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Following reports that the Wounded Warrior Project, a U.S. charity that supports veterans, auctioned off a canned hunt of an endangered scimitar-horned oryx at a fundraiser, PETA supporter and former 173rd Airborne Combat Medic Bill Muir sent a letter to the organization urging it to eliminate any association with such violence in the future.
In canned hunts, animals are typically kept in fenced enclosures with no chance to escape, fight back, or survive. In his letter, Muir reminded the project that the military’s responsibility is to protect life—not destroy it.
“As a proud veteran, I’d like to thank you for the programs and services you provide to those who have sacrificed so much for our country. I recently learned, however, of a Wounded Warrior donor event in which the canned hunt of a scimitar-horned oryx was auctioned off. During my time as a combat medic, I witnessed painful injuries and agonizing deaths, and I’m disappointed that your fine organization would promote such pointless, unnecessary violence,” Muir wrote.
Clients on canned-hunting ranches typically gun down animals solely to hang their head, horns, or antlers on the wall as a “trophy,” so they will avoid shooting an animal in the head and instead aim for the lungs. Animals often endure slow, agonizing deaths from blood loss or from drowning in their own blood. The end goal of every hunt is a violent, likely terrifying death for a sensitive, feeling individual.
“Scimitar-horned oryx—like humans—feel pain and fear and don’t want to die,” Muir added. “To raise money for our soldiers by hunting down and killing a helpless animal just feels wrong.”
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