January 05, 2007
LONDON: Big game hunters in Africa have received the backing of biologists, who claim the toll on wildlife is more than matched by the benefits.
A study, published in the journal Biological Conservation, concludes that where game areas are well-managed, the death toll from hunters is outweighed by the increases in animal populations made possible by conservation initiatives.
Money from hunting was responsible for the recovery of at least three rare species in South Africa - the bontebok, black wildebeest and Cape mountain zebra - and assisted in the recovery of southern white rhino numbers, the study found.
"Trophy hunting can play an important role in the rehabilitation of wildlife areas by permitting income generation from wildlife without jeopardising population growth of trophy species," the researchers say.
The money generated by trophy hunting is seen as particularly important in areas that are unable to attract tourists. And the presence of trophy hunters encourages the locals to enforce anti-poaching measures.
The study, by a team of scientists from Orleans University in France, and the University of Zimbabwe in Harare, estimates that at least 870,000sqkm of land in Africa is protected because of hunting, more than double the area of national parks in sub-Saharan Africa.
The scientists estimate trophy hunting is worth more than $247million to Africa.
Mark Wright, of WWF, said that while the wildlife organisation regarded hunting as "an option of last resort", it could have a positive effect.
In particular, he said, in many areas where there was no eco-tourism, it provided a source of income far less damaging than the alternative of illegal and uncontrolled poaching.
However, some conservation groups remain opposed to big game hunting.
Andrew Loveridge, a wildlife biologist at Oxford University, warned that hunting can upset the balance in animal groups because dominant males are often the prime target of trophy takers. Hunts operating just outside a protected area are another problem because they can siphon animals away from parks, Dr Loveridge said.
A study he published last month shows this led to the loss of 72 per cent of adult male lions over five years in an area just outside the Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe.
Will Travers, of the Born Free Foundation, said he opposed hunting. "For me an animal is a treasure alive and a carcass dead. Hunting and killing an animal for so-called sport, for fun, is a tragedy of the human psyche, and something we should have grown out of."
The Times
LONDON: Big game hunters in Africa have received the backing of biologists, who claim the toll on wildlife is more than matched by the benefits.
A study, published in the journal Biological Conservation, concludes that where game areas are well-managed, the death toll from hunters is outweighed by the increases in animal populations made possible by conservation initiatives.
Money from hunting was responsible for the recovery of at least three rare species in South Africa - the bontebok, black wildebeest and Cape mountain zebra - and assisted in the recovery of southern white rhino numbers, the study found.
"Trophy hunting can play an important role in the rehabilitation of wildlife areas by permitting income generation from wildlife without jeopardising population growth of trophy species," the researchers say.
The money generated by trophy hunting is seen as particularly important in areas that are unable to attract tourists. And the presence of trophy hunters encourages the locals to enforce anti-poaching measures.
The study, by a team of scientists from Orleans University in France, and the University of Zimbabwe in Harare, estimates that at least 870,000sqkm of land in Africa is protected because of hunting, more than double the area of national parks in sub-Saharan Africa.
The scientists estimate trophy hunting is worth more than $247million to Africa.
Mark Wright, of WWF, said that while the wildlife organisation regarded hunting as "an option of last resort", it could have a positive effect.
In particular, he said, in many areas where there was no eco-tourism, it provided a source of income far less damaging than the alternative of illegal and uncontrolled poaching.
However, some conservation groups remain opposed to big game hunting.
Andrew Loveridge, a wildlife biologist at Oxford University, warned that hunting can upset the balance in animal groups because dominant males are often the prime target of trophy takers. Hunts operating just outside a protected area are another problem because they can siphon animals away from parks, Dr Loveridge said.
A study he published last month shows this led to the loss of 72 per cent of adult male lions over five years in an area just outside the Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe.
Will Travers, of the Born Free Foundation, said he opposed hunting. "For me an animal is a treasure alive and a carcass dead. Hunting and killing an animal for so-called sport, for fun, is a tragedy of the human psyche, and something we should have grown out of."
The Times
