By: Emily Sack
There are multiple definitions of “trophy hunting.” Wikipedia defines it as “selective hunting of wild game animals.” It can also be seen as any hunter who keeps a momentum from the animal they killed. Or it can be the hunters that take a piece of the animal and leave the carcass behind. Since there are so many definitions and views on this topic, there has been a lot of debate over the morality and humanness of this type of hunting.
There are multiple definitions of “trophy hunting.” Wikipedia defines it as “selective hunting of wild game animals.” It can also be seen as any hunter who keeps a momentum from the animal they killed. Or it can be the hunters that take a piece of the animal and leave the carcass behind. Since there are so many definitions and views on this topic, there has been a lot of debate over the morality and humanness of this type of hunting.
Canned hunting is a hunt where the animal is kept in a confined area to be killed and since it’s fenced in, there is no way it can escape. Canned hunting has been banned in 20 U.S states but it is still a common practice in states that continue to allow it. The majority of canned hunts occur in other countries such as Africa where there are more exotic animals which makes it more exciting. Most of these “hunters” that pay to participate in this type of hunt are from North America and Europe. Many people
object to this practice because the animal has no chance of escaping. Many say
it’s not real hunting and just an opportunity for people from here to say they
have killed an exotic animal. Canned hunting is still legal in many countries and
many preserves raise animals specifically to be used in these canned hunts.
Trophy Hunting: Good or Bad?
Negative Effects of Trophy Hunting
In Defense of Animals
This article focuses on the negative implications of the
trophy hunting of exotic animals, mostly in other countries such as Africa and
India. Debates have been going on over the ethics of trophy hunting and this
article is very much against it. It’s quite opinionated and although it puts
practically all hunters in a bad light, it does a good job of describing the
damages humans are creating in regards to our wildlife, especially the
endangered species. Now the majority of hunters aren’t as bad as this article
describes, but there are certainly many people who hunt only exotic animals and
even endangered animals which is in fact illegal under the Endangered Species
Act of 1973.
Can Trophy Hunting Actually Help Conservation?
University of Washington
University of Washington
This article views trophy hunting in a different light.
Instead of insisting that this type of hunting is permanently damaging the
populations of hundreds of animals, especially endangered species, this piece
focuses on the possible positive effect it has on conservation. Every year
permits are sold for hundreds of thousands of dollars which helps communities
raise funds and awareness for their wildlife. So even though hunters are killing a large
amount of animals, some of which are endangered; because they are paying for a
permit it’s actually helping conservation efforts to preserve the wildlife and environment.
“A Mindful Carnivore” tells the story of how Tovar started
hunting and how his views of vegetarianism and hunting changed throughout his
life. He has the unique perspective of being able to speak on both sides behalf’s.
One of the things he said stuck out to me: “black and white became softer”. He
said this when we were discussing the belief that being a vegetarian is
supporting animal rights but in reality, many agricultural methods involve
physically or emotionally damaging the animals, even when they are not being
slaughtered. Many agriculture industries have stressing conditions and it can
change your views when you realize the milk you drank or the scrambled eggs you
had probably came from animals that are being treated cruelly. It’s true; it’s
not always black and white.
tovarcerulli.com
My interview with Tovar Cerulli was enlightening and
motivating. It opened my mind to some new ideas and views and in these last two
years my beliefs on hinting have severely changed. I still don’t support any
type of hunting that is unfair or unnecessarily cruel to the animal but I’m
more open to the idea of hunting then I once was.
http://blog.africageographic.com/africa-geographic-blog/hunting/trophy-hunting-in-the-context-of-community-conservation/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOUFdMKTLG4
CITES
(Convention of the International Trade of Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna):
This organization aims to ensure that the trade of wildlife does not severely impact the populations. It runs numerous programs for a large number of species and does a lot of work that benefits both wildlife and plant life.
For more information you can go to the official CITES page here:
World Wildlife Fund
WWF preserves nature and attempts to reduce the most pressing threats to earth's diversity. Their ultimate goal is to build a future where humans live in harmony with nature. There are a large number of programs that they sponsor and run and millions of people who are a part of the organization.
For more information or to join World Wildlife Fun:
http://worldwildlife.org/
Interview with Tovar Cerulli
I interviewed Tovar Cerulli, the author of “A Mindful Carnivore”,
and a man who went from vegetarian to vegan to hunter. We started off
discussing the general meaning behind the term “trophy hunt” which can be
thought in different ways which cause a lot of debate amongst hunters and
animal activists. In reality, most hunters do hunt for the prize but they also
eat the meat and use all the parts of the animal they have killed. Tovar
pointed out that only a very small minority kills the
animal and leaves the
carcass behind. www.thewilltohunt.com
“Where’s the meaning of taking a life?” he said. If somebody
just leaves the carcass behind and doesn’t use the animal they just killed,
what’s the point? Those who do just want the prize and use nothing else have
lost touch with nature and the most basic meaning of hunting.
Growing up, Tovar
fished so he was fond of nature and respected all it had to give. Tovar Cerulli
was a liberal arts undergrad who focused on social change and environmental
issues and studied hunting ethics in grad school. Around the age of twenty he
became a vegetarian and then vegan. That lasted for ten years and then he
changed his diet and even became a hunter. As someone who is also a vegetarian
and a big animal rights supporter, it’s difficult to imagine changing from
somebody who doesn’t eat meat to somebody who takes the lives of animals for
their own profit.
“A Mindful Carnivore” tells the story of how Tovar started
hunting and how his views of vegetarianism and hunting changed throughout his
life. He has the unique perspective of being able to speak on both sides behalf’s.
One of the things he said stuck out to me: “black and white became softer”. He
said this when we were discussing the belief that being a vegetarian is
supporting animal rights but in reality, many agricultural methods involve
physically or emotionally damaging the animals, even when they are not being
slaughtered. Many agriculture industries have stressing conditions and it can
change your views when you realize the milk you drank or the scrambled eggs you
had probably came from animals that are being treated cruelly. It’s true; it’s
not always black and white.tovarcerulli.com
When asked for his opinion on deer pens, Tovar told me that
if the enclosure is small it’s not really hunting; it’s shooting livestock. When
asked about hunting with dogs, he talked about how it changes depending on your
location. In some areas it’s completely normal to hunt with dogs but in other
areas it’s less common.
We talked about poaching in the United States and other
countries and the effect they have on species populations. He believes that as
long as the poaching doesn’t damage the health of the population (ex. the
poaching of elephant’s in South Africa). Poaching of deer doesn’t affect the
overall population at all so he thinks it’s not as bad as the poaching of other
more endangered species.
People all over the world believe that hunting is inhumane
and cruel to animals, but what a lot of them don’t realize is that it’s part of
nature. The world is made up of predators and prey and all animals either eat
other animals or get eaten by other animals. Humans are part of that cycle but
complicated things with their morals and ethics. A mountain lion doesn’t
hesitate to take down a deer because that’s how it survives. Humans have
debates and argue with each other over how ethical hunting is all the time, but
don’t realize that even if hunting was banned all around the world, animals
would still fall prey to predators. It’s how the world works and we can’t
change it.
http://blog.africageographic.com/africa-geographic-blog/hunting/trophy-hunting-in-the-context-of-community-conservation/
Abstract from Undesirable Evolutionary Consequences of
Trophy Hunting:
“Phenotype-based
selective harvests, including trophy hunting, can have important implications
for sustainable wildlife management if they target heritable trails. Here we
show that in an evolutionary response to sport hunting of bighorn trophy rams (Ovis
canadensis) body weight and horn size have declined significantly over
time. We used quantitative genetic analyses, based on a partly genetically
reconstructed pedigree from a 30-year study of a wild population in which
trophy hunting targeted rams with rapidly growing horns, to explore the
evolutionary response to hunter selection on ram weight and horn size. Both
traits were highly heritable, and trophy-harvested rams were of significantly
higher genetic ‘breeding value’ for weight and horn size than rams that were
not harvested. Rams of high breeding value were also shot at an early age, and
thus did not achieve high reproductive success. Declines in mean breeding
values for weight and horn size therefore occurred in response to unrestricted
trophy hunting, resulting in the production of smaller-horned, lighter rams,
and fewer trophies.”
To read the full article click the link here:
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v426/n6967/full/nature02177.htmlCITES
(Convention of the International Trade of Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna):
This organization aims to ensure that the trade of wildlife does not severely impact the populations. It runs numerous programs for a large number of species and does a lot of work that benefits both wildlife and plant life.
For more information you can go to the official CITES page here:
http://www.cites.org/eng
Safari Club International
This organization protects hunter's rights and also promotes wildlife conservation. They focus on those two goals and conduct programs for each. Advocacy, education, connection, and representation are how they spread the word and help hunters as well as wildlife. Anybody can join a chapter in their local community and contribute to the mission.
For more information click the lick below.
http://www.scifirstforhunters.org/home
Safari Club International
This organization protects hunter's rights and also promotes wildlife conservation. They focus on those two goals and conduct programs for each. Advocacy, education, connection, and representation are how they spread the word and help hunters as well as wildlife. Anybody can join a chapter in their local community and contribute to the mission.
For more information click the lick below.
http://www.scifirstforhunters.org/home
World Wildlife Fund
WWF preserves nature and attempts to reduce the most pressing threats to earth's diversity. Their ultimate goal is to build a future where humans live in harmony with nature. There are a large number of programs that they sponsor and run and millions of people who are a part of the organization.
For more information or to join World Wildlife Fun:
http://worldwildlife.org/
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