Congressman Ate Lion Meat

In a recent interview, Representative Paul Broun, a Republican from Georgia, said he has eaten lion meat. Several years ago he traveled to Zimbabwe and shot a lion to death. Not wanting to waste anything, he said he ate the meat. He has shot and killed other animals as well, including a warthog, which he also ate, ‘…the movers made quite a scene parading the heads of wild animals through the halls of the Rayburn House Office Building.’ (Source: The National Review)

Image Credit: yaaaay, Wiki Commons
Image Credit: yaaaay, Wiki Commons

His home in Georgia has even more stuffed animals mounted on walls than his work office in Washington does. ‘If you walk into the front door of my house, I’ve got a two-story wall that’s just covered with moose, caribou, animals from Africa, sheep from Spain, white-tailed deer,” he explained. (Source: The National Review) Broun has also traveled to South Africa and Botswana in search of large game.

He was once a volunteer lobbyist with Safari Club International, a membership organization for hunters.Some say such organizations are good for wildlife conservation. Others disagree pointing out that it isn’t necessary to hunt and kill animals to make donations for protecting wildlife.

The Humane Society has written a less-than-favorable review of the organization, ‘Safari Club International is not the environmentally-friendly, conservation-minded organization that it claims to be. SCI is a club for wealthy big-game hunters who compete in killing the most animals for the most awards.’ (Source: Human Society)

While it may not seem that shocking to learn a US Congressman has engaged frequently in hunting wild animals for recreation, it does appear to be an outdated view of what responsible stewardship of Nature should be. One could support conservation of lions in Kenya, where they are in danger of going extinct, without having to hunt them. (This is just one example of conservation work that is needed.)

His voting record on environmental issues seems to be in line with a typical Republican outlook, one that is pro-oil and pro-coal.

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