Hunting itself has been existent since the dawn of time, and humans have been hunting for centuries. Dating back to 200,000 BC, the first Homo-sapiens hunted in order to eat and provide themselves the necessities for survival. Nowadays, there are different methods in which people participate in hunting that have been considered unethical by an immense majority of the public. The most controversial method of hunting is safari (big game) hunting. .
Big-game hunting is the hunting of large game for meat, other animal by-products (such as horn or bone), trophy or sport. It is also known as the big five, which refers to the top five most commonly hunted animals in the safari, which are lions, elephants, buffalo, rhinoceros, and leopards. With wildlife preserves being the only protection these innocent animals have, there are very few places where big-game hunting is legal. The rules and regulations are somewhat strict, but if one desires to, he/she can travel to South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, or even Australia, to engage in the inhumane act of slaughtering innocent animals in their natural habitat. For example, one event sparked an outrage amongst a vast number of people. .
Many people remember the case of Cecil the lion. Cecil coincided peacefully with his other lion companions at the Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe, until one day, dentist Walter James Palmer and his guide decided to lure Cecil out of his protected area using bait. Palmer paid off the landowner beforehand that owned the land next to the reserve in order to avoid any altercations. Palmer's weapon of choice at the moment was a bow and arrow, which makes it difficult to land a swift instantaneous kill. .
After contact was made, Palmer was unsuccessful in killing Cecil which resulted in Cecil suffering for the next two days. One of the most unethical things a hunter can do is not follow up his shot, and everything possible should be done in order to retrieve that animal.
