By: Risë Birnbaum
Whoever thinks PR doesn’t work, think again. Karma’s a bitch for big game hunter, Minnesota dentist Walter James Palmer with OVER 5,000 NEGATIVE YELP REVIEWS AND COUNTNG. Palmer’s the one who traveled to Zimbabwe, lured Cecil the lion out of a national park using a dead animal strapped to his car, and killed the beloved lion with a bow and arrow. My mistake, the arrow didn’t kill him. The wounded animal made it away until the group found him the next day and shot Cecil dead. And there’s that pic of the dentist, with a very toothy smile, gloating over the limp lion like some modern day William Tell.
Well, Dr. Walter James Palmer is getting his comeuppance. Thanks to swift news of Cecil’s tragic death through social media and online and broadcast news, animal rights activists along with everyday mensches are taking to Yelp to squelch Palmer’s practice. The verbal bows and arrows being slung include reviews like, “There’s a psychopath living among us,” and, “Dr. Palmer shot me in the neck with a crossbow.” Ouch.
Actions have consequences and when a tragic tale makes headlines, readers and viewers want blood. In this case, that means targeting his Yelp page, River Bluff Dental, with one-star reviews (and worse) and slamming the “Dentist of Death” on Facebook.
Believe it or not, the guy spent $55,000 for the right to hunt and slaughter Cecil. I guess root canals don’t come cheap. I think the dentist needs to fork over another $55,000 to the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit at Oxford. WildCRU tagged and tracked Cecil for research with the ultimate goal of increasing the lion population in the wild. Ironic. Dr. Dummy should also throw away his bow and arrow (and maybe drill and mirror) and work in an animal shelter for the rest of his life. And if I had my way, I’d tie him to a giant target and get the chance to practice my archery skills from summer camp. Problem, is, I’m not that good a shot.