I want to start a topic where we can discuss how trophy hunting around the world actually works as a game management tool. Are there any hunting done in Africa today that shouldn`t be continuing..? I had a discussion the other day about Mountain Nyala. They live in a very limited area of Etiophia. Is this hunting done in a proper way? Don`t get me wrong. I think hunting is the only way to make sure we can save Africas wildlife. But I`m afraid that the wildlife and animals sometimes can be exploited by money-hungry outfitters.
Mountain Nyala was BTW just an example. After what I`ve read the people who organize hunts in theese places do it because they love it and the animals wich it contains.
Hope to get a lot of different views here!
I`ve studied Natural Management, and find it interesting and important. I just wants to learn more.

Sustainable use of wildlife is the only way to preserve hunting for big game globally, I believe. The organizations that work for hunting are firmly committed to this principle, and the more out antagonists agree on sustainable trophy and subsistence hunting the better.
The CIC for example

Boha

I know that hunting probably is the only way to preserve the animals and the areas they inhabit all around the world. And in my eyes is also a perfect way! I`m all in for the sustainable use of our nature.
The "green organisations" will also save the wildlife, but they do it in a way where we need to distances ourself from the nature.
Like: "This is an area where animals should live, and not be errupted by humans at all".. In this way humans gets distanced from nature, and then preservation is less important. We don`t see the positive things anymore. This was kind of off-topic, maybe..
I must say that one of my biggest dreams is to hunt Mountain Nyala! But I need all of my hunting to be done in a proper manner..

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Guys, it is a pity that this discussion has not solicited a whole bunch of replies thus far. I can think of a number of reasons for that, one of the more important could be:

The subject is a tad heavy for us as a collective body. Reality is that most of us hunt because we enjoy it, so we feel a bunch more at ease discussing whether the .375 H&H in a bolt action is enough for buff or whether you need a .458 Lott or even a .470 NE in a double. Questioning our own motives and place in life is probably a lot more difficult, even uncomfortable at times.

Well, so be it. I don't think we have to feel bad about what we do, nor our reasons why we do so. In particular, I don't think we have to feel responsible or even guilty for how people hunted in the past. The world changes, and how people hunted in the past was a consequence of the conditions and the outlook at the time. Heck, when I was a kid, little attention was paid to issues such as over-fishing, the end of the game or global climate change. Alas, we have since learnt that humans are (probably) capable of all these things. Consequently, hunting is done differently these days. As hunters we are responsible for what we do, not for what our predecessors did.

I doubt many of us head to the hunting fields (be they in Africa, Norway or the US) with the idea of conservation foremost on our minds. We like to hunt, it is exiting, it fulfills us, and we enjoy doing so. However, if in the process, we can achieve sustained useage of a natural resource, generate enough cash for the resource to be conserved for future generations, I think we have just about achieved the optimum we can hope for. Done right, in the right political and regulatory environment, I think we contribute to this goal.

In a curious round-about way, the last 30 years (or so), has proven that hunting can be and has been beneficial to game populations. Where hunting was utilized to the best advantage, game populations and conservation has profited. Where hunting was outlawed (e.g. Kenya or India) not much is left these days in the light of an unsatiable human demand for resources.

So what about trophy hunting?? Does it destroy the resource we are all looking for?? Sustained useage and ability to take good trophies year after year surely is a question of selectivity. If our regulatory environment allows hunting operators to have a long-term outlook, I believe they'll be interested in sustained useage of the resource - in contrast to short term profit, cut and run. Alf is totally right in pointing out the low percentages of a population that (at best) constitutes mature trophies. And with increased demand, there is a danger that the resource not be utilized with care. However, to a large extent, this depends on for how long operators can plan. When in SA and Namibia, one of the big discussion issues is alway carrying capacity of the land, so it is not like hunting operators are oblivious to sustained useage, it is a question of whether they are allowed to focus on this.

So all in all, I don't think we have to feel ashamed of what we do, nor of our motives to do so. Done in the right way, we can contribute to sustained use of a resource and hope this will allow our children to enjoy the same privileges we have.

- mike

P.S. Not having hunted Mountain Nyala (and probably not being wealthy enough to do so in the future), it has been my impression that Mountain Nyala polpulations are not under pressure from trophy hunting. Rather human encroachment and poaching are the limiting factors. Do you see any other option to stop these factors, other than generation of funds through hunting - because I don't.

quote:

Originally posted by mho:
Guys, it is a pity that this discussion has not solicited a whole bunch of replies thus far.

Thats what I was thinking as well. Hope to get as many replies and views as possible. I would also like to get replies from others like me, who actually don`t have a lot of knowledge on the theme, but have ideas and thoughts about it anyway.

The part about trophy hunting was actually the other thing I wanted to discuss. Which animals to harvest?
I have never quite understood what kind of selectivity they use in Africa. Shooting out trophy animals might be a big problem. But I thought the goal was to take old animals after they had done their job. But that must be almost impossible.
How many mature animals, that still can contribute in breeding, is being shot, instead of old ones..?
And like ALF said, the percentage of mature animals in a breeding herd is pretty low, and might be lower if we do it the wrong way.
In Norway the management rules dictate that mature animals are to be preserved, so that their genetics is carried on. So trophy hunting is more or less out of the question. But what is trophy hunting? For me it`s not only big trophies. But to take care of fond memories from a good hunt. But thats another discussion.

I hope we, the hunters, can think more of this when we go to Africa for hunting or anywhere else. Is my hunting done in a way, so that others can experience the same thing later..? How does my financial contribution help? Does it?
I think it does, most of the times.
But an important part must be if the operatores have a long-term or short-term outlook.

Well, now I just writing, and copy-paste what the others already have said..
Next please!