Since the European colonization of eastern Africa, big game hunting, also know as "trophy hunting", has been a very controversial topic. During the early days of trophy hunting, dwindling numbers of some of the world’s most unique and prized wildlife was not a problem like it is today. When a trophy hunting dentist from Minnesota paid $55,000 to kill a prized African lion, he unintentionally reignited the heated debate concerning big game hunting. Wildlife conservationists and hunters debate the impact of hunting on the economy and the environment. Legal hunting can be controlled without government intervention, and the expensive sport of trophy hunting could generate a large sum of money to support conservation efforts.
Wildlife conservationists are constantly working to supervise the rivers, forest, and other natural resources of Africa in order to preserve and protect them through prudent management. In Kenya, laws against trophy hunting has assisted these conservationists in maintaining wildlife populations. However, park rangers face a huge battle against the illegal poaching of these rare trophy animals, such as lions and elephants. In Asia, the demand for ivory continues to surge, despite the long-time ban on its international trade. The demand is so high that the Tanzanian government has developed plans to construct a commercial highway through the Serengeti in order to more efficiently trade goods with Asia (“The Need for Serengeti Watch”). However, the highway will also provide a faster route to the coast for ivory smugglers. The controversy surrounding the highway and its positive or negative effects on the economy, Tanzania as a whole, and the Serengeti is countless. Despite the debate over its benefits and...
... middle of paper ...
...e, Brian. "A Wartime Alliance." White Hunters: The Golden Age of African Safaris. New York: H. Holt, 1999. 167-73. Print.
Lindsey, P. A., R. Alexander, L. G. Frank, A. Mathieson, and S. S. Romanach. "Potential of Trophy Hunting to Create Incentives for Wildlife Conservation in Africa Where Alternative Wildlife-based Land Uses May Not Be Viable." Animal Conservation 9.3 (2006): 283-91. Print.
Lowery, N. "Revisiting the Ban on African Elephant Ivory." ICE Case Studies. American University, Dec. 2007. Web. 31 July 2015.
.
"The Need for Serengeti Watch." Serengeti Watch. Web. 31 July 2015.
.
Whitman, Karyl, Anthony M. Starfield, Henley S. Quadling, and Craig Packer. "Sustainable Trophy Hunting of African Lions." Nature 428.6979 (2004): 175-78. Print.
When a Minnesota dentist killed a prized African lion named "Cecil" he received an onslaught of criticism and reignited the debate concerning big game hunting. Is big game hunting wrong? Should big game hunting continue? Big game hunting has been a very controversial topic for some time and these types of questions are being asked daily. There are a lot of people for it and a lot of people against it. This issue causes a lot of extreme behaviors and ideas by both sides. Those who oppose it believe it to be morally wrong, unfair to the animals and damaging to the environment. Those individuals for it believe that it is the citizens' rights and a way to be involved in the environment. Hunting is the law and shall not be infringed upon. In defense of the hunters' I believe that there are five main issues of concern.
Most sources spoke about the reason for trophy hunting is mostly towards conservation. In the article, Sustainable use and incentive-driven conservation: realigning human and conservation interests, by Nigel Leader-Williams and Jon M. Hutton, stated, “As a result, successful conservation is forced to rely heavily on the incentives generated by use and, for a whole raft of reasons often including a lack of accessibility, infrastructure and charismatic species, by extractive use in particular (Leader-Williams, 2000).” But what you don’t notice is that killing endangered species to “conserve” is not the only way to conserve. According to the article, Hunting – the murderous business, “Wildlife management, population control and wildlife conservation are euphemisms for killing – hunting, trapping and fishing for fun. A percentage of the wild animal population is specifically mandated to be killed. Hunters want us to believe that killing animals equals population control equals conservation, when in fact hunting causes overpopulation of deer, the hunters’ preferred victim species, destroys animal families, and leads to ecological disruption as well as skewed population dynamics.” This
The drive to colonize the continent of Africa in the 19th centuries brought the European imperial powers against difficulties which had never been encountered before. One such difficulty is that of the local wildlife in Africa, such as lions or other big game animals. In The Man-Eaters of Tsavo, by Colonel John Patterson, a railway bridge project in East Africa is terrorized by a pair of man-eating lions. This completely true story shows the great difficulty in colonizing Africa by demonstrating the somewhat harsh environment of Africa.
“Why Sport Hunting Is Cruel and Unnecessary” asserts “natural predators help maintain this balance by killing only the sickest and weakest individuals.” This is the key concept of natural selection that has proven effective throughout history; however, the introduction of invasive and nonnative species can cause an imbalance in population. Opponents would suggest banning hunting in order to allow populations to return to their natural number, but this ban has been proven ineffective in African counties. “How Hunting Helps Wildlife” outlines the detrimental effects a hunting ban can have on wildlife’s population. At one point in time Kenya banned hunting but reinstated hunting as 70 percent had been poached. The laws and regulations in place allowed the populations to be renewed, rising to their original numbers. While banning hunting may sound promising, it has the opposite effect of what is
"In Britain the goal is to kill the fox. Because there is no rabies in
It is early in the morning; the majestic Elk bugles in the distance. The sun is kissing the tops of the peaks with the most beautiful gold, and painting the clouds rose red. The men and women who enjoy the outdoors whether it is hunting or just hiking help make these types of moments possible. Hunting and the ecosystem is tied closely to conservation of land and animals. The articles of “Hunting and the ecosystem” written by the South Dakota Game Fish and Parks Department (SDGFP), and “Facts and statistics on wildlife conservation” written by Roger Holmes, director of the Fish and Wildlife, touch on how hunting is important in the environment to keep a good balance in the ecosystem. They also point out how hunters do more than any other organization for wildlife and environment. Our country was created by outdoors men who hunted and they passed their knowledge of the outdoors to their kids. Hunting has worked its way down from the generation and we should learn to “pass it on” Hunting is great for the environment and wildlife and should be preserved for the ages to come.
There’s another catch to trophy hunting: it is extremely expensive. Permits for trophy hunting usually cost thousands of dollars, which leads to the idea that killing animals can actually help conservation. This concept might seem ridiculous at first, but trophy-hunting permits bring in a plethora of money. For instance, the so-called “ten-day ‘elephant package’ could cost… 36,000 [dollars]” (learnenglish). Even if you merely wish to watch the hunt, you are obliged to pay 3,800 dollars (abcnews). The prices are strikingly high, meaning that so is the revenue. South Africa alone brings in more than 744 million dollars every single year, making it its “most profitable form of commercial land use” (learnenglish). This enormous amount of money can not only be used to aid the many third world countries in Africa, but also with conservation. Many argue that by killing wild game during hunting, it causes some species to go extinct. However, strong economic incentive has motivated landowners to expand their territories, reintroduce species, and take care of the animals in general, which would indicate the opposite: more animals are safe. One might even conclude that the world is saving animals, by killing
Did you know that 100 African elephants are killed each day? According to, At Issue hunting is the practice of pursuing and killing live animals for food, recreation or trade. The Pro View is that hunting is an important component of managing wildlife populations. The Con View is hunting opponents argue that more hunting regulations are needed to prevent animals from going in to extinction (Sirs Data Base). This paper will examine the Pro, Con and my viewpoint on should trophy hunting be banned.
When new and old hunters enter an area they are hunting the hunters are being judged by other people who do or do not hunt. New and old hunters that are disrespectful and have no care for others cause the good and respectful hunters to have a label that all hunters are the same. The label that has been put on hunters wipe out what the good hunters do and why those hunters hunt. Ethical hunting is commonly practiced throughout the world without many people knowing they are being an ethical hunter.
The money can go to conservation clubs. There are even multiple clubs who rely completely on funds from hunts. It could also help the local economy because of tourism and money from the hunts. However, “only 3 percent of the money spent by trophy hunters winds up in the hands of local people” ("Studies Show There Are Many Sides in the African Lion-hunting Debate”) If only three percent of the money goes back to the community, then it is not making a large impact on the community. Some also claim that big game hunting draws in money from tourism by the hunters. However, “It made up only 1.2 percent of all tourism money in South Africa and 2.3 percent in Tanzania.” ("Studies Show There Are Many Sides in the African Lion-hunting Debate”) People are claiming that hunters are dragging in money for tourism, but most of the tourism income does not come from hunters. Instead, it comes from people on safaris who truly cherish these animals and do not want to see them go
The current ban on fox hunting has been very controversial, and there have been many arguments, both for and against hunting. Fox hunting is typically viewed as a traditional British activity, but actual fox hunting that uses hounds takes place all over the world. Historically wherever the British have gone building their empires, they have taken the sport of fox hunting43 with them. In addition, plenty of other countries have their own fox hunting traditions. In France, Italy and Ireland they are thriving fox hunts.
Fox hunting is a very controversial subject, and for many years people have campaigned against it. Fox hunting is classed as a blood sport, which involves hounds chasing a fox, in order to kill it. There are also people following the fox on horses. Many of these people carry guns, in case the fox manages to escape with injuries. This way, the fox is put out of its misery and suffers little pain. Apart from being a sport that is enjoyed by many people, fox hunting is also a tradition and provides many people with employment as the animals need to be looked after, and the participants of the sport need accommodation.
Elephants are an endangered species and they should not be killed for their ivory or they will become extinct. In the article The Poaching Problem the author writes” elephant populations have declined to dangerously low levels.” At the rate that poachers are killing these innocent animal the entire species of elephants will be extinct in the year 2030! That is only twenty five years, I know that does not seem like a long time but it is going to go by fast and every one will regret killing all those poor innocent gentle creatures. In case study 483 they author writes “ During the 1970s and 1980s elephant poaching had included about 1.3 million elephants killed for their tusks.” It is hard to distinguish between legal and illegal ivory so it is sold easily.
Crosmary, Cote, and Fritz analyze the benefits and complications involved with Trophy hunting in their publication, “The assessment of the role of trophy hunting in wildlife conservation”. One concern voiced in this article is that
The number of elephants and Rhinos in the world has dwindled significantly in the past few years. The reason for this population decrease is the Ivory trade. The Ivory trade is the selling and obtaining of the Ivory tusks and horns from elephants and rhinos. The Ivory trade pushed the populations of wild elephants and rhinos to almost extinction, so the Ivory trade was banned internationally on January 18th, 1990 (Ted). The international ban spurred stockpiling and exposed poaching. Daniel Stiles, a member of the IUCN/SSC African Elephant Specialist Group, proposed in his article, Can Elephants Survive a Continued Ivory Ban, to legalize the Ivory trade again to help stop the poaching on theses endangered animals (Stiles). Stiles’ proposition to reinstate the Ivory trade would not help the elephant and rhino populations rebound; it would also not stop the poaching that is making these populations dip to an all-time low (Stiles).