Up-close wildlife

3 thoughts on “Up-close wildlife”

  1. You maybe are in touch with Prof Adam Hart at Gloucester. He is quite clear that if local people do not benefit from the wildlife that they live amongst, the species will suffer. Hunting is one way to connect them.
    Please see
    https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/dec/20/the-complex-issue-of-big-game-trophy-hunting
    A debate that will rage on but ultimately it is about people and their views [which are] often misinformed or informed by their prejudice?

  2. Thanks for your comment Hugh and yes, I’ve met Adam.

    There is no one model works for all in this complex field – Namibia do lead in the conservancy-lead model http://www.nacso.org.na/
    And other more nuanced mixes of tourism, hunting and other land uses options are being explored https://luchoffmanninstitute.org/2019/10/looking-beyond-hunting-and-tourism-for-community-benefits/ and Wildlife Credits https://www.wildlifecredits.com/
    I’ve been involved as a ‘critical friend’ to some of the hunting and wildlife conservation organisations and there is much to do in catching up on how non-hunters are informed (not educated) by intelligent communication from within the hunting community (while also at times publicly outing poor practice).

  3. The future of animals rests in their value, especially the local [human] population whom must co-exist with them. Conservation costs serious money and without value, they will be abused by local peoples as they compete with their crops, animals etc. There are numerous conservation organisations which confirm that big game hunting, for example, are critical to the species survival. That is why Botswana has reinstated big game hunting after 10 years. They realised the best way to conserve their animals is by generating revenue from them and hunters pay far more than photography safaris PLUS bring that to very remote areas that ‘tourists’ can’t or won’t go.
    Similarly, selling them to other countries ensures they will NEVER become extinct as the gene poll will be worldwide and able to populate lost local species. Example; the USA has the largest Tiger population in the world. The UK has preserved 3 deer species and are now reintroducing them back to their home land; Chinese Water Deer, Reeves Muntjac and Pere Davids https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/P%C3%A8re_David's_deer

    The film ‘Trophy’ by Shaul Schwarz & Christina Clusia; it does an uncomfortable but great job at balancing game hunting vs its global ban. The Directors were anti-hunting at the start of their project. However, they became convinced about the critical importance of hunting and the value it brought to local communities. On a TV review of their film they suggested a way of resolving rhino poaching was to give every poacher a rhino to ‘harvest’ their horn…as each rhino’s horn can be cut/removed, like finger nails, eight times in its life. Thus, feeding an already established market and ensuring the widespread care of the species…radical maybe but a clear view of balancing local vs global needs.

    A couple of links worth watching etc.

    https://africasustainableconservation.com/2019/05/17/propaganda-and-the-trophy-hunting-debate-the-case-of-conservation-before-trophy-hunting/

    https://twitter.com/AllanRSavory/status/1133034976189059074?s=08

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