Editing Hunting (section)

===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>