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Incredibly sad to see pics of the king of Spain standing over a dead elephant he'd shot. So important to set an example to the world, at a time when species are under such threat, from poachers & now kings.﻿
Hurikane El Swiss's profile photoMichael Robinson's profile photoMichael Skerrett's profile photoJanet Chong's profile photo
Can I swap the order of things? An elephant standing over king of Spain?﻿
Animals get killed every day, every hour, look at the rhino poaching .. if u want change support wildlife conservation, treat the cause not the symptom. Unfortunately legal hunting pays for conservation of species.﻿
Not only is it infuriating that someone would do something like that, but from what I've heard he (the king) has also seen some criticism for spending equivalent of 1yrs of salary for an average Spanish worker on this trip. Quite justly too in my opinion.﻿
Richard, That is why GOD said he had to bring ruin to the ones who are ruining the earth﻿
I +1 your comment not the kings actions. It's sad how men with power perceive the world.﻿
Thank you for bringing attention to this. ﻿
No question it is disgraceful but, according to the article (and I am relying on google translate) it is also old - the picture was taken in 2006. Hoping that he may have been educated over the last 6 years.﻿
Killing for any other reason than survival is a travesty. I am not going to go on a rant, but there is no reason to kill an animal for sport. ﻿
pepol like that make me sick would love to shoot them to﻿
Is he (the King of Spain) a bigger man now for killing an elephant? How sad.﻿
This is really frustrating. Canned hunting is regarded as unacceptable to most of us who live in Africa, but not to many who visit our continent. Isn't there anything Spanish left to shoot?﻿
Tim H
One dead elephant can feed an entire Spanish royal court for three months. : p﻿
His stupidity in these modern and economic times apparently knows no bounds. He could have set a precedent yet he chose not to.﻿
Rawn Rackers believes in protecting the more venerable species of the world and believes that we at Rawn Rackers are doing there part in keeping this very touchy subject in the lime light.﻿
its sad and yet in kenya we are working to see ivory trade end﻿
Thank you for speaking up, this is no "sport" and speaks poorly of the character of the individual.
This needs to end﻿
you mean to tell me there are some elephants still alive. i thought they were extinct. nice shot man. if the Spanish Count had a pair, he'd be hunting where the real game is. I welcome all hunters to come visit. Dr.V Chicago﻿
we need to get more people enlightened :o)﻿
a lot of things need to stop and thats one of them.﻿
I want a world with less kings more elephants! \n_n/﻿
There's something basically wrong with people who feel the need to kill for sport (a sad interpretation of the word). The man is obviously oblivious to the damage such an image portrays and he deserves all the flack that comes his way. What an idiot.﻿
A king killing an elephant!?!?! Doesn't he know they are pretty rare nowadays? I think even kings should go to school!!!﻿
It's disappointing to see someone in such a stature doing such heinous things.﻿
I'm asking this question seriously, without sarcasm and without passing judgment: "What are you buying when you pay $15.000 for the right to kill an animal (that obviously you're not going to eat, or use for its skin or anything else). What is the thrill you're after? +Richard Branson : you are a rich man, you could pay this money to buy the right to do this, and you clearly love pushing yourself and seeking "extreme" thrills (harmless to others as far as I can see thankfully). Do you understand what the king of Spain was hoping to get when he purchased the right to kill this elephant?﻿
The King of Spain is uncivilized to say the least.﻿
King of Spain accidentally killed his brother with a shotgun when he was 18 in 1956.﻿
~Mahatma Gandhi﻿
How sad....that these bastards can get away....they should be prosecuted .....these are endangers species ...﻿
Senseless crime against bthe earth.Down with Spanish King!!!lol,seriously.He's an obvious unevolved,inbred Fool,supported by the state.He should be 'forcefed'the elephant he murdered until meat finished[even if it takes years]nothing else to eat.﻿
37,000 € the price for the right to kill an elephant in Bostwana.﻿
You'd think that some one like that would have more sense. He should be helping fight against poaching and these sort of atrocities. makes you wonder if he's fit to rule a country.﻿
That is totally unacceptable. What is humanity sinking to?﻿
My comment is not directly specifically/only at the "hunter" of this particular elephant. I am baffled by the motivation of anyone who would want to do this. Either it is an incredibly short-sighted way to get an adrenaline rush or it's a rather destructive way to assuage some deep-seated feelings of impotence or inadequacy.﻿
Elizabeth I CAN see Botswana's point of view. There needs to be some population management, and smartly, Botswana is leveraging that to make a buck. Botswana incidentally is one of Africa's best managed nations. It's the buyers that are a bit odd. I don't think the Botswana government is necessarily doing something they shouldn't be doing.﻿
It's pleasing that royalty is more of an endangered species than elephants are. Significantly more inbred as well.﻿
Chase E
Why the fuck am I seeing this crap in my Google+? I like hunting. I'm sure most of the real world respects the king and the Trumps for their sportsmanship.﻿
That's sportsmanship is it? Killing an animal for amusement? I don't imagine he's having elephant steaks for dinner.

It's possible there are people in the real world who don't agree with you, +Chase Ehorn﻿
Why anyone would want to shoot an elephant is beyond me, but perversely the revenue hunting generates can enable poorer countries to help fund conservation. There's an interesting article on the subject at the Mises Institute blog here:﻿
"we must educate so the future has hope" This is a true and very positive statement. However, I don't think the King of Spain is suffering from lack of education. We should educate the people of the world so they understand the ethics of situations like this. Mr. Branson is doing his part... I wouldn't have see this item in the news if he hadn't referred to it here.

If the King of Spain was on Google+, we could ask him to explain himself. If there was public outcry for an issue involving the President here the US, the White House would hold a press conference. Is it different with the royal family in Spain?﻿
Legitimate hunters like this king are doing more than anyone to save the elephants. I realize it sounds counter-intuitive, but by allowing the local tribes to "own" the elephants and sell hunting rights, it transforms the elephants from a nuisance that tramples their crops to an important renewable resource that they work to preserve.﻿
Get the whole story about hunting elephants... NOTHING goes to waste and the entirety of the meat goes to the local tribes... Not to mention all the money it brings to them for safari rights on their land.
The business is well managed and done to control population by the local government.

Too much disinformation and assumption paired with piss, vinegar, and an overdeveloped sense of entitlement up in here.﻿
+Scott Plante He could have made a donation and not killed the animal. He could have payed to shoot it with a camera and not with a gun. It's not like killing elephants is the only way to monetize them for the local population.﻿
@Chase Ehorn: either you are a troll or mentally disabled - go play somewhere else kid﻿
+Scott Plante elephants are a very slowly maturing "renewable resource". Do you think whales are a "renewable resource" too?﻿
Populations do need controlling, animals need to be culled, but selling the privilege to rich inbred sociopaths who take pleasure in what is an unfortunate fact is a bit sick.﻿
Maybe this is what happens when you're the protege of a dictator like Francisco Franco. I commend your marksmanship there, Jack Chuck, if not your values.﻿
that greedy king is not fit to rule. killing elephant for sport makes me sick their are people like him in the world.﻿
Elephants are not an endangered species and are in fact a dangerous nuisance in some areas, which is why managed hunting of them is permitted. Funny how facts get in the way of emotional knee-jerk reactions, isn't it?﻿
+Paul Munson What facts? Yes, animals need to be culled for population control. That doesn't mean the sicko who enjoys shooting them for amusement is an example of moral rectitude and bravery. No, he's a psycho.﻿
Ok honestly it's just an animal. Come on for goodness sake! Quit ranting and raving about killing an animal and deal with more important issues. Im not excusing unjust slaughter of an innocent being but come on people! The elephant doesn't hurt anymore it ain't worried about who killed it or why, it doesn't have to face God and stand judgement for it's actions. Seriously, if all I ever had to worry about was who killed a dumb animal... well I'd be VERY blessed to say the very least!﻿
Paul, it is the humans who are a nuisance to elephants and not the other way around.

We have destroyed their traditional habitat.﻿
im 12 and i understand the importance of dis animal﻿
Thank you Mr. Branson for your post. Your charisma across media platforms such as this one is important to bring awareness to such noteworthy events. Hopefully now, this sad event will have a postive turnaround. Your fan, Alison Poland.﻿
Id like to see an elephant standing on a dead King of Spain﻿
whoa! Don't you think it's a little unfair to go on like that about the King of Spain? I mean I know he makes mistakes but dont we all? For real, Y'all need to realize that he killed an ELEPHANT, not a person. My goodness.﻿
Dose Richard Branson update this account personally? Is this really his?
And i agree with the topic by the way.﻿
Elephants are better people than many people.﻿
Elephants? I've watched "pest" herds rounded up on the Discovery channel to be massacred due to overpopulation. With no natural predators, they can destroy a landscape almost as effectively as we can.

Is it just the hunting that's putting +Richard Branson off, or is is that elephants are "under threat" (which I'm not qualified to judge, but so far believe that to be not quite the case)?﻿
+Rachel Roney Yeah, we do all make mistakes. But we aren't all extremely privileged with no good reason for it. I'm British and have the misfortune of being the subject of a Royal ruler, whereas you are American and live in a country that had the good sense to set up a much more rational system,﻿
Kings and Queens of the world unite... and bow before my trunk!﻿
lol + Rachel Roney, good troll there. "Little unfair on the King of Spain". Poor man I know its hard for him right now.﻿
What I wanna know, Mr. Caldwell, is how did you know i'm an American?﻿
Agree. We must respect animals but we also must respect humans, even if they make mistakes.﻿
+Rachel Roney I inferred it from the picture you have posted to your stream with you holding a really big gun. And that it says so on your profile page, there's a map with where you live on it.﻿
So he shot an elephant, who cares?? would you rather hunting be against the law? seriously, if it's that big of a deal just make it so you have to get a permit, although I'm sure that is already the case. Humans have dominion over the animals, so why make a big fuss?﻿
Ok I see. I dont care if everyone knows that I'm an American; A Southern American! lol﻿
Who's "Born Southern, Country, and Dumbo-o-killer Forever"?﻿
+Rachel Roney there are about 7 Billion humans on this planet but there were only about 10.000 African or Savannah Elephants in 2006 left (from about 1.3 Million before the 1990s).
All other Elephant species are even worse off.
For me it is far worse that he killed an animal belonging to an endangered (or vulnerable, see Wikipedia) species than a human.﻿
I would always save an elephant over a human﻿
Robert Infi I cannot believe anyone would be dumb enough to say what you just had the audacity to say. Think of it this way; Humans have to stand before a living & Holy God. Whether or not you or anyone else believes that doesn't change the fact that it is true. Elephants or any other animals for that matter, have no soul, they die off & that's it. People on the other hand are responsible for their actions & have to face eternal punishment in Hell if we do not trust in Jesus for repentance.﻿
+Rachel Roney Well, one thing you said there is right. Believing something or not doesn't change whether it is true or not.

Anyway, King of Spain is Catholic, so I guess he's going to the warm place regardless of how many elephants he kills.﻿
so the LIFE of an animal is more precious because it's an endangered or rare specie? a life is a life..killing cows for eating them and killing an elephant is the SAME disgusting thing...if someone killed you would it be less bad because "oh well there are lots of humans anyway" ? if you are not vegetarian, you should shut up and be consistent..that's all.﻿
These animals were in grave danger of being lost forever not too long ago. The very fact that people like the King will pay to hunt one is the very thing that has saved them. The price of an elephant hunt is extreme for a reason. That money fuels conservation. The funds generated from these safari's put a value on wild animals that never existed before. Now everyone, even the poor of the area, understand the wealth that the protectionn of these animals can generate.

Even though none of you like it, and most of you will deny it, the hunting of these animals is what saved them. This is a fact.

For those who fail to fully understand how it works. That elephant is given to a local village. Free food that will feed them all for quite some time. How many of you can say you fed an entire african village for a week? How many of you would, if you had the money, accomplish that feat? Mr. Branson's charitable work is well known, but until the world provides a different route to fund the protection of these animals and provide the same benefit that sport hunting brings to these villages, it is here to stay.﻿
The photo is from 2006...Why is it a big deal now?﻿
Oh well Alonso Valencia, Im sorry you hate my guts but honestly I DO NOT CARE!!!! Cuz guess what, out of those 7 billion people, just cuz one, two or even a hundred ppl may hate me look how many other possible friends are available! :)﻿
What this is is the idea of poaching being so pounded into everyone's heads, as well as its imorality due to wasteful killing and breaking laws, that no one sees the benefit in this. The population of elephants needs to be controlled. The entire elephant will be used for various reasons and not be wasted. The king did not benefit financially from killing the elephant, in fact he paid to do so. In charging people great amounts of money to kill elephants, it controls how many are killed based on how many people in the world can afford it. Is killing an elephant for sport any different than taking out a nest of wasps, or destroying a nest of dangerous rattlesnakes?
Everyone enters this discussion so close minded and one sided that they don't take a second to look over all of the facts and variables. While it was for sport for the king, the locals benefitted both financially and with food and supplies from this. Now I'm no member from PETA, but I do agree that maybe the king was seeking self confidence and a sick sense of satisfaction from killing the largest animal on land, and that this may have been borderline immoral, but seriously, open your mind a little bit. And coming from an American, you know you're all acting childish if I'm criticizing you.﻿
this is absolutly completly ridiculous﻿
the population of humans needs to be controlled ... not elephants ...﻿
OMG Greg I LOVE your comment! And coming from a fellow American... Well yeah it's kinda like a big deal over nothing.﻿
Especially since his country is in the midst of real economic and employment issues. He is spending on extravagances. It just goes to show how far out of touch the people are.﻿
Once they are gone for good, no amount of money from ANY royal source can bring them back.

Keep that in mind while loading your guns, and counting your quarters.﻿
As they say what goes around comes around ... message: shoot an elephant and we´ll break you hip :)﻿
The species that is most in danger is the Human species. If it is sad to see the king of Spain standing over a dead elephant, how much sadder to see a doctor standing over a murdered infant. Or the mother and the country that believes such things are acceptable behavior.﻿
What to expect from this form of modern social parasitism that is monarchy? Not alone the single act of killing such majestic animal for the sole vanity of bragging among peers... Such arrogance funded by tax payers must end someday. When will they open their eyes?﻿
THIS IS NOT TRUE!!! The King of Spain Don Juan Carlos is at a hospital right now and has been for some time. He is an amazing person and VERY resposible. Where is the picture showing the King of Spain shooting an elephant? THis is just not true.﻿
Not just sad commentary on the King's choice of recreational activities but with his country in the jam it is in, you would think he could spend his time more effectively.﻿
So you prefer that only poachers be allowed to hunt them? I personally detest trophy hunting, but here, as everywhere else, managed hunting provides the funds (in the form of license fees) that make conservation and habitat protection possible. Typically, non-hunters who complain about legal hunting contribute nothing to these programs, so if not for legal hunting, elephants would probably be extinct by now.﻿
If it is true then he is a very sad man...﻿
+Rachel Roney, oh well, that explains almost everything ... you seem to be a religious fanatic, maybe even a Catholic fanatic ... thank god I am an atheist ;)
Answer me following question: is god able to create a rock he himself is unable to lift?﻿
Even sadder that the human population still responds to well to this type of activity in its leaders.﻿
SHAMEFUL! plus he obviously didn't heed the advice of his P.R. team either. No wonder the mob burnt the palaces back when. Poor animals.﻿
Sure, but how do you think the world felt when we saw a shirtless PUTIN catching a big fish???? Heh, heh, heh﻿
What's the point killing aimals this way?would like to know one reasonable point﻿
In answer to Robert Infi... When God created you, He accomplished that in a sense. Your heart is so hardened that only you can make the choice to allow God to change it. I pray that you will make the decision before it is too late.﻿
Please, do not add God in the conversation, let's deal with our problems as what we are, Humans, let's solve our problems.﻿
Sorry +Will Hunt, but I think it's every other species that should be afraid of us. When there are 7+ billion people walking this planet, we are not in danger of anything but over populating.﻿
I do wonder, how a man, with access to significant resources would choose to indulge in an outdated leisure activity. Maybe, it's an indication of the space between the public, modern statesman and the private, old guard, man!﻿
Does this remind anyone of the CEO of GoDaddy?﻿
Idiot. He should get the death penalty. No excuse for his actions.﻿
Who shall we eat? A greedy elephant or a vulnerable king?﻿ are going down....hope the EURO don't bail them is call punishment﻿
That is just sickening and purely disrespectful to our fellow creatures that provide and sustain the planet. That King absolutey had no valid reason to shoot such a revered and magnificant creature. It is not like this Egotistic God Complex Self Serving DS will give thanks and gratefully make use of every part of that Elephant. The loss of life was for nothing. This is a one example of millions or thousands. These jackasses ought to change places see what it's like. That would change their habits.﻿
why is everyone apalled by this? ever heard of bass pro shops?
i am not for hunting at all but clearly there's a large group of people who truly enjoy hunting as a sport.I have known guys who who are hunters, nice decent people.

look I'm not for hunting and don't care for it at all, but it can't and wont be stopped.there's too many people involved in that lifestyle.
and my last point is this: why do people select some animals to pick a fight about....isn't fishing a form of hunting?﻿
This is an atrocity. I cannot believe that someone of his political standing does not have a team of advisors that would tell him of the political repercussions of this.

As for the Religious, Gun Toting wanker +Rachel Roney, I have seen her post the same kind of garbage before. She likes to Troll G+ What’s Hot on a regular basis and spread her hate and thinly veiled indignation as “Spreading the word of God”; she is part of the cancerous, closed minded, religious zealots that need to be under a Kings foot rather than an Elephant.
Just my 2 cents.﻿
Mike T.
Hunting is OK for food and clothing, but certainly not for trophies.

We are stewards of the land, not butchers.﻿
it's not about carni and vegan , it's all about to save the species of the remaining animals that's all . i don't know why all are so aggressive.﻿
Sometimes the tide turns too slowly, and we all lose.﻿
Very true. We in Kenya feel very, very sad that such a public figure who is also an Honorary Chairman of the WWF Spain sets such an example. Seeing these magnificent animals (or any other animals) in the wild and then learning that they were possibly poached for their ivory a few days or weeks later is heart breaking. It is equally heart breaking to know that somewhere someone takes a gun and kills an animal as an entertainment. In Kenya, where we lost a large number of animals, especially elephants and rhinos, to poachers, we feel the pain of a dying animal in our hearts.
Hunting, even if it is legal, is a deeply moral issue and it is a shame the King of Spain finds hunting a thrill and poses triumphantly over the body of someone who should be alive.
I find you mockery to be not welcome, Mark Robot﻿
Good for him that he ended up in a hospital after that trip....what a cunt he is!﻿
What about the people starving while others make billions?﻿
Spain still has a king? Royalty is such a silly anachronism in the 21ˢᵗ century.

I have a hard time fretting over a dead elephant when the Syrian government has murdered at least 9000 of its own people. Or when little kids in Chicago are gunned down in gang shootings.﻿
Be nice to the Billionaires and they might give you some.﻿
Theres a lot more people than elephants.﻿
it is always the rich that believe they are above everything and they themselves are the only thing that counts....﻿
There are indeed lot more people to cry for, There are many Kings, Presidents and Prime Ministers standing on towers made by dead human bodies. More cruelty is that the living among them are also left with such a miserable life they wish to be dead.﻿
At some point the human race needs to evolve.﻿
Strange that the death of an elephant is raising a lot of moral questions we have actually ignored for a long time. The deaths of millions of men, women and children by various leaders, all over the world, should get some mention. Not to talk of those dying daily under very killing economic and social conditions. We need to resurrect our humanity.﻿
The king of Spain's actions are outrageously deplorable and extremely tasteless! I think he must apologize for his lack of character and inhumane actions immediately and very publicly for his ill respect toward other sentient life forms. For all the king of Spain's actions reflect upon the pillars of his character and every ill jest will chip away at his pillars, reducing him, causing the temple that is he to collapse on himself! So mote it be!﻿
+Tim Piatek ... hhhmmm ... many, many years ago, possibly even before you were born, I have watched a documentary featuring Lemming mass suicide, guess what, that's a myth too.
If something or even somebody is a pest lies in the eye of the beholder. And think about it, there is now only about 1% of the African Elephant population there was before the 1990s. In about 100 years 99% of the population has been killed by man - mostly for two big teeth. So who is the greater pest?
How much of a pest could they be now if there once were about 100 times more animals and there were still plants and other things left on the continent.
Wolfs in Europe, Bears in Europe, Vultures in Europe, Lynx in Europe ... Elephants in Africa and Asia ... Sharks, Tuna, Whales ...
Of course, they have all been a pest, but man is not, because he is the pride/summit of creation.
You know there is possibly only one creature on this planet that has killed more other living creatures on this planet than man himself - but maybe it is even not a creature, because scientific community still discusses if they are alive. By the way it is not a single species, but a whole class: viruses!﻿
+Kalu Onuma that's not mutual exclusive. But stating, that we should not care about animals, because there are people dying or other more pressing matters, destroys our humanity and has caused the whole planet, the whole environment much harm.﻿
B Dawk
I love how they posed the elephant's face up against the tree. Got bark????﻿
It would be different if it were the other way around, and maybe better for the rest of us with a concern about the world if it had of been, the Elephant stood over the king of Spains dead body﻿
The king of Spain should be ashamed of him self﻿
Wtf! Bullshit! needless acts of violence.﻿
Poachers should be shot onsight Pictures in the news papers show the horror of poaching .Killing elephants for fun why not shoot on sight ?.or is that to harsh.﻿
animals are just as important as people so if your not going to kill a person dont kill an animal﻿
I agree with your point Richard, but that’s a ballsy statement for the leader of an airline. I would expect that an airline would have to suffer diplomacy far more than other industries. Can’t the King of Spain do something to make it tougher on your business if he took offence to your calling him out for his ‘pachydermicide’?﻿
King of Spain...wasn't that a song by The Police?﻿
I love how these things like these are so emotionally bound. He paid a lot of money for that elephant, which mostly likely he saved many other elephants. Get mad at the poachers and illegal hunting of animals, not the legitimate ones. As for those posting "*save the animals*", if we don't have uses for certain animals that is when it is scary and they need sanctuary. If we need them, we will keep them alive. As a human we are a virus to the earth, nothing less. One day we will have control of earth and we will be able to save it and use it as we see fit, of course we can only support science and hope that happens before we destroy it.﻿
Good example of what people do for fun when they run out of things to recklessly spend there money on﻿
I agree, the best way to lead is by example-----a good example.﻿
I agree...I love elephants! Such majestic and gentle animals...we are killing our planet and our history!﻿
It is sad...Africa's wildlife are under serious threat. Currently in South Africa our Rhinos are the target. And for what? Because some idiot in the East think it will cure his erection problems and make him better in bed. Some body should go and promote Viagra over there.

Southern Africa is renowned for it's diverse wildlife and South Africa is home to the Kruger National Park...a world famous park. Last year on a 7 day vacation there, we only saw 3 Rhinos. The year before that, we saw a lot more.

Rather than killing them, high profile people, like the King, could put his voice and support behind the conservation of our precious wildlife and make sure that they are around for generations to come.

If you ever have the opportunity, you must visit one of Africa's Game Reserves. To see the majestic animals in there natural habit is awesome and a real life changing experience.

Come on people...the animals, especially the Rhinos need your help.﻿
America stop meddling with Africa. We saw you destroy most of your wildlife. You want to save the elephant and rhino then eat a Chinaman. That is our biggest threat now. Not a king of little power in bankrupt Spain. The threat from hunting is minimal. The threat from ivory poaching I'd the real killer and it is done by poor Africans trying to earn a crust. But stop China and Vietnam and the elephant is secure. As for the rhino it may already be too late!﻿
Tom - you make such a great point, it's really needless to use vulgarity, it only distracts and takes away from your point.﻿
remember that this a country that allows bullfighting!﻿
For all my "rational" friends, the danger to many species is not hunting, of any form, it is the encroachment of humans on those species habitats...if you truly loved the elephants, you would go to Africa, pick up a gun, and begin hunting men. Still care?﻿
Bravo Branson - as usual. Your CD label, Virgin, has some of the greatest classical music, and your way of getting to space is, I would guess, a factor in the retirement of the horrifically inefficient Space Shuttle.﻿
Apparently he missed a chapter in the manual, "How to Be a Proper Monarch." Appalling behavior from a royal!!!!!!!﻿
Instead of killing them for profit, why don't we let them live for profit?﻿
who do you expect from people who killed and enslaved the indigenous americans?﻿
Perhaps we should hunt Kings again.﻿
I agree wholeheartedly. I love Elephants, they are majestic creatures and highly intelligent (more so than the King). Very sad.﻿
I would pay a huge price just to bond with an elephant. I hope some day I get the chance.﻿
what happened to the value of life ???????? so sad﻿
Es triste y vergonzoso(Sobre todo para los que vivimos en este país y no compartimos las aficiones cinegéticas de nuestro rey)ver un ejemp. tan poco edificante(no sólo por lo que representa de cara a la sensibilidad-por la muerte del animal-) de un dirigente dedicándose a un "deporte"(por llamarlo de alguna forma) elitista y muy muy caro en un País que lucha por salir de una crisis económica y personal con el recurso del trabajo y apretándose el cinturón(muy a menudo) para poder llegar a fín de mes con su salario.Totalmente inadecuado y fuera de lugar. Ha demostrado ser un buen regente...el problema es que no hay sólo que parecer también hay que ser y no pedir a los demás que tiren del carro mientras él utiliza su "status" para hacer lo que le da la gana sin tener en cuenta a los que subvencionamos su gastos...Aquí o tiramos todos del carro a un mismo tiempo o esto se va al garete.﻿
some body should shoot him-let's see if he likes that then!﻿
There are parts of the worl,d where there are too many of them. If they don't control the population they could crash from sickness. Australia wants some, to eat grass to avoid brush fires.﻿
I thought humans were above killing elephants...guess not.﻿
Humans are not above killing other Humans... what color is the sky in your world? Trouble with being idealist is that opportunists will take you for all you are worth. Adapt or die is a Rule not a suggestion ...bunch of damn sheeple up in here.﻿
Spain, always been heartless....﻿
Might worth to mention that South Africa and Botswana has a huge elephant overpopulation problem. So much so that they are endangering other species by destroying vegetation. So yes in Botswana they kill whole herds of elephants to keep the numbers in check. (They also use laparoscopic vasectomies for the same reason)﻿
I was absolutely disgusted by what I saw.. Really hope the 'King' gets what is coming very soon...﻿
Disgusting elitist crittens.﻿
How anyone can kill such beautiful creatures is beyond me???﻿
We're from Spain & mom always held royal family in high regard, but after this, we're disgusted and no longer hold them in such esteem. We're huge animal lovers and feel for the grieving elephants. They're families and they grieve just as we do. It's unconscionable what Juan Carlos did.﻿
Elephant are no longer endangered in most of Southern Africa. Kruger National Park is over capacity and has been for many years. Area's like Tsavo are also over capacity and this potentially poses a danger to the entire ecosystem they inhabit. Relocation from these area's is also now impractical because other areas are also very close to carrying capacity.

With this in mind, hunting is the most logical method of population control as it brings in foreign currency into regions that desperately need it to fund conservation as a whole (which culling does not), with the meat feeding impoverished local communities. Without this paid trophy hunting many private game parks that are home to Africa's wildlife would not exist and neither would the animals that call these places home. Its a compromise that benefits everyone, including the animals.

This does not take into account the problems facing Northern African communities. Area's in Kenya and Tanzania where elephant roam free are the scenes for bloody battles between elephant and local tribes people. The tribes people lose their crops that are their livelihoods to raiding elephant and ordinarily organise groups of men to exact revenge on the elephant by killing them. This causes behavioral problems on the part of the elephant as they become extremely dangerous to humans and this hurts tourism, the only life blood sustaining tourism in many of these area's. Since hunting has been introduced, the PH's(professional hunters) pay the locals for damaged crops in return for not persecuting these magnificent animals from the proceeds of hunting and everyone wins as the local tribes also get the meat from the elephant hunted as trophies along the the financial compensation for the damage to crops. A win win situation for all parties.

So surely, Mr Branson, it makes sense to a businessman such as yourself, to attach an economic value to our game in order to promote conservation, even if it is not the ideal situation. Until people from all walks of life chip in and pay up to pay for the costs of conservation, hunting is almost the only life blood that sustains these efforts in many cases. Unfortunately, thanks to the human condition, people in first world countries are not going to contribute significantly to conservation efforts either through volunteer programs or financially. The 45000 euro's paid by the King to hunt this elephant will go a long way to saving many other from poaching. 45000 Euro's pays the salary of more than 10 game rangers for a year who will also, incidentally protect not only the elephant but the critically endangered rhino and any other species that inhabit this area. Whether you like hunting elephant or not(I do not) surely, we must agree that it is a necessary evil that serves the greater good!﻿
I urge anyone contemplating commenting to read previous comments before posting simple minded, biased, unintelligent comments.﻿
The Kings always think they are more than human, they think they have a divine right to do whatever they want.﻿
Chase E
Half the world kills, Half the world gets killed. Choose you side! GO!﻿
Chase E
Some say speciesist, some say hungry.﻿
In some countries,  years to come and for the future generation, wild animals such as an elephant and lion will only be read in books. Why on earth will someone kill an elephant and be proud of it? Very unfair to the wild and and the country, lets make the world a better place than we found it!﻿
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