14 DAY TRIAL // Not all that many people were happy to hear that the Dallas Safari Club was to auction off the opportunity to track down and kill a rare black rhino minding its own business in Namibia's Mangetti National Park, and Bob Barker was one of the folks opposing the hunt.
While some settled for signing an online petition demanding that the Dallas Safari Club rethink its plans to raise funds for conservation efforts, the TV host decided to take things one step further.
Long story short, Look to the Stars tells us that, in an attempt to have the auction for the chance to hunt and kill a black rhino canceled, Bob Barker sent the Dallas Safari Club a personalized letter.
In his letter, the TV host argues that, the way he sees things, it makes little sense to kill a rhino, even if the animal happens to be an old specimen that has long put romance behind it.
“The rhino that your organization reportedly has in its cross hairs is an older ‘non-breeding’ male who has apparently been deemed expendable.”
“As an older male myself, I must say that this seems like a rather harsh way of dealing with senior citizens,” Bob Barker's message to the Dallas Safari Club reads.
Furthermore, “Surely, it is presumptuous to assume that this rhino’s life is no longer of any value. What of the wisdom that he has acquired over the course of a long life?”
The TV host's letter also points out the fact that, presently, Africa is estimated to be home to about 5,000 black rhinos.
Since the species is an endangered one, it makes sense that conservationists try to limit the number of such animals that are killed by hunters on a yearly basis, and do not encourage the very same practices that poachers are frowned upon for.
“What makes you any better than the poachers who kill rhinos to feed their families? At least, they are honest about their less noble motives. You try to dress up greed under the guise of ‘conservation,’” the TV host accuses.
Unfortunately, the Dallas Safari Club chose to ignore Bob Barker's plea. Thus, this past Saturday, said permit to kill a black rhino was auctioned off and fetched $350,000 (€255,988).