Is The Sun Using Lion Killing David Scholey To Get Ken Clarke? Big Game Hunting With Rupert Murdoch
SIR David Scholey CBE has shot a lion dead while on a “trophy-hunting” holiday in Zambia. Sir David is a former director of the Bank of England, BT, Close Brothers, Anglo American, Vodafone, Chubb, SG Warburg, J Sainsbury, a BBC governor and a Tory Party donor.
Says he to the Sun:
“I have been hunting all over the world for many, many years and I have always hunted within the legal arrangements of the country concerned. I regard that as an entirely personal matter. All the animals I hunt are wild beasts. And I have felt threatened by them at times. The lion killed certainly wasn’t an endangered species where I was hunting it.”
He continues:
“The object is to dispatch the animal with a bullet it never hears. That’s why it’s important to be a very good shot before you even think about hunting. I continue to hunt big game, not as much as I used to but I do continue to do it.”
A spokesman for The League Against Cruel Sports ads:
“It is enormously selfish to kill magnificent animals for sadistic pleasure. It beggars belief that someone in a position of authority could think it’s acceptable. If he is a Tory donor, they should seriously consider whether he is the sort of person they want associated with the modern party.”
The photos appear on the websites of Safari Bwana and Johan Calitz Safaris. And that’s the odd bit. The photos of Scoley stood next to some skulls and horns was taken in 2008.
Both websites feature photos of people stood next to dead animals they are unlikely to eat.
The Safari Bwana website features a shot of Scholey and a dead lion. It features these words that are beyond parody:
Most will tell you that their idea of a trophy is something that is big, a monster worth keeping and usually it is of one of the spectacular antelopes of Africa. We have an incredible number of species to hunt, some dangerous, others stealthy, others just plain cat food. ..
A trophy is actually a momento [sic], a reminder, a sight that will inspire memories and dreams to appear, those that put a smile on your face, that’s what it is meant to be…
Nowadays it is a trophy only if it exceeds a set size, if it has a wider spread or a deeper curl or a longer tail or a bigger set of tusks – it is only a trophy if it brings you acclaim and fame, admiration from your buddies but most important of all it is only a trophy if it allows you to be part of a select group which you can only aspire to if you have a big one!
And if you can pay. A 7 day Buffalo hunt on a 1×1 basis costs $16,850. If you want to slaughter an elephant, a 14 day safari costs $37,900. A lion hunt lasts 28 says and costs from$2800 per day.
It’s not illegal. It’s just sad. But why is it news in the Sun? Why now?
The paper tells us:
Sir David donated cash to Justice Minister Ken Clarke’s failed attempt to become Tory leader in 2005.
Clarke is softer on crime than the Sun would like. It mocked up a game in which you can chuck Hush Puppies at Teletubby Ken. Also, does David Cameron want Clarke out of the Cabinet? Maybe the post Rebekah Wade Sun can help Cameron get shot of Clarke? In short: is the Sun big game hunting?
Posted: 10th, September 2011 | In: Politicians Comments (24) | TrackBack | Permalink
