For $12K and change an American can pay Global Sporting Safaris, Inc. for assistance in killing an Atlantic Walrus. For the “privilege” of terminating one of these magnificent animals, one must travel to Nunavut . . . which, for the unknowing, is a territory of Canada. Since the hide, meat or tusks of said walrus cannot be brought into the U.S., the sole purpose of such a venture is simply the “joy” of killing the animal. In Canada, only Inuit are issued a limited number of permits to kill the Atlantic Walrus, but it is legal for them to sell these permits to Americans.
On the Global Sporting Safaris website one finds: “Once you spot your walrus, it’s time for the stalk.” I’m guessing they don’t include that description as a joke. But it is, since the guide takes the skilled hunter by watercraft to usually with 20-30 yards of one of the slow-moving behemoths for the thrill of ending its life. A few years ago in a New York Times Magazine article, the author compared said hunt to “a long boat ride to shoot a very large beanbag chair.”
Since no part of the walrus can be brought into the U.S., the sole purpose of an American killing an Atlantic walrus is to kill an Atlantic walrus. Killing for sport – killing simply for the “joy” of killing – is the product of a sick mind.
My question: Why would any American wish to kill this animal? Once as plentiful as the multitudes of bison that roamed the Canadian/U.S. plains, estimates are that the Atlantic walrus has been decimated down to some 20,000 individuals. Commercial harvesting (now illegal) was the main cause of reduction, and the chief threat today is climate change. Given all of the above, I repeat: why would any American wish to kill this animal?
The possible answers are morally staggering.
