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Some trophy hunters that travel to Africa would argue they are actually helping preserve some species. They spend a lot of money (and I mean a lot) to hunt and it is said the money goes toward conservation efforts, making sure their population is stable. Many trophy hunters come from the United States and are wealthy, like the two oldest sons of a current Presidential candidate. But here I have five good reasons why trophy hunting should disappear.
1.Hunting reserves in Africa have fences which actually fragment habitats and stop natural immigration for the animals.
2. Some species are dealing with different threats and trophy hunting is just another threat to their survival. One strong example is the African elephant, whose population has declined drastically over the last decade.
3. The defense that money raised by big game hunting supports conservation and the local communities can be disputed. In some case we can’t guarantee money is going for conservation. And in other instances it’s been found that the amount which is actually applied to these efforts is negligible at best.
4. Native Americans were known to hunt species with healthy populations, using all of the animal’s meat, skin, organs and anything else they could put to use. Trophy hunting is the opposite of this. They are hunting the most endangered species (less in the wild means more expensive to hunt) just for pleasure, killing an animal simply for the kill and a new trophy to display at home.
5. The times are changing. Younger generations around the world are more conscious about the natural world, no longer finding a picture of a dead lion to be cool. It’s time to walk towards the future and preserve what we have left.
