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Christian Melendez

Graduation Project Research Paper

24 May 2017

Hunting Regulations Imposed

Conservation is defined as the act of preserving, guarding and protecting. Trophy hunting

on the other hand is the stalking and killing of wild animals with guns or bows and arrows with

the purpose of obtaining part of the animal as a trophy, thus to represent the success of the hunt.

A 2016 report from the International Fund for Animal Welfare says As many as 1.7 million

hunting trophies were traded between nations between 2004 and 2014, including at least 200,000

trophies from threatened species. Even though some people believe that when done properly

trophy hunting can be a tool for conservation and help to control the animal population,

but trophy hunting should be banned, because trophy hunting serves no purpose and is

contributing to the eradication of species, trophy hunting leads to a lot of poaching, and

trophy hunting breeds corruption.

Hunting for food, resources, and conservation is good and necessary. The population of

deers is high and sometimes dangerous for communities, traffic and the environment. But trophy

hunting is the killing of endangered species and not for the resources the animal provides, instead

for obtaining part of the animal as a trophy, to represent the success of the hunt. Most of the

animals being targeted by trophy hunters are now endangered, so how do trophy hunters claim to

save them but target them down. Trophy hunting serves no purpose and is contributing to the

eradication of species. Killing animals for the trophy or for fun is not conservation.
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As LCA states that And this is called sport! ' Contrary to their claims, hunters do not

kill animals that would otherwise starve to death. ... 1973's Endangered Species Act was created

largely as a result of the animal extinction caused by hunting. The dictionary definition of

conservation is the action of conserving something, in particular preservation, protection, or

restoration of the natural environment, natural ecosystems, vegetation, and wildlife. But trophy

hunting does not show us that, theyre killing black rhinos for conservation, how does that work?

In the case of African lions, Almost 600 lions are killed every year off of trophy hunting,

including lions in populations that are already declining from other threats. Not only that when a

male lion is killed the destabilization of that lions pride can lead to more lion deaths as they

fight for leadership and pride. Also in Michigan a species of wolves were removed of the

endangered species list, and soon after, hunted for trophies. Professor John Vucetich, a

conservation biologist from the University of Michigan Technological stated There is no

scientific evidence wolves need to be hunted He added: Its not common sense to spend

decades bringing the wolf back from the brink of extinction, only to begin killing the animal.'

This evidence gives us information on how hunting is not helping. Close to 600 lions are

being killed, and we learn how is can cause even more deaths between animals. Also we learn

how they been saving wolves and how they were removed off the endangered species list just for

trophy hunters to hunt them down.

Trophy hunting is not a hunt for resources or for survival, trophy hunting is killing a

harmless animal for the trophy even if that animal is on the endangered species list such as the

wolves in michigan, that were removed of the list and once again hunted for sport.
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Trophy hunting has changed our planet; it has eradicated species and corrupted the food chain.

The wolves that were brought back from extinction are not being shot down again. Endangered

animal populations are being destroyed by trophy hunters.

Trophy hunting leads to a lot of poaching. Even though they have certain limits on how

many animals you can hunt and you are required to buy a hunting license which has a big cost. A

lot of hunters do not like to go through that process and do nott want to play the money. They

just hunt the animal which is considered poaching that is illegal. Poaching is hunting without

legal permission from whoever controls the land.

As zim field guide states South Africa alone has lost more than 1,215 rhinos to poaching

in 2014. The whole of Zimbabwe has less than 600 rhinos are left. Certainly at this height the

level of number of animals being poached annually will lead to the senseless extermination of

countless animal species. Poachers have the same goal as trophy hunters but illegally.

Without a doubt pouching has largely affected africa as well as many other countries. The fact

that zimbabwe has less than 600 rhinos and lost more than 1,215 rhinos to poaching in 2014

should be horrifying! but yet hunters are hunting them down. With a large amount of poachers

the wildlife will decrease even faster.

The author Jacey Fortin wrote Wildlife poaching has exploded in recent years,

endangering some of the most magnificent beasts of Africa, South America and Asia. For

instance an article on humane society of the United States, states that Poaching is a deadly

crime against wildlife. Wildlife officials say that legal hunters kill tens of millions of animals

every year. For each of those animals, another is killed illegally, perhaps on closed land or out of

season, leaving young orphans to starve. Few poachers are caught or punished.
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Another article from the plus website states that When a species is being threatened with

extinction, governments will often try to save them by putting them on protected land, making it

illegal to hunt there. Unfortunately, there are criminals who still enter these guarded parks,

poaching the animals to sell their parts on the black market. Often the poacher will take the parts

they are after, like an elephant's tusk or tiger's coat, and leave the rest behind to rot. This

problem is massive, with hundreds of thousands of animals illegally killed each year. Populations

have been driven down to a fraction of their historical numbers.

Poachers have been here since the beginning of hunting. They have been a big threat to

society and animal species. Poachers have killed tens of millions of animals every year.

Trophy hunting leads to poaching. Poaching has has exploded in recent years, endangering a lot

of species. More than tens of millions of animals get killed by illegal hunters every year. Trophy

hunting breeds corruption. Like poaching trophy hunting also leads to a lot of corruption. There

has been a lot of hunters going into private lands and hunting illegally. There's corruption with

politicians. Hunting without legal permission on private lands. According to the text in one green

planet A study on the economic benefit behind lion hunting in Africa concluded, The

suggestion that trophy hunting plays a significant role in African economic development is

misguidedRevenues constitute only a fraction of a percent of GDP and almost none of that

ever reaches rural communities. Another statement from Im not a trophy, states It has been

reported that only 3% of revenue from trophy hunts is actually distributed back to the African

rural communities. The majority of the profits is administered to foreign-based outfitters or the

African government. This evidence supports my claim because it recalculates how trophy

hunting is corrupt. Africa's economy isn't going up its declining. The towns and the people that

most need the money arent getting what they should be getting. For example the text from
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seeker says Corruption can also play a major role in the permit process, fueling unsustainable

hunting through what is essentially legalized poaching. Furthermore, the IFAW points to a study

that found that a mere 3 to 5 percent of hunting revenues actually reach fringe communities. It

also states According to a poll published in an opinion piece on behalf of the International Fund

for Animal Welfare (IFAW), "70.4 percent of Americans would pay to view lions on an African

safari, while only 6.6 percent would pay to hunt them." Those numbers suggest wildlife tourism

has a significantly larger potential audience than trophy hunting.

CNN states Economically, the actual benefits accrued by local people from the hunts

have been found to be exaggerated or practically non-existent in the case of trophy hunted

animals like polar bears in Canada, according to a report for IFAW by Economists at Large. And

in Tanzania -- one of Africa's top sport-hunting destinations -- an estimated 3-5% of hunting

revenues are actually shared with fringe communities, according to a report by Hassanali

Thomas Sachedina of St. Anthony's College, University of Oxford. This evidence proves my

point because it shows how there are communities that should be getting more than what they are

receiving. And how they make more money with tourist that just want to watch the animals than

people that want to kill them.

Trophy hunting not only helps to extermination of species but it also has a lot of

corruption. Corruption in trophy hunting is high and have a huge affect. Communities that should

be benefiting with trophy hunting arent receiving what they should be. They are only receiving a

small percent that isnt enough to cover their needs.

There's a lot of people that think that when done properly trophy hunting can be a tool for

conservation and help to control the animal population. Critics believe that trophy hunting helps

control the animal population. A common argument against this claim is that it is a tool for
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conservation, but its not conservation when you're killing the last of the last.

Its easy to think that trophy hunting brings up the economy for communities in need, but when

you look at the evidence, its easy to see the communities still suffering and in need. Trophy

hunting helps controls animal populations and is a tool for conservation. Conservation is defined

as the action of conserving something, in particular. and trophy hunting is the killing of

endangered animals for a trophy animals that are on the verge of extinction. That doesn't sound

like conservation. And how is it possible to help a population grow by killing and obviously

messing up the food chain affecting other animals. Its proven that a lot of communities in africa

dont have the economic support that they require.

An article from the dodo states Big game hunters say they help support local

communities and conservation efforts by paying for big game hunts. However, while hunters pay

roughly $200 million each year for big game hunts in Africa, only around 3 percent of those

funds go to local communities, and the amount dedicated to conservation efforts is nearly

negligible. The overwhelming majority of hunting fees ends up lining the pockets of middlemen,

large companies and local governments. It also states Big game hunters argue that killing can

help a species by removing older animals from the population, or say that they trust governments

to set sustainable hunting quotas.

Unfortunately, in practice these arguments don't hold up. For one, some governments are

more interested in how much a dead lion can bring them than in establishing sustainable hunting

limits. For example, there are around 20,000 to 35,000 wild lions left in Africa, depending on

whom you ask, and big game hunters legally kill around 600 each year. That's an annual

population loss of 2 to 3 percent, which is entirely unsustainable, even if you don't add in deaths

due to poaching and livestock protection. In closing, many believe that Trophy hunting is good
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and necessary for our communitie. In reality its having a terrible effect and is exterminating

animal species one by one.

In conclusion trophy hunting has affected the world in many aspects. Starting from the

eradication of species. Hunters are hunting animals on the endangered species list for a trophy,

for self pride and to satisfy their ego. Trophy hunting leads to poachers people that have the same

goal in mind but hunt illegally without legal permission. It also has a lot of corruption, trophy

hunting is said to economically help communities in need. Even though some people believe that

when done properly trophy hunting can be a tool for conservation and help to control the animal

population, Trophy hunting should be banned, because trophy hunting serves no purpose and is

contributing to the eradication of species, Trophy hunting leads to a lot of poaching, and trophy

hunting breeds corruption. Most of the animals being targeted by trophy hunters are now

endangered, so how do trophy hunters claim to save them but target them down. Trophy hunting

is killing a innocent animal that are on the way to extinction, for a trophy and to satisfy

themselves. It is said that trophy hunting helps animals that are endangered but what they are

doing is killing them.

Trophy hunting is not a sport, trophy hunting is a cover up to kill animals that in a few

years will only be memory. More than 600 lions are killed every year, like other animals. Their

numbers are going down and trophy hunting isnt helping. Killing them is not saving them. A

sport to you, is a life to them.

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Works Cited

Al-Khatib, Talal. "Trophy Hunting: Is There ANY Benefit for Conservation?" Seeker. Seeker, 30

July 2015. Web. 19 May 2017.

Anderson, Terry Anderson. "How Hunting Saves Animals." Hoover Institution. N.p., 29 Oct.

2015. Web. 09 May 2017.

Carmody, Sean. "Last Chance for Animals." Last Chance for Animals - Hunting. N.p., 12 Jan.

2017. Web. 15 May 2017.

Emslie, Richard, and Michael Knight. "Hunting is Crucial to Conservation." The Independent, 19

Mar, 2016, pp. 10, SIRS Issues Researcher, https://sks.sirs.com.

Fortin, Jacey. "Why Wildlife Poaching Is A Big Problem, Even If You Don't Care About
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Rhinos." International Business Times. IBT, 12 Dec. 2012. Web. 17 May 2017.

Foundation, Rocky Mountain Elk. "25 Reasons Why Hunting Is Conservation." 25 Reasons Why

Hunting Is Conservation. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 May 2017.

"Hunting IS Conservation and How Hunters Will Ensure The Future." Elk Network. N.p., 07 Apr.

2017. Web. 09 May 2017.

LeagueACS. "Trophy Hunting." League Against Cruel Sports. League against Cruel Sports, 1

Feb. 2017. Web. 12 May 2017.

"Study Determines Economic Impact, Ripple Effect of Hunting on CRP-funded Land."

ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, Apr.-May 2016. Web. 09 May 2017.

Phelan, GlobalPost Jessica. "6 Endangered Animals Poachers Are Hunting into Extinction." USA

Today. Gannett Satellite Information Network, 31 July 2015. Web. 09 May 2017.

Seth. "Hunting Statistics." Statistic Brain. Statistic Brain, 05 Sept. 2016. Web. 10 May 2017.

"5 Reasons Trophy Hunting Is Not Conservation." One Green Planet. One Green Planet, 1 Mar.

2017. Web. 15 May 2017.

"Poaching and Recent Trophy Hunting Controversy." Poaching and Recent Trophy Hunting

Controversy | Zimbabwe Field Guide. Zimfieldguide.com, 5 Jan. 2017. Web. 16 May

2017.

"Poaching." The Humane Society of the United States. N.p., 1 Feb. 2017. Web. 17 May 2017.

"Trophy Hunting Is a Threat of Endangered Species." I'm Not a Trophy. N.p., 17 Mar. 2017.

Web. 18 May 2017.

Winter, Lisa. "5 Reasons To Care About Poaching." A Plus. N.p., 27 July 2016. Web. 17 May
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2017.

"You Are HereDNR Wildlife & Habitat Endangered & Nongame Wildlife." DNR - Hunting and

Wildlife Conservation. Michigan Department of Natural Resources, 27 Dec. 2012. Web.

09 May 2017.