Glenn McGrath is an Australian legend, an outstanding cricketer responsible for countless Australian successes. After retirement from cricket he has dedicated himself to The McGrath Foundation, which has grown into one of the biggest in Australia.
He has never been in any drug scandals, or off-field scandals at all from memory. In fact I can’t remember anything negative in his public life until this hunting ‘scandal’ came along.
I know hunting is not everyone’s cup of tea, and I’m not trying to convince anyone to pick up a gun and go out shooting animals. But hunting is not illegal and most farms in Africa have strict rules around hunting ethics for foreigners. As a South African who has spent many weekends away on hunting trips these ethics are ingrained.
I was taught by my father at a young age to respect the wildlife and the environment, that hunting and protecting wildlife go hand-in-hand. I was told never to take a shot from a vehicle or use a night light. Safety and respect must always be on your mind and long before you actually pull a trigger you have to understand that it’s about taking the life for the purposes of life.
Again I’ll stress that I know this is not for everyone and that most people are happy to buy their meat from Woolies, oblivious to the fact that it was once a living, breathing creature with a heartbeat. There is a perception that the animals that are now packages on the supermarket shelves died humanely, but the truth is far from it.
These animals are born into captivity with one purpose only: to become food for the masses. Consumption has become so great the industry is using all sorts of unnatural ways to increase growth and weight. Anyone who has visited a modern, large-scale abattoir will tell you these animal neither live nor die humanely. It’s easier for the consumer to not see their meat as an animal but then it also easier for them to judge those who hunt.
An ethical hunt is not easy. People might think a rifle gives you the ultimate edge but it’s not true. When hunting by foot with a rifle, the advantage is actually in the animal’s favour; you’re in his natural environment. He is camouflaged, and able to smell and hear you from 300-plus metres away, long before you actually manage to spot it. In the case of large game like buffalo you actually risk your life.
I have gone over all the photos, including the one of McGrath next to a elephant bull which he would not have brought down himself. First off the rifle in his hand is not powerful enough to bring down the elephant, second the hunt was not a result of game but rather population control, another result of humanity’s expansion.
The photo of the smallish antelope on the back of a ute shows it’s been brought to base, where it will be gutted and processed for meat. Most of the times even the guts are used as sausage lining.
Furthermore, these African animals at least had the chance to live and experience their natural environment, then be killed in a fashion no less humane than a cow in a abattoir.
McGrath said he would like to hunt on foot to be closer to the environment. Does a man who has done so much good in this world deserve the ignorant backlash? What would we do if we experience financial collapse and Coles don’t restock the shelves?
I am proud to say I have hunted. It’s brought me closer to nature in a time when voting for the Greens or watching the Discovery Channel seems good enough. What I have learnt I will pass on to my son, and he will understand and respect where meat comes from and our close history with animals.
McGrath is entitled to hunt by the laws of governments and laws of nature. In doing so he has enriched his life and his son’s by facing a reality that was once a part of our existence but is now being denied by Twitter accounts and self-righteous hypocrites who would rather think of meat as something that was grown in the ground.
The further we move away from our understanding of meat the less we will respect the environment and the animals that give us this wonderful gift.
Like anything in life you get good and bad, and there are countless stories about bad hunting, but this is a minority. Would a man like Glenn McGrath, who has done so much for others and is a true role model, associate himself with the bad side of hunting?
ChrisLove
Guest
I consider myself an conservation hunter. Only target feral animals or Roos if being eaten or in need of cull. The only thing i would say on this is While he probably didn't kill the Elephant it was poor judgement to be seen associated with those that did and even poorer to be photographed with it. Other than that im fine with the rest.
Disco
Guest
Quite.
Kingo
Guest
Fair enough up in the north ,each to their own ,I've said what I think about it and I kind of can get what you mean about the noble battle thing ,I feel it's a little artificial though when it's some tossa paying big bucks to go and shoot some poor animal . By the way I don't think McGrath is some evil beast that needs to be punished ,just think the whole thing is a bit of a wank and then you end up with an animal shot dead while its having a drink or just wandering around in its natural habitat minding it's own business. Seems unnecessary and a waste of life which is precious in all forms .(and not really a fair fight ). As for pulling the wings off flies I think that's what it's like just a lot worse .
up in the north
Guest
I dunno kingo I guess it's one of those things that you're either attracted to or not. But don't confuse trophy hunting with visions of psychopathic children pulling the wings off flies. I could wax lyrical about the noble battles between man and beast but it's best if you read good books to learn and understand.
Kingo
Guest
Hunt for the pleasure of killing ,that pretty much nails it . What's inside going on inside a person that wants to kill an animal for the pleasure of killing ?
Tom Oliver
Roar Rookie
Yeah 100% Bondy! Trying to stop people killing majestic animals is nuts right? I mean all they do is run around in their natural habitat and live their lives. How dare they! You know what, I reckon one would look great on my wall. I might just go and shoot it in the face and cut it's head off so I can have a nice wall hanging. Oh no sorry shoot it not in the face because that will damage such a beautiful trophy and we wouldn't want that would we! Hunt to eat, hunt to survive, hunt to cull something that damages the land but to hunt for the pleasure of killing is wrong.
Kingo
Guest
Maybe a little different ,but still yuk
Kingo
Guest
You are right on many counts ,and there are some abhorrent things going on on this planet every day. I'm sure we could talk about lots of these and feel appalled and horrified by lots of them. But this doesn't take away from an icon of the game and "Aussie hero" and champion of pink ribbon going off and killing animals for fun. But it's not just McGrath ,who I didn't like much as a player because of his poor sportsmanship on many occasions,it's anyone who would want to go and hunt and shoot animals with their big gun .So destructive and pointless unless it's for a cull of some sort. As for seeing animals in the wild it seems another reflection on a morally poor society that the only way to keep these magnificent animals from extinction is to accept payment of huge amounts of money to redneck fools with their stupid guns to go and kill them. Sure it's not as terrible as some of the things that go on but it's still a shocker .
Rollaway7
Roar Guru
So you think the same of Richie McCaw? http://tvnz.co.nz/country-calendar/episode-14-call-hills-3534796
Bondy
Guest
This activity reflects as to how society has changed over even the last decade or so, 10 -15 yr ago McGrath would've been seen as a Mick Dundee figure over this activity though in 2015 he's being treated as Dr Mengele, how society has changed .
up in the north
Guest
Well I personally wouldn't want to do it, and I will never lay claim to understanding what makes people tick, I've seen too much of how truly horrible humans can be. What can I say, as a species we're pretty messed up. But you can't deny we all have different values and this is just one more example of that. You and I don't have to agree with how others spend their time or whether it fits in with our own personal ethics but they do have a right to theirs, in this case I happen to agree with them. Did the elephant have a use by date? Well they killed it so I guess it must have. I'll ask a question back, would you want to live in a world where the only place you can see wild animals is in a zoo or on discovery channel? Because at the moment you can hop on a plane and visit one of many game parks that are only open because of tourism. While you're there you can get up close and personal with corruption at a level you couldn't imagine and poverty that will make you cry. Don't tell me about the poor animals it's the poor bastards who live there I feel pity for. At least people care about the animals.
Ray Bullock
Guest
Can't have your cake and eat it too.
Play the Game
Guest
Mc Grath should have donated a "huge " sum of money instead of "once in a lifetime opportunity of killing it", that's why we have charities and similar organisations.And by the way did the elephant have a use by date.
Kingo
Guest
Mate appreciate your comments but the point I'm making is why would you want of do it ,maybe you can help me with that . Why would you want to kill an animal for fun and what sort of thrill do these people get from watching it die and then chopping it's head off and putting it on your fricken wall ?!?!?!?!? Don't get it . If it's no big deal why did McGrath regret doing it or at least say it did. If he truly did good on him . So up in the north ,with all due respect.......why in the hell would you want to shoot an elephant ,and what goes on in the head of someone who does it for kicks ??? Who cares about the money I'm talking about the state of mind of someone whose proud of themselves for shooting a defenceless animal .
up in the north
Guest
Kingo, You're trying to make it like some misguided pseudo masculine substitute, when it couldn't be further from reality. In the case of the buffalo and elephant they are hardly kept in cages and then let out to be slaughtered by trigger happy yahoos. The truth is any animal is actually 'in the wild' within a conservation park that is privately owned. When the herd becomes unmanageable some numbers need to be culled, for whatever reason, age, illness, intransigence or even lack of room. These animals are going to be killed, so why not charge someone an outrageous amount of money for the once in a lifetime opportunity of killing it. Personally I am not a hunter, treking through the scrub all day and stalking prey to get within 50metres for a killing shot isn't how I describe a good day out. For a lot of people it's highly enjoyable. The final act of killing is the very smallest part, it's on top of hours of skill and even danger. There's a very real need for this form of tourism, if you don't like it perhaps you could suggest other ways of helping these people who are trying to find a balance between extinction and preserving a species. That's it, that's all I've got. Up to you rollaway. I tried.
Play the Game
Guest
The man is truly mixed up.
Kingo
Guest
What's sad is Someone posing with a big smile on their face after dropping an animal for the fun of it and people on here thinking it's all good ,that's sad mate.
Kingo
Guest
And on top of it all I think Macgrath although no doubt was a fantastic bowler carried on like a jerk on the field ,sledging like a petulant child ,not a hero to me or a role model . Good on him for the McGrath institute though ,but you can see how people have now withdrawn support for that as well. On one hand it's give money to save lives ,oh but hang on I'll be back in a sec just gotta go do me some killin it's just so much fun watching animals die . Hope he can get through this and maybe look at putting his guns down .
Kingo
Guest
It really doesn't matter how you justify game hunting and it's benefits to the community ,I get where you're coming from. The point I'm making is my own personal feeling about anyone ,McGrath,or anyone else's desire to go hunting and shoot a defenceless animal like an elephant etc because he gets off on it . To me that's sick .Its not for food it's not to survive it's because it makes him feel good to shoot and bring down a big animal and watch it die in front of him .Ive seen plenty of photos of nut jobs all standing around a dead lion or with a dead jaguar across their shoulders like a scarf and I'm sorry but that is just sick . So guess the problem is one of our society where money can justify this. I guess I find it hard to understand why anyone would get a thrill out of going out and shooting a wild animal for the fun of it . One minute the animal is alive and well then the big man with the big gun shoots it and watches it take its last few breaths and then watch the life go from it.Truly do people really need that sort of thing to feel like a big man ??
up in the north
Guest
Rollaway7, let it go mate, you'll never be able to reason with some people. Sad but true.