It doesn’t matter how many African community leaders write letters defending their right to manage the wildlife they live with, or that lions, rhinos, elephants & giraffes are doing better in countries that hunt and profit from them, the narrative that TH is purely BAD storms on. https://twitter.com/ConservativeAWF/status/1343664624432984065

Nor does it seem to matter when conservation scientists warn that banning trophy hunting without a viable and reliably funded alternative to replace it would threaten more than half the wilderness areas left in sub-tropical Africa, endangering wildlife rather than saving it.

It doesn’t give the outraged masses any pause for thought that where trophy hunting has been banned as they demand, wildlife populations have plummeted (Kenya) or suffered increases in poaching (Botswana) while communities have lost $millions and resentment of wildlife has soared

It doesn’t penetrate the group think that trophy hunting in Africa is not a significant threat to a single endangered species, or that the real threats - habitat loss, poaching and conflict - can all be mitigated by a well regulated hunting industry while also benefitting people.

TH has terrible optics. It‘s ugly, often appeals to an ugly sort of character, is at odds with western public opinion remote from the realities of living with dangerous wildlife, is linked to corruption, is not always well managed & doesn’t always benefit communities enough...

BUT it does support jobs in places that so-called non-consumptive tourism doesn’t (and which safari tourism has proven unable to replace when given the chance) and it does protect wildlife populations and habitats, again in a way that is not easily replicated.

Solutions are not easy. They are not likely to be achieved on twitter or via petition, but instead require years of relationship building, trust and investment on the ground by people who understand all the issues. The result is likely to be a messy compromise. Such is reality.

But if we cannot alert people to such complexities, to nuance and facts, we are doomed. Journalism is nothing but sensationalism. And conservation nothing but appeasement of western sensitivities where individual animals’ fates trump the interests of whole populations.

If you want to help, campaign for a better TH industry which is fully regulated, reliably delivers real conservation gains & supports local community development needs. That is as close to a win-win as we have right now. Unless you have a better idea (and funds to deliver it).

Ps “fully regulated“ should ideally mean that hunting operates within scientifically determined quotas (like fishing) which are strictly adhered to and monitored (see https://africageographic.com/stories/lion-trophy-hunting-we-interview-craig-packer/)