I wonder if someone has some recent or verifiable stats I can use. I am engaging some of the idiots on Face Book with some very good posts circulating at the moment highlighting the good done by hunters etc etc.

I have one poster (from Zambia I think) claiming hunting only brings in $3 million a year, versus their non-consumptive at $120 million a year. I know this is rubbish, but need some stats. Any help would be great.

You beat me to it. I have been thinking of posting on a related subject & thought I would just add it here .... I hope it is not a highjack!

I have been posting on Facebook and debating with a few anti-hunters (one of them used to hunt with me in my younger days!)

Here is a bit of background - Some people call hunters "murderer" & gloat about the death of a hunter - particularly the recent death of Ian Gibson. They even post asking us to hunt poachers and sometimes fellow hunters!

I attached a photo of Buzz's daughter next to a bunch of wire snares collected in 1 month. Here is what I posted

Quote - " Killing a human with intent and malice is murder. So hunting a poacher is murder. But hunting an animal that is past its breeding prime and according to law and conservation principle cannot be murder. IT IS LEGAL AND ETHICAL!

That sable is very old - well past breeding age. Look at the huge secondary growth (fused rings) at the base of the horns. Also the skeletal protrusion - not in good condition at all!

If you are really serious and open to learning about how hunting helps conservation all you need to do is look at the old national parks and their historical use as hunting blocks. All surrounding areas were poached out with no game left. Only game was in the hunting blocks.

Now in much of African Hunting blocks (exclude the high fence game farms) the area is fringe and remote with no anti-poaching support except from the hunting concession operators. They are the ones who do the anti poaching patrols including all funding.

If not for the 10,000 + hunting blocks AND THEIR ANTI_POACHING INITIATIVES all over Africa 80% of the game would be poached for the bush meat market in 5 years. If not for the hunting blocks wild lion population will be almost zero outside the national parks - example is what happened in Botswana in the last few years as whole prides including cubs have been poisoned!

Look at this (photo of) anti-poaching work done by just one hunting operator in Zimbabwe in just 1 month! Again a fringe area that had little game until 4 years ago!"

I would like to know the following

How many hunting blocks are there in Africa? - I realise it is a hard one to be sure about but there must be a reasonable estimate.

How many (%) are in remote fringe / buffer areas of a major park? Again estimate?

What % of total anti-poaching feet on the ground in Africa is provided by hunting concessions?

What % of current good game habitat would be destroyed by poaching if all hunting was banned in Africa? Again a rough estimate ?????

just wondering

I think a strong conservation/economics argument for it is that most hunting areas are wholly unsuitable for photographic safaris (think thick jesse, mopane flies and heat). Therefore its either controlled hunting or agriculture. Their choice.

I think the money argument on its own is not enough.

Peter Lindsey has published some papers on the economics of hunting

ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/010/aj114e/aj114e09.pdf

http://www.africanwildlifecons...ion-significance.pdf


I agree that there is more to money (although it helps).

1. Way more people are employed via hunting. Camp staff, trackers, skinners, game scouts, anti poaching patrols, taxidermy, shipping etc.

2. Way less of a carbon footprint. We don't need roads all over to get around.