The animal-rights furor unleashed last July after the killing of Cecil the lion in Zimbabwe has descended on the Las Vegas Strip.
About two dozen demonstrators gathered in front of Mandalay Bay Wednesday night to protest what they call trophy killings.
That is because the resort is hosting the Safari Club International hunters convention, which kicked off Wednesday and runs through Saturday.
Despite calls to cancel the event, including an online petition that garnered over 72,000 supporters on social networking site Care2, the convention will go on, an MGM Resorts International spokeswoman told the Sun.
"Our convention facilities are contracted by a wide range of organizations with diverse interests. We understand that not everyone will support every viewpoint held by the thousands of groups that meet at our facilities each year."
The event, now in its 44th year, is the "largest, most exclusive sports convention in the world that features hundreds of exhibits and auction items," according to SCI's website.
According to the Safari Club, the organization protects the freedom to hunt and promotes wildlife conservation worldwide.
Lou Kings, 40, said he feels outrage over some of the auction items available, which include a two-week trip to Tanzania where a hunter and an observer can kill up to three Cape buffalo and "other Masailand species." Saturday's bid for that hunt begins at about $60,000, according to SCI.
Hunting for "purely pleasure" bothers Kings, a 40-year-old Seattle resident. There's "no reason behind it."
There are different ways to appreciate wild animals, Kings said. "I don't understand why it has to be at the end of a barrel of a gun."
Kings flew from Washington along with nine others. They're part of a pet rescue organization in Seattle. More members were expected to arrive Thursday, he said.
Tom and Carolyn, both married, 68 and from Lake Havasu City, Ariz., said animal rights compelled them enough to protest. They last remember demonstrating against the Vietnam War.
It's "so adolescent to be killing animals for trophies anymore given the state of the world as it is today," Tom said. The couple did not disclose their last name.
In a statement, SCI said it supports the rights of the protesters but invites them to "partner with us in conservation (rather) than fight against us."
The protests are an "irony," because the group says it does "much more for the conservation of species and habitat than many of the misguided policies that these protesters would like to see supported."
Protesters, who cheered when drivers honked and held signs as a drum thumped, say they want to spread awareness on animal rights.
Others, like Martin Edwards, 41, want the federal government to get involved in regulating the hunting industry.
Demonstrators will reconvene in front of Mandalay Bay Thursday and Friday evenings.
They will return Saturday morning when there's a worldwide rally in honor of Cecil, the lion killed by American dentist Walter Palmer, who at one point belonged to SCI, according to news reports.
The killing sparked outrage from conservationists and garnered international attention.
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