The Controversial Issue Of Trophy Hunting In Africa

To some people in remote places that are far from grocery stores, hunting is a necessity for survival. However, to most people, especially in first world countries, hunting is a hobby. Though hunting is not essential, it is still important to the world. In the past hundred years, trophy hunting in exotic places, specifically Africa, has become more popular. The harvesting of animals for a sport and fun has become a controversial issue because of its effects on the environment and the morality of the activity. In recent years, with stories with Cecil the lion and the diminishing rhino populations, trophy in hunting in Africa has come into the public’s eye in a negative way. However, there are many benefits of trophy hunting for Africa’s environment and people. The money that comes from first world countries is used to greatly assist wildlife conservation and help relieve local poverty. Despite intuition, trophy hunting in Africa has greater benefits to the environment and communities than banning the practice. The topic of trophy hunting has always been an issue for animal activists, but only recently has the subject become relevant to the public and media. In July 2015, a dentist from Minnesota killed Cecil, a beloved lion of Zimbabwe. The media exploded and immediately demonized the hunter for his actions, even though the hunt was completely legal (Mac Donald, Jacobsen, Burnham, Johnson, & Loveridge, 2016). Since then, the attention to trophy hunting has decreased, but the issue is still
The goal is not to tell people to fly to Africa and spend thousands of dollars, but to have a more positive outlook on a grim topic. If trophy hunting was to be made illegal, a large amount of revenue would be cut and many countries would lose funding to support conservation (Bas & Stuart, 2016). Biodiversity in Africa would then decrease greatly due to poaching and habitat