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[Deusstyles]

This year, GoDaddy CEO Bob Parsons went on an African vacation and shot an elephant. He recorded the whole thing on video.

There's one scene where a swarm of "hungry" villagers rip flesh off the dead elephant.

All the villagers are wearing bright orange GoDaddy-branded hats, too.

Lots of people are upset about it, including PETA.

Parsons says he did it because the elephant was eating villagers' crops. Opponents say there are non-lethal ways to solve that kind of problem.

We have no idea who's right – just that the whole video is weird.

It's definitely the kind of thing only a super rich CEO/founder of a privately-held company could get away with.

I'm so confused by this. No matter how you feel about what he did, the fact that he posted that crap on the internet seems like a dumb move to me.

[Usagi]

Makes sense to me.  Most hunters like to show off what they kill.
This is a good example of a guy doing what he enjoys and helping people at the same time, so good for him.

[Deusstyles]

Maybe, it seems like he's just doing it because he can. I'm not a fan of trophy hunting ether, every time I've killed something I've been doing to eat it, or to protect other things (ie: Killing rodents and such to protect a garden). I've thought of video taping any of it.

[Seran]

If the villagers eat it, and if it was to protect their crops, meh, we're on top of the food chain for a reason.  I don't really have a problem with most trophy hunters, either.  Some of the biggest conservationists were very active hunters, i.e. Teddy Roosevelt.  Almost all the local hunters I know care deeply about animal conservation, they, after all, don't want to loose the ability to hunt.

[Omegamatt Shadowstar]

If the villagers eat it, and if it was to protect their crops, meh, we're on top of the food chain for a reason.  I don't really have a problem with most trophy hunters, either.  Some of the biggest conservationists were very active hunters, i.e. Teddy Roosevelt.  Almost all the local hunters I know care deeply about animal conservation, they, after all, don't want to loose the ability to hunt.

Almost word for word what I would have said.  The filming and distributing part of it... well, he's a businessman, and I don't claim to understand businesspeople, but I can't think of anything wrong with it.  Maybe it's not in the best taste, but it ain't unethical.  If he'd filmed himself stealing candy from a baby, then yeah, I'd take issue.

[Flame]

Video taping is a bit extreme but meh, as a chef if people will eat it who cares. People watch cooking shows all day long the only difference is they don't show them slaughtering the meat they use to make that tasty dish you write down the recipe for. Something died, it got filmed , it got eaten sounds like a good time.

[Deusstyles]

I kind of want to be on his side just because I Hate PETA but even that isn't enough. Elephants are border line for me I've never had any but I can't say that I've heard they're good ether. The thing that bugs me though is that in testing they've consistently shown intelligence. Other animals we eat for food ( cows, pigs, sheep, chickens, and deer even ) are stupid animals I they're job in the life cycle is to die so predators can eat. Elephants aren't prey animals and because they're intelligent they can be warded off in non violent ways.

[Sanjiyan]

Elephants, particularly rogue Bull elephants, are a massively dangerous animal that will literally destroy an entire village simply because they're angry.. And they are pretty much ALWAYS angry. This leads to many villages just adopting a shoot-on-sight policy which, while understandable, just ends up making things a whole lot worse.

The problem with using non-violent solutions to drive elephants away is that, almost inevitably, the elephants come back. If I remember right, so far the most effective method they've found to keep them away is to use beehives to mark out farmland, as elephants have an instinctual dislike of bees and will avoid them wherever possible.

Of course, this doesn't stop the rogues from just rampaging through and destroying everything anyway because they've been traumatized by something.. Usually by seeing their mates or offspring killed by humans. Its a very sad situation, really.

Either way, publicity stunt.

Also, Deus, pigs are intelligent enough to play simple computer games and win.

[Deusstyles]

Right, AND they're tasty. I know they're tasty. There were two criteria.

Like I said at the start I guess the biggest problem I have with it is the posting it on the internet and then being surprised by bad pres and people being pissed off.

[Omegamatt Shadowstar]

Right, AND they're tasty.

/thread

[Flame]

[Omegamatt Shadowstar]

If you can read yellow text on a white background, pass your eyes.

[Seran]

1) its grey background, and easy to read
2) I can read that yellow too.  Guess Lasik is good, eh?

[Omegamatt Shadowstar]

I also have Lasik.  Maybe your monitor settings differ from mine?

[Seran]

I also have Lasik.  Maybe your monitor settings differ from mine?

That could very well be.