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This is an unfortunate truth. I suddenly found myself finding big-game hunting a whole lot less morally repugnant when I realized that the big money that goes

by danpat 11y ago

This is an unfortunate truth. I suddenly found myself finding big-game hunting a whole lot less morally repugnant when I realized that the big money that goes into it is very much used to keep many species alive. Operators of paid hunting areas have a very strongly vested interest in keeping their revenue stream going, and thus, in keeping viable populations around. I am not pro-hunting by any means, but given a world where wildlife is hopelessly outmatched by man for resource competition, the only way to keep endangered species populated is to harness some aspect of humanity to fight for their preservation in ways that matter. Paid big-game hunting and animal cultivation is an effective way to do that and should be done more. The conflict between man and wildlife is one-sided enough that blanket "protection" is not sufficient to save many animal populations. They need active cultivation and encouragement if they're not to be wiped out through attrition (via illegal poaching, loss of habitat, etc). Simply making it more illegal isn't going to prevent that.

adamnemecek 11y ago
This works nicely in theory, but (just like with other humanitarian efforts in the region) there is no way of ensuring that the money the hunters pay actually ends up funding conservation efforts and not some official's new car. This is the reason why the United States Wildlife Service has imposed a moratorium on imports of all hunting trophies from Tanzania and Zimbabwe. You can read more about it here http://www.fws.gov/international/pdf/questions-and-answers-suspension-of-elephant-sport-hunted-trophies.pdf http://www.fws.gov/international/pdf/questions-and-answers-s... There is nothing to indicate that the situation is dramatically different in other countries. Also your argument doesn't explain why the populations of many of the species protected by Initiative 1401 have been declining. If what you are saying actually works in practice, the populations should have been increasing.

by danpat 11y ago

adamnemecek 11y ago

This works nicely in theory, but (just like with other humanitarian efforts in the region) there is no way of ensuring that the money the hunters pay actually ends up funding conservation efforts and not some official's new car. This is the reason why the United States Wildlife Service has imposed a moratorium on imports of all hunting trophies from Tanzania and Zimbabwe. You can read more about it here http://www.fws.gov/international/pdf/questions-and-answers-suspension-of-elephant-sport-hunted-trophies.pdf http://www.fws.gov/international/pdf/questions-and-answers-s... There is nothing to indicate that the situation is dramatically different in other countries. Also your argument doesn't explain why the populations of many of the species protected by Initiative 1401 have been declining. If what you are saying actually works in practice, the populations should have been increasing.