Trophy hunting won’t end wildlife conservation setbacks

For decades, the public has been made to belive the myth that trophy hunting is necessary for sustainable conservation in Africa. Trophy hunting is therefore, currently the subject of debate and polarised positions, with controversy and concern over the practice, its ethical basis, and its impacts. It is therefore, clear that there have been, and continue to be, cases of poorly conducted and poorly regulated hunting, with the killing of “Cecil the Lion” four years ago by an American tourist in Zimbabwe which sparked international uproar.

The rationale is that trophy hunting contributes a significant amount of revenue, which African countries rely on for funding wildlife conservation. The argument is: a few animals are sacrificed through regulated quotas for the greater good of the species. This opens the door for Western tourists to shoot charismatic mega-fauna and make a virtue of it. And it brings much fury to conservationists all over the world that, Botswana, home to the world’s largest elephant population, on Friday was set to hold a major auction for big game hunters to kill 70 elephants, the first since scrapping a hunting ban last year.