Editing Hunting (section)

==Trophy hunting==
{{Main|Trophy hunting}}
[[File:Usov.jpg|thumb|upright|Trophy collection of the [[House of Liechtenstein|Liechtenstein family]] at [[Úsov]] Castle, the Czech Republic]]
[[File:Zdravko Pečar During an Elephant Hunt (3).jpg|thumb|A hunter and local guides with an [[elephant]] they shot, 1970]]
Trophy hunting is the selective seeking and killing of wild game animals to take [[trophies]] for [[private collection|personal collection]], [[boasting|bragging rights]] or as a [[status symbol]].  It may also include the controversial hunting of captive or semi-captive animals expressly bred and raised under controlled or semi-controlled conditions so as to attain trophy characteristics; this is sometimes known as [[canned hunt]]s.<ref>[http://dspace.nmmu.ac.za:8080/jspui/bitstream/10948/1328/1/Examination%20Copy%20Final%20Document%20Dissertation.pdf Motivations of International Trophy Hunters Choosing to Hunt in South Africa] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150503213609/http://dspace.nmmu.ac.za:8080/jspui/bitstream/10948/1328/1/Examination%20Copy%20Final%20Document%20Dissertation.pdf |date=3 May 2015 }}</ref>

===History===
In the 19th century, southern and central European sport hunters often pursued game only for a [[trophy]], usually the head or [[fur|pelt]] of an animal, which was then displayed as a sign of prowess. The rest of the animal was typically discarded. Some cultures, however, disapprove of such waste. In [[Nordic countries]], hunting for trophies was—and still is—frowned upon. Hunting in North America in the 19th century was done primarily as a way to supplement food supplies, although it is now undertaken mainly for sport.{{Citation needed|date=December 2009}} The [[#East Africa|safari]] method of hunting was a development of sport hunting that saw elaborate travel in Africa, India and other places in pursuit of trophies. In modern times, [[trophy hunting]] persists and is a significant industry in some areas.{{Citation needed|date=August 2011}}

===Conservation tool===
According to the [[U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service]], hunting "provides an economic incentive" for ranchers to continue to breed those species, and that hunting "reduces the threat of the species' extinction."<ref>{{Cite web |title=2005 Federal Register, 70 FR 52310; Centralized Library: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - 09/02/05 - FR Doc 05-17432 |url=https://www.fws.gov/policy/library/2005/05-17432.pdf |access-date=30 September 2023 |website=[[U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/news/can-hunting-endangered-animals-save-the-species/|title=Can hunting endangered animals save the species?|website=cbsnews.com|date=30 January 2012|access-date=12 July 2014|archive-date=25 August 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140825192156/http://www.cbsnews.com/news/can-hunting-endangered-animals-save-the-species/|url-status=live}}</ref>

A scientific study in the journal, ''Biological Conservation'', states that trophy hunting is of "major importance to conservation in Africa by creating economic incentives for conservation over vast areas, including areas which may be unsuitable for alternative wildlife-based land uses such as photographic ecotourism."<ref name="africanwildlifeconservationfund.org">{{Cite web |url=http://www.africanwildlifeconservationfund.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Economic-and-conservation-significance.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=16 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117050938/http://www.africanwildlifeconservationfund.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Economic-and-conservation-significance.pdf |archive-date=17 November 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref> However, another study states that less than 3% of a trophy hunters' expenditures reach the local level, meaning that the economic incentive and benefit is "minimal, particularly when we consider the vast areas of land that hunting concessions occupy."<ref name="economistsatlarge">{{Cite web |url=http://www.ifaw.org/sites/default/files/Ecolarge-2013-200m-question.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=16 July 2014 |archive-date=19 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150119134720/http://www.ifaw.org/sites/default/files/Ecolarge-2013-200m-question.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Financial incentives from trophy hunting effectively more than double the land area that is used for wildlife conservation, relative to what would be conserved relying on national parks alone according to ''Biological Conservation'',<ref name="africanwildlifeconservationfund.org"/> although local communities usually derive no more than 18 cents per hectare from trophy hunting.<ref name="economistsatlarge"/>

[[Trophy hunting]] has been considered essential for providing economic incentives to conserve large carnivores according to research studies in ''Conservation Biology'',<ref name="cbs.umn.edu">{{cite web |url=http://www.cbs.umn.edu/sites/default/files/public/downloads/Effects%20of%20trophy%20hunting%20on%20populations%20of%20lions%20and%20leopards%20in%20TZ.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2014-07-12 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714160036/http://www.cbs.umn.edu/sites/default/files/public/downloads/Effects%20of%20trophy%20hunting%20on%20populations%20of%20lions%20and%20leopards%20in%20TZ.pdf |archive-date=14 July 2014}}</ref> ''Journal of Sustainable Tourism'',<ref>{{cite journal | doi=10.1080/09669589708667294 | volume=5 | issue=4 | title=Trophy Hunting as a Sustainable Use of Wildlife Resources in Southern and Eastern Africa | journal=Journal of Sustainable Tourism | pages=306–321 | year=1997 | last1=Baker | first1=Joni E. | bibcode=1997JSusT...5..306B | s2cid=153994508 }}</ref> ''Wildlife Conservation by Sustainable Use'',<ref>{{cite book | doi=10.1007/978-94-011-4012-6_15 | pages=295–313 | year=2000 | last1=Hurt | first1=Robin | last2=Ravn | first2=Pauline | title=Wildlife Conservation by Sustainable Use | chapter=Hunting and Its Benefits: An Overview of Hunting in Africa with Special Reference to Tanzania | isbn=978-94-010-5773-8 | s2cid=168071478 }}</ref> and ''Animal Conservation''.<ref name="cbs.umn.edu"/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ewca.gov.et/sites/default/files/Lindsey%20et%20al%20%202006%20Potential%20of%20trophy%20hunting%20to%20create%20incentives%20for%20wildlifeconservationin%20Africa.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2014-07-12 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714141728/http://www.ewca.gov.et/sites/default/files/Lindsey%20et%20al%20%202006%20Potential%20of%20trophy%20hunting%20to%20create%20incentives%20for%20wildlifeconservationin%20Africa.pdf |archive-date=14 July 2014}}</ref> Studies by the Centre for Responsible Tourism<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/bear-watching-more-profitable-than-bear-hunting-says-study-1.2488311|title=Bear watching more profitable than bear hunting, says study|website=cbc.ca|access-date=16 July 2014|archive-date=3 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140703032651/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/bear-watching-more-profitable-than-bear-hunting-says-study-1.2488311|url-status=live}}</ref> and the IUCN state that ecotourism, which includes more than hunting, is a superior economic incentive, generating twice the revenue per acre and 39 times more permanent employment.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/should-trophy-hunting-of-lions-be-banned-155657735/|title=Should Trophy Hunting of Lions Be Banned?|first=Alastair|last=Bland|website=smithsonianmag.com|access-date=16 July 2014|archive-date=25 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140725214947/http://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/should-trophy-hunting-of-lions-be-banned-155657735/|url-status=live}}</ref> At the cross-section of trophy hunting, ecotourism and conservation is [[green hunting]], a trophy hunting alternative where hunters pay to dart animals that need to be tranquilized for conservation projects.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Cousins|first1=Jenny A.|last2=Sadler|first2=Jon P.|last3=Evans|first3=James|date=2010|title=The Challenge of Regulating Private Wildlife Ranches for Conservation in South Africa|journal=Ecology and Society|volume=15|issue=2|doi=10.5751/es-03349-150228|issn=1708-3087|doi-access=free|hdl=10535/6027|hdl-access=free}}</ref>

The [[U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources]] in 2016 concluded that trophy hunting may be contributing to the extinction of certain animals.<ref>{{cite news |last=Smith |first=Jada F. |date=13 June 2016 |title=Trophy Hunting Fees Do Little to Help Threatened Species, Report Says |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/14/us/politics/trophy-hunting-fees-do-little-to-help-threatened-species-report-says.html?_r=1 |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=26 May 2017 |archive-date=2 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180502140913/https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/14/us/politics/trophy-hunting-fees-do-little-to-help-threatened-species-report-says.html?_r=1 |url-status=live }}</ref> Animal welfare organizations, including the [[IFAW|International Fund for Animal Welfare]], claim that trophy hunting is a key factor in the "silent extinction" of [[giraffes]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Milman |first=Oliver |date=19 April 2017 |title=Giraffes must be listed as endangered, conservationists formally tell US |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/apr/19/giraffes-endangered-species-conservation-hunting |work=The Guardian |access-date=1 May 2018 |archive-date=30 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180430050100/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/apr/19/giraffes-endangered-species-conservation-hunting |url-status=live}}</ref>

According to a national survey that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service conducts every five years, fewer people are hunting, even as population rises. National Public Radio reported, a graph shows 2016 statistics, that only about 5 per cent of Americans, 16 years old and older, actually hunt, which is half of what it was 50 years ago. The decline in popularity of hunting is expected to accelerate over the next decade, which threatens how US will pay for conservation.
<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/2018/03/20/593001800/decline-in-hunters-threatens-how-u-s-pays-for-conservation|title=Decline in Hunters Threatens How U.S. Pays For Conservation|website=npr.org|access-date=16 May 2018|archive-date=17 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180517152630/https://www.npr.org/2018/03/20/593001800/decline-in-hunters-threatens-how-u-s-pays-for-conservation|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Controversy===
{{see also|Killing of Cecil the lion}}
Trophy hunting is most often criticised when it involves rare or [[endangered]] animals.<ref>[http://edmi.parliament.uk/EDMi/EDMDetails.aspx?EDMID=28737&SESSION=875 Early Day Motion on trophy hunting] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060222022827/http://edmi.parliament.uk/EDMi/EDMDetails.aspx?EDMID=28737&SESSION=875 |date=22 February 2006 }}</ref> Opponents may also see trophy hunting as an issue of [[morality]]<ref>see, for example, [http://flaflooga.com/trophy_hunting.php this internet page] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150710234644/http://flaflooga.com/trophy_hunting.php |date=10 July 2015 }}</ref> or [[cruelty to animals|animal cruelty]], criticising the killing of living creatures for [[recreation]]. [[Victorian era]] dramatist [[W. S. Gilbert]] remarked, "[[Deer-stalking]] would be a very fine sport if only the deer had guns."<ref>[[George Grossmith|Grossmith, George]] in ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'', 7 June 1911</ref>

There is also debate about the extent to which trophy hunting benefits the [[local economy]]. Hunters pay substantial fees to the game outfitters and hunting guides which contributes to the local economy and provides value to animals that would otherwise be seen as competition for grazing, livestock, and crops.<ref>Martin, Glen. [http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/10/06/MNG1UF392D1.DTL ''The lion, once king of vast African savanna, suffers alarming decline in population''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070313073454/http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/10/06/MNG1UF392D1.DTL |date=13 March 2007 }}, San Francisco Chronicle, 6 October 2005. Retrieved 30 October 2007.</ref> However, the argument is disputed by animal welfare organizations and other opponents of trophy hunting.<ref>League Against Cruel Sports. [https://www.league.org.uk/trophy-hunting ''Trophy Hunting''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170831131819/https://www.league.org.uk/trophy-hunting |date=31 August 2017 }} July 2017</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Morell |first=Virginia |date=18 November 2017 |title=What Trophy Hunting Does to the Elephants It Leaves Behind |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2017/11/elephant-trophy-hunting-psychology-emotions/546293/ |work=[[The Atlantic]] |access-date=20 November 2017 |archive-date=19 November 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171119060433/https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2017/11/elephant-trophy-hunting-psychology-emotions/546293/ |url-status=live}}</ref> It is argued that the animals are worth more to the community for [[ecotourism]] than hunting.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.endangeredspecieshandbook.org/persecution_trophyecotourism.php|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070317025223/http://www.endangeredspecieshandbook.org/persecution_trophyecotourism.php|url-status=dead|archive-date=17 March 2007|title=and Hunting|website=endangeredspecieshandbook.org}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://iworry.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Dead-or-Alive-Final-LR.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://iworry.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Dead-or-Alive-Final-LR.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|title=Dead or Alive? Valuing an Elephant|date=2013 |website=iworry.org |publisher=David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust|access-date=20 November 2017}}</ref>