I did. I see a lot of nuance in the conversation that was had, such as "poaching" being a blanket term for killing animals illegally and all of that. That I don't disagree with. What I do disagree with, and responded to, was what seemed to me were statements by a few that poachers (IE the ones we see in the march event) are sympathetic because they're human and should be treated with a degree of understanding and rationality that the value of their lives takes priority over the heinousness of their actions, which is what made me flip a moment ago. Now its certainty possible that I'm misunderstanding something about what I read or the feelings behind it. But that's how it came across to me, and that's what I reacted to. Maybe its a bit cutthroat, but based on the sort of poaching that I'm referring to in particular which is clear, I stand by my original statement.

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Here's a quote from Scarlet to make you understand exactly what Jerry Manger is trying to educate us about.
"This is a pretty interesting thing to think about so here's my two cents. Keep in mind, poaching can be hunting on property without permission, hunting protected wildlife, hunting animals without license, hunting out of season, hunting over a limit, etc. and hunting can include trophy hunting which isn't illegal on its own.

Poaching can cause poverty and be spawned by it. The killing of elephants and rhinos is typically by commercial poachers as depicted in this event with helicopters, jeeps, automatic weapons, complicated traps, working in units, etc. By commercial poachers, I mean an extension of organized crime taking advantage of poverty stricken areas and corrupt governments who turn a blind eye. The ivory from tusks are mostly sold to Asian markets due to being a status symbol as well as use in folk medicine (despite rhino horns being made of the same thing that fingernails are, keratin). Depletion of wildlife can be detrimental to ecotourism which is a major legal resource for many African countries.

Then there are the poor poachers who do it to put food on the table either literally from the animal they hunt or selling the goods or crafting from them. They use less complicated (cheaper) traps like snares and go after smaller game typically (as seen in this event with the serval caught in the snare and that crouching guy that's around independent of the event, with the wire and a machete). They also hunt defensively for animals that kill their livestock. Their impact is less, but non-selective traps can kill animals it's not intended to much like large capture nets on fishing boats that go after one species of fish and snare others that must be thrown back. There is also a history of outlawed hunting for native Africans in European colonized Africa (as late as the 1900s) which causes some natives to disregard conservation laws. There are blurred motivations among poachers as well as with most anything.

I agree that poaching is wrong and also that not everyone behind it is evil. It's a complicated issue and I think reducing poverty in Africa would help with poaching in general too. I do appreciate that this event raises awareness especially with the graphic nature of it. It might be hard to look at, but it's a good glimpse at reality. I also think it's awesome that the site is donating partial income to their cause and not just settling with spreading awareness. At the same time, I don't care for the heavy handed way it's addressed with "evil humans" and other animals being "friends," but that's the same thing that makes me go meh for the karma system on here with its very simplistic in morality too. It's mostly personal though I understand why it is the way it is and why it doesn't need to be complicated. "

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I read this initially before I posted, read it again just now since you relisted it. Just to be clear, what I was referring to was commercial poaching, such as the black market ivory trade. Maybe my own feelings weren't communicated well simply based on how I worded my first post. None of what I stated was in any way directed at subsistence hunting/property protection or that sort of thing. That's the problem with calling those sorts of things "poaching" I suppose, because context is lost. To me that sort of thing doesn't describe a poacher/poaching and shouldn't be called that anymore in the first place.

That said, having re-read that quote I am surprised that our "shady snare guy" that is independent of the event is supposed to be a subsistence hunter. I never realized that, and I wouldn't be surprised if most people on the site don't know that either. Almost makes me think he should be removed or re-contextualized as an encounter somehow to make that more clear...

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ohhh... you were referring to commercial hunters


yeah those can go die

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The evil ones who kill and maim for pleasure should get a death sentence... The ones who kill not for gain other than to stop hunger can stay out of jail...

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"Four legs good, two legs better! All Animals Are Equal. But Some Animals Are More Equal Than Others.” That's what I see.
Saying not all poachers are bad is like saying some murderers are good, some rapists are good, some thieves are good. It's just the same old unfair Animal farm rule.

Poaching meanings:

illegally hunt or catch (game or fish) on land that is not one's own or in contravention of official protection.
hunt illegally
catch/trap/kill illegally
plunder
take or acquire in an unfair or clandestine way.
Similar:
steal
appropriate
purloin
misappropriate
take
nab
swipe
nick
pinch
(in ball games) take a shot that a partner or teammate would have expected to take.
(of an animal) trample or cut up (turf) with its hoofs.
(of land) become sodden by being trampled.
"if the ground is liable to poach the cows come inside"
Phrases
poach on someone's territory — encroach on someone else's rights.

All these have negative meanings. So tell me, how exactly can some poachers be "not bad"? If that was the case, "accidental criminals"(those who accidentally run over people with vehicles and stuff like that) would be pardoned every time.

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Oh we got Orwell here! Respect! Also only book I've ever cried to

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So, basically, you’re saying not all poachers are bad. I understand that. What I don’t understand is you wanting to kill lions. Care to explain? I mean, if you’re doing it for money, most of the time it’s a quick death. But since you want to beat up lions, it’s basically giving them a slow death.
Now, let me say this: You want to kill lions. You kill lions slowly. You get a trophy. You sell the trophy. You have money. Enough money to sustain for a month or more. It will give them around $170,000 PER KILL on the Asian market. Why would poachers have to hunt more animals? Most poachers even kill due to greed, revenge, and even boredom.
Of course some poachers have to get out of poverty, due to the little jobs they can have. But if they really know an area so well, why won’t they take travellers on Safari trips?
I do understand your point that some poachers are just trying to survive, but is chasing an entire species to extinction the right way?

Sources:
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/poaching-animals
https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-32151983

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this post always gets popular around march. i love to see all the shitshows that happen because of it. godspeed, lioden. godspeed.

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Haha, I was gonna say ... this was posted FIVE years ago lol. And the player hasn't been active since July 2020. Like the post is angering, but fam, y'all are talking to a player that isn't there

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Yep, just wanted to leave this here lmao. I know they aren’t active, but if anyone wants to read about this stuff I’m leaving some links. They were pretty fun to read.

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gotcha :)

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Really fun

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I joined December. I had no idea this existed till I needed to find a way to get poacher guns, nothing helped. But then I saw ‘I don’t really care for this event (march)’. I thought, ‘why not..?’ So I clicked it. I don’t care, I know that these players are now inactive. But seriously! Please, think these things through, for real! No, this is NOT black and white! This is real life!! And at the ending, them going ‘I remembered the night before, my crew talking about their families back home over black coffee, surrounding a small fire.
I remembered my little baby girl, seeing her scream and holler with her little friends as they played in the mud. I remembered my wife's face; her beautiful face. I remembered my father, mother, brother. I remembered seeing my dog, Rudd, lying in my lap as he slowly passed away. At least I can see my dog again, after all these years.’ At the end does not help, it just makes me remember how stupid humanity is. Poaching is not usually okay. If someone needs to do it to LIVE, then they are going to kill something like a small deer or maybe a hare. They are not gonna kill a f**king RHINO OR ELEPHANT, for GOD’S SAKE. PLEASE USE THE FEW BRAIN CELLS ALL HUMANS HAVE. Thank you for your time. And apologies for carrying this on: I feel as though it is necessary to write this out. And at the end, really?!? Writing that so MaYbE SoMeOnE wIlL Be SyMPaThEtIc tO ThAt like wowwwwww that doesn’t help your case dumb@$$. Have a good day everyone.

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