Conservation Force Response to Canadian Press Article Regarding the Cancellation of African Show

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Conservation Force Response to Canadian Press Article Regarding the Cancellation of African Hunting Events Show
By Regina Lennox / Conservation Force / www.conservationforce.org

Comment on Article – With References

The following comment was prepared in response to a Canadian Press report on the cancellation of an African Hunting Show, presumably in response to an online petition by

Ms. Lana Stark against the trade show.

Lana Stark, who started an online petition against the event, says it is unethical for hunters to target animals such as rhinos, lions, elephants, giraffes and hippos.

This article and Ms. Stark’s petition to shut down the Saskatoon hunting show reflect a lack of knowledge about conservation in Africa--and in Canada, for that matter.

Licensed, regulated hunting is the basis of conservation in many eastern and southern African nations. It protects the most habitat, underwrites the most anti-poaching and wildlife management, and benefits the most people living next to wildlife, incentivizing protection instead of retaliation.

You’ve probably heard the saying “you’ve got to spend money to make money.” Conservation hunting is the same idea--by hunting a few animals, you safeguard the species. Someone has to pay for wildlife management and anti-poaching. Licensed, regulated hunting is a “user pay” strategy to do just that, and more.

Ms. Stark suggests “there must be less destructive ways to save the species.” But there aren’t. There are no other proven ways to protect as much habitat and as many populations. Kenya is often cited for a successful photo-tourism industry that protects wildlife in approximately 45,000 km2 of national parks and reserves. Left out is the fact that since Kenya closed hunting in 1977, it lost 70-80% of its wildlife and its protected areas shrank. Private and communal lands once used for hunting have been converted to less efficient grazing, agricultural, and other uses. Kenya is 1.5 times larger than Zimbabwe, and yet maintains half as many elephant. The eastern and southern African nations which allow licensed, regulated hunting, like Zimbabwe, maintain the most habitat for the most wildlife. In that alone, hunting provides a net benefit to wildlife.

But that’s not all. According to Ms. Stark: “Trophy hunters say they are conservationists helping local communities. I don’t think you are if you pay money to shoot an animal.” But hunting revenue--paying for the chance to shoot--is exactly what is so valuable to local communities and African range nations.

Most rural communities fear and dislike big game like lion and elephant. Lion eat cattle (and over 250 people per year in Tanzania). Elephant raid crops and also kill people and livestock. Hippo and rhino are dangerous if crossed. During the cropping seasons especially, rural communities are at war with wildlife. And they are legally allowed to kill problem animals.

But by paying rural communities for the privilege of hunting on their land, safari hunting gives wildlife economic value and gives people a proprietary interest in this resource. Communities use the payments for building schools and clinics, paying pensions and school fees, electrifying buildings, installing toilets and digging waterholes, securing food in case of drought, and more. Many safari hunting operators and clients also contribute funds or in-kind donations--including the meat from successful hunts--to rural villages.

This value of payments, donations, and game meat causes communities to think twice before retaliating against problem animals. It incentivizes communities to form anti-poaching units and monitor wildlife in their area. Licensed, regulated hunting benefits both animals and people. In its absence, both suffer. For example, since Botswana closed hunting in 2014, human-wildlife conflicts reportedly increased over 55%. Plumbing projects have been put on hold. And as one remote villager complained, “Now we don’t eat meat.”

Hunting revenue also underwrites most anti-poaching and provides the lion’s share of funding for the operating budgets of range nation wildlife authorities. In Tanzania, hunting revenue pays for 80% of anti- poaching expenditures. In Zimbabwe, it is the primary source of funds for the wildlife authority. And in Zambia, hunting was recently re-opened after a two-year suspension. Local communities complained about losing their benefits, and the wildlife authority had almost no operating revenue. Although these countries also have photo-tourism industries, hunting generates the greatest revenue specifically targeted at wildlife conservation.

Ms. Stark suggests, “Make it about eco-tourism. Have safaris, tours and photography. People want to see these majestic animals.” But the fact that “people want to see these animals” is a weakness of photo- tourism.

Safari hunters have no quarrel with photo-tourism. It is a valuable industry in most African countries. It employs many people, and it can and does co-exist with safari hunting. Wildlife needs all the help it can get.

In Namibia, for example, at least 18 communal conservancies benefit from both hunting and photo- operations. But at least 28 conservancies benefit from hunting alone. This is because all wildlife areas are not created equal. Some habitat is beautiful, lush, and photogenic. Some supports high densities of charismatic wildlife. And some is neither beautiful nor teeming with abundant wildlife.

Photo-tourists require dense and photogenic conditions--that’s the point. They also generally require solid infrastructure and services and closer airports. Most photo-tourists are looking for short safaris with decent camps and other things to do. They want beauty, safety, and reliability. They are not looking for a 21-day hike across a dry savanna, seeing little wildlife and camping.

But that trip is exactly what hunting tourists seek out. They prefer remote areas. They take three- week safaris. They don’t require large camps and can sleep outside. They are more resilient to the political and economic unrest that frequently plagues sub-Saharan Africa. And they have a lower environmental impact but generate far more revenue per person than photo-tourists.

Photo-tourism is a good thing. But it is not a panacea. It cannot replace hunting.

This point was made clear in a recent study in which the authors evaluated the benefits of safari hunting and photo-tourism to Namibia’s communal conservancies. They found the value of benefits was fairly equal, but the benefits accrued differently: hunting benefitted the conservancy operations and the community as a whole, and photo-tourism benefitted individuals who worked for the lodge. The authors ran a simulation of what would happen to the conservancies if either photo-tourism or hunting was banned. And they discovered that the distribution of benefits made a difference.

The authors found if photo-tourism income disappeared, approximately 80% of conservancies with a current positive cash flow would still be able to cover their operational costs (59% out of 50 conservancies). However, if hunting revenue disappeared, the reverse became true--approximately 80% of conservancies with a current positive cash flow would have to shut down. Only eight out of 50 could maintain income

greater than operational expenses. Approximately 50,000 km2 of habitat would be at risk of conversion to other uses besides wildlife.

In short, when you cut through the emotion to the facts, it becomes clear that licensed, regulated safari hunting has an essential role in African conservation and wildlife management.

This should be no surprise to Canadians. After all, the Canadian wood bison has recovered from a low of one herd in 1978 to a high of seven herds and 4,000 animals today. Conservation hunting has been used as a management tool and revenue generator throughout the wood bison’s recovery. If Canada can use conservation hunting to recover its wildlife, why can’t Zimbabwe, Zambia, Tanzania, Namibia, and South Africa? These countries should be supported in their efforts to sustainably and responsibly manage their wildlife.

Let’s let Teddy Roosevelt, founder of the U.S. national parks, have the last word: “In a civilized and cultivated country wild animals only continue to exist at all when preserved by sportsmen. The excellent people who protest against all hunting, and consider sportsmen as enemies of wild life, are ignorant of the fact that in reality the genuine sportsman is by all odds the most important factor in keeping the larger and more valuable wild creatures from total extermination.”

A SELECTION OF REFERENCES:

T. Anderson & S. Regan, How Trophy Hunting Can Save Lions, The Wall Street Journal (Aug. 7, 2015), available at http://www.wsj.com/articles/how-trophy-hunting-can-save-lions- 1438903734&ei=lO3dVamxDoH9oAT-m6agAw&usg=AFQjCNHjupV2Ijcp.

Banning Trophy Hunting Would Harm Conservation, Namibian Sun (Aug. 5, 2015), available at http://www.namibiansun.com/crime/banning-trophy-hunting-would-harm-conservation.82312.

J.I. Barnes, Economic Returns and Allocation of Resources in the Wildlife Sector of Botswana, 31(3&4) South African Journal of Wildlife Research (Oct. 2001), available at http://www.the- eis.com/data/literature/jwwpap22%20wildlife%20sector%20SAJWR%20FINAL%20.pdf.

CITES, Resolution Conf. 10.15 (Rev. CoP14), available at https://cites.org/eng/res/10/10-15R14.php. CITES, Resolution Conf. 13.5 (Rev. CoP14), available at https://cites.org/eng/res/13/13-05R14C15.php.

L. Clark, UK Expert: Texan Auction of Black Rhino Kill Permit Is 'Perfectly Reasonable' Conservation Method, Wired UK (Jan. 13, 2014), available at http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2014- 01/13/namibia-rhino-kill-auction-a-good-thing.

R. Cooney, What Will Be Cecil the Lion's Legacy? And Who Should Decide?, The Blog / Huffington Post (Aug. 2, 2015), available at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rosie-cooney-phd/what-will-be-cecil- the-lions-legacy_b_7922258.html.

Government of United Republic of Tanzania Ministry of Natural Resources & Tourism, Comment on ESA Status Review of African Lion (Jan. 27, 2015), available at http://www.regulations.gov/#!document Detail;D=FWS-R9-ES-2012-0025-6987.

J. Isaacs, Shoot to Conserve: Corey Knowlton’s Rhino Hunt Escalates the Debate over Trophy Hunting and Environmentalism, Mongabay (Feb. 20, 2014), available at http://news.mongabay.com/2014/02/ shoot-to-conserve-corey-knowltons-rhino-hunt-escalates-the-debate-over-trophy-hunting-and- environmentalism/.

IUCN/SSC, African Elephant Specialist Group, African Elephant Database (2015), available at www.elephantdatabase.org.

IUCN SSC. Guiding Principles on Trophy Hunting as a Tool for Creating Conservation Incentives (2012), available at https://cmsdata.iucn.org/downloads/iucn_ssc_guiding_principles_on_trophy_ hunting_ver1_09aug2012.pdf.

IUCN SSC, Sustainable Use & Livelihoods Specialist Group, Letter (Dec. 11, 2013), available at

http://africanindaba.com/2014/02/iucn-sustainable-use-and-livelihoods-specialist-group-supports-dsc- black-rhino-hunt-auction-february-2014-volume-12-1/.

J. Hanks, Hunting: A Great Debate, Africa Geographic (Nov. 2013), available at https://www.conservationforce.org/pdf/JohnHanks-HuntingGreatDebate.pdf.

C. Jonga, Trophy Imports Suspension Impact on CAMPFIRE Communities, NewsDay Zimbabwe (June 24, 2014), available at https://www.newsday.co.zw/2014/06/24/trophy-imports-suspension-impact- campfire-communities/.

C. Kay, Kenya’s Wildlife Debacle: The True Cost of Banning Hunting, 27 Mule Deer Found. Magazine 22-27 (Apr. 2009), available from Conservation Force.

M. Knight, Chair of the IUCN/SSC African Rhino Specialist Group, Declaration, in Friends of Animals v. Ashe, 15-CV-653 (D.D.C. July 16, 2015), available on PACER.

M. Lindeque, Permanent Secretary of the Government of Namibia, Ministry of Environment and Tourism, Declaration, in Friends of Animals v. Ashe, 15-CV-653 (D.D.C. July 16, 2015), available on PACER.

P.A. Lindsey et al., Potential of Trophy Hunting to Create Incentives for Wildlife Conservation in Africa Where Alternative Wildlife-Based Land Uses may not be Viable, 9(3) Animal Conservation (2006), available at http://www.africanwildlifeconservationfund.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Potential-of- trophy-hunting.pdf.

P.A. Lindsey et al., The Significance of African Lions for the Financial Viability of Trophy Hunting and the Maintenance of Wild Land, 7(1) PLoS ONE (Jan. 2012), available at http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0029332.

G. Martin, Lionizing Cecil Makes Us Feel Good, but a Trophy Hunting Ban Will Accelerate Slaughter (Aug. 3, 2015), available at http://alumni.berkeley.edu/california-magazine/just-in/2015-08-05/lionizing- cecil-makes-us-feel-good-trophy-hunting-ban-will.

C. Mfula, Cecil Stirs World, But Africans See Two Sides of Hunting Debate, Times of Zambia (Aug. 16, 2015), available at http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-africa-hunting-idUKKCN0QH1SJ20150812.

E. Molewa, Minister of Environmental Affairs, Republic of South Africa, Legal, Regulated Hunting Has a Role to Play in Conserving Species (Aug. 4, 2015), available at http://www.dailymaverick.co.za/ opinionista/2015-08-04-legal-regulated-hunting-has-a-role-to-play-in-conserving-species/.

NACSO, The State of Community Conservation in Namibia – A Review of Communal Conservancies, Community Forests & Other CBNRM Initiatives (2014), available at http://www.nacso.org.na/index.php.

R. Naidoo et al., Tourism & Hunting Provide Complementary Benefits to Communal Conservancies in Namibia, Conservation Biology (2015), available at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/cobi. 12643/pdf.

S. Neuwirth, Lucky Escape as Elephant Gatecrashes Tourist Lunch, Express U.K. (Sept. 7, 2015), available at http://www.express.co.uk/news/nature/603605/Safari-park-terror-bull-elephant-attacks- tourists.

M. Norton Griffiths, How Many Wildebeest Do You Need?, 8 World Economics No. 2 (Apr.-June 2007), available at http://www.world-economics-journal.com/How Many Wildebeest do You%20Need.details?AID=283.

M. Norton Griffiths, Je ne Suis Pas Cecil. Why the Death of Cecil Could Be Really Bad News for Wildlife Conservation in Africa, Institute of Economic Affairs (Nov. 19, 2015), available at http://www.iea.org.uk/blog/je-ne-suis-pas-cecil-why-the-death-of-cecil-could-be-really-bad-news-for- wildlife-conservation.

M. Novelli et al., The Other Side of the Ecotourism Coin: Consumptive Tourism in Southern Africa, Journal of Ecotourism (Aug. 2006), available at http://www.researchgate.net/publication/233293988_ The_Other_Side_of_the_Ecotourism_Coin_Consumptive_Tourism_in_Southern_Africa.

G. Nzou, In Zimbabwe, We Don’t Cry for Lions, Opinion in The New York Times (Aug. 4, 2015), available at http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/05/opinion/in-zimbabwe-we-dont-cry-for-lions.html.

N. Onishi, A Hunting Ban Saps a Village’s Livelihood, New York Times (Sept. 12, 2015), available at http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/13/world/a-hunting-ban-saps-a-villages-livelihood.html.

Poaching and Farmers Pose Bigger Threat to Lions than Trophy Hunting, ResearchGate (Aug. 4, 2015), available at https://www.researchgate.net/blog/post/poaching-and-farmers-pose-bigger-threat- to-lions-than-trophy-hunting.

Robin Hurt Safaris (T) Ltd., Audited Report on Contributions to Communities and Anti-Poaching, 2006-June 2015 (Aug. 2015), available from the Robin Hurt Wildlife Foundation, www.robinhurt.com/ robin-hurt-wildlife-foundation/robin-hurt-wildlife-foundation.html.

D. Rupp, The Rifle and the Camera, Sports Afield (2015), available at http://www.sportsafield.com/ content/rifle-and-camera.

N. Rust & D. Verissimo, Why Killing Lions Like Cecil May Actually Be Good for Conservation, CNN.com (July 30, 2015), available at http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/30/opinions/cecil-conservation/.

Save the Rhino International, What Is Trophy Hunting?, available at https://www.savetherhino.org/ assets/0001/7279/What_is_trophy_hunting.pdf.

A. Songorwa, Saving Lions by Killing Them, Opinion in The New York Times (Mar. 17, 2013), available at http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/18/opinion/saving-lions-by-killing-them.html?_r=0.

USAID, Tanzania Wildlife Management Areas Final Evaluation Report (July 15, 2013), available at http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/pdacy083.pdf.

L.C. Weaver et al., The Catalytic Role and Contributions of Sustainable Wildlife Use to the Namibian CBNRM Programme, in the Proceedings of an International Symposium on the Relevance of CBNRM to the Conservation and Sustainable Use of CITES-Listed Species in Exporting Countries (2011), available at http://pubs.iied.org/pdfs/14616IIED.pdf.

D. Western et al., The Status of Wildlife in Protected Areas Compared to Non-Protected Areas of Kenya, 4(7) PLoS ONE (July 2009), http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone. 0006140.

P. White & J.L. Belant, Provisioning of Game Meat to Rural Communities as a Benefit of Sport Hunting in Zambia, PLoS ONE 10(2) (Feb. 18, 2015), available at at http://journals.plos.org/plosone/ article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0117237.

WWF Tanzania, Tanzania’s Wildlife Management Areas 2012 Status Report (2013), available at http://www.twma.co.tz/uploads/WMA_Status_Report_2012_Final.pdf.

Zambian Wildlife Authority, Enhancement & Non Detriment Findings for African Elephant in Zambia (Mar. 2015).

Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority, News Release, Elephant Hunted in Malipati Safari Area (2015), available at http://www.zimparks.org/index.php/mc/246-elephant-hunted-in- malipati-safari-area.

Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority, News Release, Human-Wildlife Conflict (Elephants and a Leopard) (2015), available at http://www.zimparks.org/index.php/mc/198-human- wildlife-conflict-elephants-and-a-leopard-14-and-15th-of-april-2015.

Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority, News Release, Professional Guide Killed by Lions, Hwange (2015), available at http://www.zimparks.org/index.php/mc/230-professional-guide- killed-by-lions-hwange.

Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority, News Release, Teenager Attacked by a Buffalo, available at http://www.zimparks.org/index.php/mc/174-teenager-attacked-by-a-buffalo- victoria-falls.

Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority, News Release, Woman 68, Girl 4 Attacked by a Wounded Buffalo (2015), available at http://www.zimparks.org/index.php/mc/251-woman-68-girl-4- attacked-by-a-wounded-buffalo.
 

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  • Comment to CP Article re Saskatoon Show Cancellation with Refs.pdf
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John,

What a fabulously, well structured response. Thank you for your efforts and reason. I will use your material as a basis for discussions I have with those I meet who are against hunting.

Thanks,

John
 
That's great, but we need it as op-ed features in news services across the country.
 
Where is this to be published? As a letter to the editor if a major news paper? Do such letters get published In Toronto perhaps?
 
Fantastic. Where can I get the pdf to forward on to others?
 
TANFASTIC..............
 

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  • Comment to CP Article re Saskatoon Show Cancellation with Refs.pdf
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Great stuff.
 
Good article and good supporting literature.

Thanks for posting.
 
very good research and well written article..
 
Good stuff, again.
 
John,

Great job with your response as usual. I really enjoy reading your well thought out articles and replies. I recently read an article that you wrote in the World Conservation Force Bulletin entitled "The Measure of Safari Hunting's Positive Impact upon Communities-More than the Media Reports". It was included in The Hunting Report bulletin I receive monthly. Another great article as well that highlights hunting unequaled impact on African wildlife conservation.


What the naive comments that are attributed to Mrs. Stark illustrate is that her whole basis of reason, and thus why she is against so-called trophy hunting, is because she "thinks" it is bad. In other words, she has supplanted fact with emotion and opinion. That is so often the case with the rabid anti-hunters. They don't argue with facts, but emotion. As I have always said, a person can think hunting is detestable or barbaric as that is their right. No one forces them to participate in the activity. However, if viewed from an objective point of view, utilizing facts instead of emotion, hopefully the vast amount of the general public, who is neutral to the idea of hunters and hunting, will see that there truly "is no alternative to hunting period" as you so perfectly laid out in the article I referenced above. Those people are the ones who need to be reached.

Also, as an aside on the AR forum, there is an outfitter who is offering a tracking hunt for PAC lion and hyena in Namibia for a great price. It's non-exportable of course. However, the interesting thing is why they are offering it.

Supposedly, the farmers are having a huge problem with lions eating their livestock, and are to the point of poisoning them to rid themselves of the problem. Certainly, we are hearing of this happening already in Botswana as well.

For anyone who thinks this is better than allowing a hunter to come in, and ethically and legally harvest one problem lion or lioness for a handsome, albeit drastically discounted, sum of money in which the government, communities, people, etc., will receive a portion of this money, I ask where their priorities lie? Do you care more about the one lion, or the survival of the species as a whole? Because the stated alternative is to poison a caracas, and allow the whole pride potentially to be extirpated. I ask the question again, is that the better solution?

Another prime example of how hunting is a more humane option.....

As an aside, I recently went back and re-read the book Game Changer by Glen Martin. I would encourage all who have yet to read it to purchase a copy of it, and absorb the arguments presented in it. Another great piece of research looking at the disastrous impact the hunting ban has had on Kenya.

Mr. Jackson, keep up the good work. I hope my recent donation will help in your mission. It's of upmost importance to the cause of wildlife conservation.

God Bless
 
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What a great article. Extremly well done and educational. Reiterates what I've been trying to preach all along. You can't have effective conservation without a structured program which includes hunting.
 
Note that this was written by Regina Lennox, who I believe is a young in-house attorney with Conservation Force. I think she also wrote the excellent Conservation Force article responding to the coverage of Cecil. Mr. Jackson has a gem there.
 
Note that this was written by Regina Lennox, who I believe is a young in-house attorney with Conservation Force. I think she also wrote the excellent Conservation Force article responding to the coverage of Cecil. Mr. Jackson has a gem there.

In this modern age. Behind every good man there's a ......






Lawyer! :E Big Grin:
 
Excellent!
 

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