[gharial]

I don't believe the majority of people take issue with hunting solely because the animal is "beautiful". Not many people seem to have a problem with hunting deer for meat or to regulate their populations. Those I've discussed it with seem to almost unanimously agree that the wasteful aspect of "trophy hunting" exotic animals is what makes it particularly despicable.

Take the recent case of Cecil the lion. He was shot initially with a bow and suffered for nearly two days before finally being finished off, at which point he was skinned and his carcass dumped to make some douchebag dentist a lame taxidermy piece. His meat wasn't donated. He wasn't terrorizing some defenseless local village. There isn't a surplus of lions causing some of them to starve.

How can anyone justify taking a life (especially with such a disgusting length of suffering involved) for such frivolous reasons as making a rug and taking some photos?