my weekend. Fantastic - truly fantastic.

It is not just that I differ with them. I do. But it is more than that. At my very essence, I am different from them and radically different, as I cannot imagine any circumstance in which I would ever behave as these people.

@UCLA_gym_fan_12 I wish there was video of his death. I'd watch it every day

A hunter dies and the social media mob celebrates. Not due to a personal beef; it is doubtful few if any even knew the man. They metaphorically spit or worse on his grave because this mob has an incredible animus for hunters. But it is nothing new. The antis have always hated us. At this point, I could go on ad naueseam about the necessity of hunting in the modern world and how the question of hunting's benefit has been scientifically answered, but that is not my purpose today. The question is how do seemingly intelligent people ignore facts and respond to the matter of hunting in such an emotion-based way? But in the question lies a clue, as well as insight into how the animal rightist willingly embrace the slippery slope into depravity.

@Longball8 I'm almost positive he felt his eyes pop out his dumb f***ing skull. So happy this makes me.

Psychologists tell us mob behavior differs from that of the individual and it would appear the same is true on social media. One person makes a derogatory comment, then others join the fray until ultimately, the frenzied "piling on" grows at an exponential rate with individuals competing to post even more vile and odious comments than the one before. This kind of behavior is common with emotional issues and the pro-hunting mob can be just as awful as the antis, but only to a degree. This is the point where certain individual's behavior deviates from that of a normal human. This dark, insidious element seems to reside exclusively in the camp of the antis.

Frank Solis  ***k this ***hole, i wish he had died a slower death. I hope his wife and kids have to scoop him up

My friend's death has proven there are those that despise hunting to such a degree, they cannot or will not separate the act from the actor. In their recalcitrant minds the act of killing an animal somehow transforms the hunter into an amoral entity. This judgmental objectification deprives the hunter of every facet of their humanity; their rights, dignity, and empathy forever denied in the eyes of animal rightist. But there is more. In addition to the hunter's humanity being stripped away, apparently so too is the application of any law or social mores that would limit these anti-hunters behavior.

@DebbyHoleman Hope he lived long enough to feel his rib cage pierce his heart and his skull become squeezed and gurgle on his own blood.

In the anti-hunter's quest to save life on this planet they wish death and worse for the hunter, yet
fail to see the irony. Their sadistic, callous desire to cause pain and suffering for those of us who do not share their values is indicative of incredible hubris and a depraved heart; a corrupt, judgmental, and immoral person who would happily sacrifice the lives of entire human families for that of a single animal. Their words:

@stinkaapjes Hope he suffered a lot and his family dies also painfull.

In my life I have never hated as these people do. Imagining my own nightmare scenario of losing a child at the hands of a depraved criminal, even at this lowest point of life, the depths of my hate would never spill over to the perpetrator's family. Never. The hate of revenge is imaginable. The hate wishing pain and torturous death on the innocent is to me unimaginable. It is also how I know I am different from them.

Hannin Iktilat Stevenson  Hope he suffered. Hope his wife cant pay the bills and an animal kills her on one of her hunts. Hope his kids get taken away…

There are certain core beliefs I hold sacred in my life: I believe in God; in the sanctity of human life; in love and happiness; in equality and freedom. I have another core belief, which now am questioning: the fundamental good of Man.

@KimKaosDK Its great news - I hope all his friends dies the same way - sooner the better

In a way, I should thank the antis. Their vile rhetoric has made me more jaded, more guarded now. It is not a mental stretch to imagine some of these corrupted souls transitioning from keyboard cowboy, to stalker, to imminent threat to my family and I shall take heed and plan accordingly. At this time in our history when we seem to enjoy nearly unlimited freedom, it is sad that friends cannot share thoughts freely amongst friends without self-righteous haters trolling and attacking words that violate their own personal values. Regrettably, that is the world in which we live today.

Raphaël Dupuis  I hope he suffered before dying and I wish you the same.

So rest in peace, my friend. May the solace of God shield you from the slings and arrows hurled by those humans who have lost their humanity. And yes, I still believe in the fundamental goodness of Man…just not in every man.

@porterino I hope you get squished by an elephant too. And your family does. And anyone who knows you. You c**t.


— Steve Scott


Scott is an attorney, university lecturer, and producer of the Safari Hunter's Journal and Outdoor Guide television series. @SteveScottTV