The unfortunate story of Walter Palmer and Cecil the Lion has been all over the news during the last couple of weeks. While the exact details of the hunt are still somewhat murky, it certainly appears that Palmer and his guides made several avoidable mistakes that could have prevented this fiasco from happening.

As a result, Palmer has received thousands of death threats, he has had to shut down his place of business and go into hiding, and he is facing criminal charges and possible extradition to Zimbabwe.

The purpose of this piece is not to attack or defend Palmer and his guides for their actions or to debate lion hunting or big game hunting in general. Instead, I'm going to talk about a couple of precautions you can take to prevent your big game hunting trip from turning into a nightmare like what has happened to Palmer and a few other hunters who have become famous for the wrong reasons lately.

Familiarize yourself with hunting regulations

Regardless of what you are hunting and where, you need to have at least a basic understanding of the local hunting regulations. Specific regulations on legal hunting hours, legal weapons, bag limits, etc., vary between localities. It is possible that hunting in a certain manner is 100 percent legal in one area, but illegal just a few miles away.

It should go without saying, but I'll say it anyway: Understanding the regulations isn't enough, you've got to follow them. You are ultimately responsible for your own actions. This does not change when you are hunting with a guide or an outfitter.

As Palmer is finding out right now, he could still be charged criminally for doing something illegal, even if he did everything under the guidance of a licensed professional hunter (who is also facing criminal charges).

Hunt with a reputable outfitter

Going along with the previous point, you should always do your best to hunt with a reputable outfitter or guide. If you are hunting with a stand-up guide, the odds are low that he or she would do something illegal on a hunt, even inadvertently. Fortunately, there are a lot of good hunting outfitters out there who highly value their reputation and would not even consider doing something illegal or unethical.

The hunting industry is relatively small, and word has a way of making it around if someone is doing something shady. If you catch even a whiff of something illegal or unethical being done by an outfitter with whom you are considering hunting, you should seriously consider hunting with someone else. Hunting with someone who has a sterling reputation may be more expensive, but it could very well save you a lot of money and grief in the long run.

If it seems too good to be true ...

You've heard the saying before: If it seems too good to be true, it probably is. In the hunting world, this is normally the case when you see an incredible deal on a hunt. While this was not the case with Palmer (he paid more than $50,000 for his infamous lion hunt), significantly discounted hunts are often so cheap because there is something fishy with the hunt, like being conducted in an area without a quota for that particular animal.

This does not mean that every discounted hunt means the outfitter is doing something illegal. Last-minute cancellation hunts are good examples of significantly discounted hunts that are often legal. However, if you see something that seems too good to be true, your BS radar should be alert and looking for potential trouble on the horizon.

Be careful on social media

Social media outlets like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are both a blessing and a curse. They allow you to share your big game hunting experiences with your friends and family. However, they are also popular outlets for anti-hunters to attack and harass big game hunters. Unfortunately, far too many big game hunters give anti-hunters ammunition to use against them in the form of ill-advised social media posts.

The Cecil the Lion scandal is just the latest in a string of incidents of social media being used to attack hunters. For example, Rebecca Francis was subjected to death threats and other forms of cyberbullying after Ricky Gervais attacked her on Twitter over photos with a giraffe she legally hunted in Africa. Charisa Argys received the same treatment in 2014 after she legally hunted a mountain lion in Colorado.

So what can you do to protect yourself? Unfortunately, while there are ways to reduce your exposure on social media outlets, there is no completely foolproof way to protect yourself from attacks, even if you don't have any social media accounts.

The first thing you need to do is understand that with the proliferation of digital cameras and social media, it is easier than ever to spread photographs. While this is often a good thing, it really makes the old adage about not taking any photos that you wouldn't be 100 percent comfortable having appear on the front page of the New York Times even more true.

When taking trophy photos, ensure you are doing your utmost to be respectful to the animal in the photos. And don't take or share any photos that would embarrass you later.

Next, exercise extreme caution when sharing photos of certain animals. Photos of some animals, like the big cats (lion, leopard, mountain lion, etc.), wolves, giraffes and elephants (just to name a few) seem provoke more virulent reactions from anti-hunters than photos of deer and elk. While there is nothing wrong with legally hunting these animals and posting photos of your hunt on social media, you should do so knowing that may set you up to be a target for attacks from anti-hunters.

Finally, don't feed the trolls. Mark Twain said it best: "Never argue with a fool, onlookers may not be able to tell the difference." Most anti-hunters engaging in harassment and personal attacks on social media aren't interested in debating the pros and cons of hunting. Even though it may feel good, I don't recommend engaging them in conversation, trying to reason with them or retaliating against them.

It's usually not worth your time, and it may even further inflame the situation. Remain calm and don't let them goad you into doing something stupid, which is exactly what they want. Instead, delete the comments in question, block or ban the offender, and move on with your life.

In this day and age, big game hunters are under a microscope from those who are opposed to hunting. For this reason, it is important that we put our best foot forward and avoid creating situations that make hunters look bad.

Following the advice presented here will go a long way toward keeping your big game hunting trip from turning into a nightmare, and you'll do good things for other hunters as well.