| To hunt, or not to hunt? That is the question (and a | | | | Needless to say that the elephant pressure, in this |
| very tough one indeed...)! The issue is extremely | | | | case, is having drastic effects on the local ecosystem |
| controversial, and can be associated with another | | | | and surroundings! |
| concern: is hunting good, or bad? | | | | * Competition with humans and resources. |
| If you take the two extremes of the spectrum, | | | | Overall, hunting can be used as a plague control, for |
| animal rights activists ("anti-hunters") will tell you that | | | | animals seen as a nuisance (varmint hunting) or to |
| it is a total disgrace. On the other hand, for a number | | | | keep a proper balance in nature. The latter is |
| of reasons hunters will claim it should be allowed. | | | | especially relevant to farmers, who get increasingly |
| Both parties have their arguments (sometimes very | | | | solicited by wild animals that trespass their properties, |
| pertinent ones), so the idea here is not to point the | | | | cause harm or ruin their crops! |
| finger at someone but rather to look at both sides | | | | When Hunting Becomes a Sport |
| of the debate and to highlight some of the things | | | | * Trophy hunting is becoming extremely popular, |
| that need to be enlightened further. | | | | especially in the West. |
| When Hunting is a Necessity | | | | * Hunting is seen by many enthusiasts as a "fun" |
| * For food/in order to survive. | | | | activity. |
| While this argument is no longer as persuasive as it | | | | * Killing the "largest", "most dangerous" and "rarest" |
| used to be (nowadays most of us go to the | | | | animal species is all part of the competition. |
| supermarket for food), some people (local tribes or | | | | * Heads or pelts of the animals are seen as a sign of |
| farmers...) still rely on hunting practices to survive. In | | | | "prowess", and hunters "courageously" smile in front |
| their case, hunting is more than legitimate: it's a | | | | of the camera with their "well-deserved" prize. |
| necessity for their own good! | | | | Hunting Ethics |
| * Impact on the environment and birth control. | | | | From the hunter's perspective, hunting is good |
| In other instances, the proliferation of animal species | | | | because: |
| has become such that it has reached its carrying | | | | - It contributes to wildlife in taxes. |
| capacity. In order to counteract this phenomenon, | | | | - It generates income for local communities. |
| animal population can either be contained through | | | | - It is part of human nature. Animals do not possess |
| sterilization, by relocating it, or by culling/killing it. | | | | rights as we see them, and therefore can be killed. |
| Unfortunately, in most situations hunting is by far the | | | | From the animal activists' point of view however, |
| least expensive and most effective way of dealing | | | | hunting is not ethical: |
| with the problem. | | | | - Animals never asked to be part of the |
| Let me give you a practical example to illustrate this. | | | | "competition". |
| For my 20th birthday, I was fortunate enough to | | | | - It might be "fun" to hunt, but not to be hunted.;) |
| visit one of Botswana's most impressive game | | | | Canned Hunting: When Hunting Crosses the Border |
| reserves: Chobe. Chobe National Park is renowned for | | | | Line! |
| having the highest concentration of elephants in | | | | A canned hunt, or canned hunting, refers to a hunting |
| Africa! Wonder how many they are? Over 50 000! | | | | practice whereby the hunter is almost certain to get |
| Yes, you heard me right: 50 000 pachyderms | | | | its trophy as the animals are being confined in a small |
| wandering about in this precious piece of Eden!:) | | | | area (such as fenced-in enclosures). According to |
| While this statistic is encouraging for the overall | | | | Wikipedia, it is a "hunt for animals that have been |
| African elephant population, the story locally is | | | | raised on game ranches and farms until they are |
| somewhat different. And boy, did I figure it out for | | | | mature enough to be killed for trophy collections". |
| myself! Most of the trees in the area had either been | | | | It is a huge business, and some wealthy tourists are |
| uprooted by the animals, or looked nothing like "real" | | | | prepared to pay enormous amounts of money to kill |
| healthy trees any longer. "Lunar", that's how the | | | | a lion ($25,000 per cat or more...) or fell a rhino with a |
| landscape almost felt like! | | | | bow and arrow. |