Trophy Hunting Ethical Issues

Trophy hunting is the selective hunting of wild game for human recreation. Every year, thousands of wild animals are killed to be obtained as a prize and to be showcased. Instead of being treated as living beings in nature, they are treated as materialistic objects by humans. Endangered species are the ones who are greatly being affected by those who are trying to obtain them. Trophy hunting is most well known for its practices in African countries and ties to North America. Since the 1800s, trophy hunting has brought about social, political, and economic issues that extend beyond the American borders.

On the other hand, trophy hunting, which is “the selective hunting of animals for human recreation” , is a problem that can increase the risk of extinction. UK scientists confirm that hunters have the tendency to hunt the animal with the best genes. There is an intense discussion about the rightness of this activity because some argue

Trophy hunting is defined as the selective hunting of select species of hunting game for human recreation and not as a way to get food, even though parts of the animals may be consumed. The animal or part of it is kept as a trophy or proof of achievement. Trophy hunters have a code called the fair chase code, this code ensures that the hunter will give the animal they are hunting a fair chase and allow it to escape if the hunter does not have the skill required to kill the animal. By adopting this code the hunter also agrees to allow the animal to use its senses in order to give the animal a fair chance at survival. The hunter also promises not to use illegal methods to hunt such as banned traps that

From the furore over trophy hunting, the public could be forgiven for thinking that it was the major threat facing lions. But in reality, the key issues are loss of habitat, prey loss from bushmeat poaching and

Trophy hunting is beneficial towards wildlife conservations. Trophy hunting is beneficial because, it provides a financial income for locals and to keep the wildlife conservations running. Also, hunting the problematic animals is more beneficial for the surrounding species in these conservations. Lastly, an economic value towards the wildlife has also been developed, so that the locals have a larger incentive to not hunt or harm the species and the surrounding wildlife that can further grow the wildlife conservation.

Cecil the lion was a beloved lion, as he was a major attraction at the Hwange game reserve. Cecil was also being studied up until his death by Oxford University as part of a larger study conducted by the university. The study had already received nearly half a million dollars in contributions. Cecil was shot by Walter Palmer with an arrow. Then forty hours later, after the lion’s suffering and misery, Palmer finished off Cecil with a rifle. (CBS 10) After the report, Palmer closed his office in Bloomington, Minnesota and went into hiding for the time being after the murder of Cecil the lion. Cecil was then found by the Zimbabwe conservation Task Force beheaded and skinned. Cecil’s six lion cubs will most likely be killed by another adult lion according to David Salmoni, Animal Planet’s predator expert. (CBS 9) The aforementioned events are why lion hunting should be outlawed and illegal. People like James Palmer, don’t care about the lives of animals like Cecil the lion, yet Cecil was a main attraction at the game

The act of trophy hunting involves killing a large animal to obtain a “trophy” off of the dead creature. Whether it be a pelt, tusk, bones or some may even take the whole stuffed body. This practice is cruel, unethical, and should not be continued. Should we allow hunters to kill these animals for what they call a prize?

Remember Cecil the lion, the lion that got killed by Walter Palmer the dentist. Cecil was a male Southwest African lion who lived primarily in the Hwange National Park in Matabeleland North, Zimbabwe. The lion was a major attraction at the park and was being studied and tracked by the University of Oxford as part of a larger study. reportedly paid

The need for a trophy hunting ban has been hotly debated across the United States and Africa. First, to understand this topic the definition must be established. In any case, trophy hunting is a legal form of wildlife hunting where sportsmen pay large sums of money to kill and take home animals as trophies (Dymoke). This passage tells us that trophy hunting is legal for sportsmen under the right conditions. Secondly, the millions of dollars coming in, from the hunt, go towards communities and conservation efforts. In 2012 the killing of 2 white rhinos contributed $185,000 towards a new anti-poaching fence to protect wildlife (Emslie). This example suggests that this is a business with lots of money coming and going. Third, over the years, more

Trophy hunting is the selective hunting of wild game for human recreation. In the debate “to kill or not to kill” groups argued whether trophy hunting should be legal, to provide income for many poor African communities or whether trophy hunting should stay illegal to keep the many endangered species of Africa alive.

Many people - at least those with a conscience, believe that trophy hunting - let alone hunting in general, is an inhumane act bestowed upon innocent animals of all types of species. Trophy hunting isn't a good model of animal welfare in the slightest and should be banned in every country, on every continent.

A recent study has proven that over 200 million animals are killed due to trophy hunting each year. All of those animals are rarely used for a meaningful purpose. Instead of using it for clothing or a food source, hunters will decorate their room with their furs, heads, and bodies. Trophy hunting is a cruel, unnecessary, and inhumane sport that should end/ceaese right away because it is harming/damaging ecosystems, causes suffering to innocent animals, and is hurting the population of native species.

Because of Cecil’s tragic death, his cubs are now at risk of being slain as well due to the next male lion seeking power. To clarify, “The male lion had six cubs who will now probably be killed by a male lion from another group or coalition, according to the Animal Planet's predator expert David Salmoni”(CBS). This is an example of how Palmer will completely change more that his game collection by destroying the lives of Cecil's young cubs. This is also an example of how detrimental the “sport” of hunting can be on the environment of other living creatures. Furthermore, Palmer has also negatively affected the scientists and researchers who have been tirelessly studying Cecil for several years. Namely, “Professor David Macdonald was deeply saddened by the news that Cecil, a well-known and revered lion living in Zimbabwe whom he had been tracking since 2008, was killed by a private hunter earlier this month” (News Week). By taking Cecil's life, Palmer has interrupted the ongoing process of observing Cecil’s interesting life and habits that was important to the future of lion conservation. IN this he has also emotionally hurt these scientist because they had grown attached to the majestic lion during their research. In conclusion, the life of one single animal, in this case Cecil the lion, can be remarkably significant to both other animals and

Some researchers such as Nuzzo and Traill, who work at Imperial College London and are published in the African Journal of Ecology, feel as though not enough research has been done on the topic. Nuzzo and Traill studied data from the years of 1960 to 2011. They conclude, “...[we] cannot draw any strong conclusions… this research emphasizes the need for population-level monitoring programmes,”(Nuzzo, Marcella C, and Lochran W. Traill 253). Conservationists such as Michael Paul Nelson choose to evaluate the issue through an ethical stance. Nelson introduces an important idea within conservation, consequentialism. Nelson states, “consequentialism is… the end justifies the means… Consequentialist thinking is common in conservation,” (Nelson, Michael Paul, et al. 303). This idea must be taken into consideration when trying to solve the issue. Other conservationists are strongly against trophy hunting, such as Peter Lindsey. Lindsey works at the University of Pretoria and Panthera, a conservation association dedicated to lions. In one of his studies, Trophy Hunting of African Lions... , Lindsey et al. studies data from the government of South Africa and data on lion hunting quotas and legal hunting areas. Lindsey et al. produce a firm opinion; “...there remain several problems associated with the negative management of lion hunting which may perpetuate negative impacts,” (Lindsey, Peter Andrew, et al. 9). In another of Lindsey’s articles, he discusses the differences between wild trophy hunting as opposed to captive bred lions being trophy hunting. Lindsey summarizes, “Some trophy hunting organizations...differentiate between the shooting of captive-bred lions and that of wild lions,” (Lindsey, P., et al. 20). This important caveat can skew data collected depending if the organization data gathered from

From North America, all the way to Africa, and everywhere in between has problems with animals being hunted for recreational use. “In Tanzania, ~26% of the land surface area is set aside for trophy hunting of wildlife; these 250000 [km.sup.2] are protected against land use conversion and represent adequate habitat for large wildlife populations” (Kiffner). African lions are the major source of income for these trophy hunters which is leading to a detrimental decrease of population in the continent. These lions are set up and put in locations where hunters know they will be, and therefore easier to hunt. Not only is trophy killing reducing numbers, but also causing problems in the animal kingdom that humans do not realize. “The detrimental impact of shooting male lions on the entire lion population is mainly a function of infanticide following pride take-over by new male lions” (Kiffner). Male lions are the leaders of the pack and when they are killed, their animal kingdom can also be disrupted adding to additional problems. There are so only so many male lions in a pride, and trophy hunting is all revolved around killing the best beast you can find, and since there are so few, the male dominance becomes out of sync. An extra problem that all stems from trophy killing in the lion pride is when the new male lion does take over a pride he kills the cubs that belonged to the previous leader. "Lions really are becoming more of an