Trophy Hunting Can Help African Conservation, Study Says

This article from National Geographic, written in 2010, discusses the ways in which trophy hunting can benefit conservation efforts. The article points out the booming tourist industry, which brings in more than $200 million U.S. dollars a year. The land associated with private hunting trips is also substantial. Private hunting operations control 22% more land than national parks. With this knowledge, some conservationists are hoping that a financial incentive to manage game sustainably will aid conservation efforts. Supporters assert that this will create an opportunity for wildlife to “pay for itself and contribute to the economy.” Basically, if hunting operations want to remain open, the onus is on them to manage their herds sustainably. In order for this to work, regulation would need to tightened and enforced. Hunting isn’t generally thought of as a conservationist activity, in part because irresponsible hunting, particularly since the colonial times, has caused the extinction and endangerment of many species. However, there are also cases in which species have been reintroduced and flourished as a result of demand by hunters. Critics of this approach are often opposed to animal killings in general, or skeptical that effective regulation could be implemented.

In general, I think encouraging, and regulating, game hunting is a constructive approach to game conservation. In the Neumann and Peluso articles we discussed, NGOs seemed to be endlessly encouraging governments to preserve what were presented as pristine environments. While the articles didn’t mention the distinction between preservation and conservation, I think it is an important one. The preserve something implies that it is static, whereas conservation is more of a steady state. The system is dynamic, but the long term result is unchanged. If resources are conserved, and used sustainably, they can persist throughout time and serve their inhabitants in the present. By encouraging sustainable hunting practices the country receives revenue from hunting tourists and game populations (and by association, their habitats) are conserved and monitored. I also think that the same hunting guidelines could and should be extended to indigenous peoples. By the same logic, they should be allowed to hunt, provided they are doing so in a sustainable manner. I realize enforcing these regulations could become a large problem. If there is an oversight or mistake, a species could be compromised and perhaps irreversibly damaged. I realize it’s a big risk, but I think this approach has more potential than the militaristic preservation efforts we discussed in class on Tuesday.

What do you think? Can conservation efforts be reconciled with hunting? Should game hunting be encouraged? Could this be implemented effectively?