Cruel to be Kind

Some rich idiot has been squashed to death in Gabon after surprising some female elephants with a calf. The mighty hunter was an American millionaire on an antelope-busting trip, and an acquaintance was quoted in the Rothermere Daily Stürmer to the effect that all his kills were registered as "conservation in culling animal numbers." There are more than twenty million American millionaires in the world, any dozen of whom probably do more human and environmental damage than the remaining half-million elephants and hundred and fifty thousand yellow-backed duikers; nevertheless, it remains as yet unclear whether the rich idiot's demise will be registered as conservational culling also. It is to be hoped, at least, that none of the elephants was unduly inconvenienced by the surprise.