Are vegans the only ones with a right to care about Cecil the Lion?

Cecil the lion - a majestic animal killed by a savage beast

Are vegans the only people who have a right to speak out about the death of Cecil the lion? 

Sadly, that's what some vegans (not all, but some) are saying. I’ve read comments all over social media saying exactly that. 

As a vegetarian for 27 years and a vegan for 2, I think that's nonsense. I want everyone whether they are vegan or not to have compassion for animals - even if it’s only for some animals because what's the alternative - nobody except vegans and vegetarians caring about animals at all?

If you followed the rationale of vegans who say only they have the moral high ground to condemn this majestic animal being killed by a savage beast-

Eat meat? 

Why not just wear fur.

Eat dairy? 

Don’t waste your time eating free range organic eggs, just eat eggs from caged, battery farmed hens.

See a dog being mistreated? 

Well, walk on by because the animals you eat are mistreated every day. 

I would rather everybody showed some compassion towards animals than none at all.

We've all got families right? Most of them aren't vegan. But if we persuade them that the hunting of wildlife like Cecil is wrong, haven't we achieved something? 

If we persuade them to eat one vegetarian/vegan meal a week, isn't that progress? 

The message that you need to be vegan to speak up for animals is a damaging one. Maybe one day, those who condemn the killing of beautiful Cecil will go vegan, but they'll go too far the other way if they get shouted down by vegans for actually given a damn even if its for a lion in Africa. 

In an ideal world, nobody would eat animals and compassion would be shown to ALL living things, but this isn't a perfect world.

And, that’s how veggiegirl2011 sees it.