Should We Kill Animals To Save Them?

[Pheroze]

New National geographic article

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2017/10/trophy-hunting-killing-saving-animals/

 

[BRICKBURN]

I was expecting the typical smear.... I'm pleasantly surprised.
Interesting.

 

[Pheroze]

I was expecting the typical smear.... I'm pleasantly surprised.
Interesting.

It's actually thought provoking in some ways. The stat about Tanzania's game areas was actually troubling.

 

[BRICKBURN]

It's actually thought provoking in some ways. The stat about Tanzania's game areas was actually troubling.

Commercial criminal poaching has been a scourge on wildlife.
Without active anti poaching.....

 

[CAustin]

Commercial criminal poaching has been a scourge on wildlife.
Without active anti poaching.....

And as we all know that when hunters and outfitters are in the area legally hunting this enterprise becomes more difficult.

 

[Pheroze]

Commercial criminal poaching has been a scourge on wildlife.
Without active anti poaching.....

The article seems to be saying that the outfitters have shot out 40% of the hunting concessions - did I miss read that? I don't know where that data comes from. But, the article points to Tanzania for lax control of the industry. Its that part that is troubling.

Thankfully, the author does credit hunters with opposing the "canned hunting" excesses that the author identifies in South Africa.

 

[MAdcox]

Surprisingly thoughtful article. Author couldn't help themselves at the end to throw their views in, but otherwise a lot of facts and good info.

 

[Hank2211]

The article seems to be saying that the outfitters have shot out 40% of the hunting concessions - did I miss read that? I don't know where that data comes from. But, the article points to Tanzania for lax control of the industry. Its that part that is troubling.

Thankfully, the author does credit hunters with opposing the "canned hunting" excesses that the author identifies in South Africa.

Do we need to re-open the ‘canned lion hunting’ debate?

Well, apparently we do. The article is clearly talking about the hunting of captive-bred lions and once again, conflates this with ‘canned hunting’. “Raising 6,000 lions for easy killing. . .” says the article.

I will repeat myself. I have hunted captive bred lions and observed others. I have also hunted leopard by baiting - the same way wild lions are generally hunted. Leopard hunting is difficult, but only because it’s difficult to get the cat on bait during legal shooting hours. Oh, but wait. In some places, you can shoot at night with spotlights. While I’m fine with that - to each his own - you will not convince me that somehow this is harder than tracking a lion on foot. There was nothing easy about any of the captive bred lion hunts I’ve been involved with (5 to date). And no comparison at all when you add the danger factor (unless you make a bad shot, when it can get interesting in both cases).

If you hunt captive bred lions - or any other captive bred animal for that matter - in a small pen, or the animal is drugged, or otherwise can’t escape you, then no, you are not hunting. That’s a canned hunt. The manner in which the animal was raised is entirely irrelevant, except to those who want to end lion hunting period.

So there is nothing about the fact that the animal is captive bred which by definition necessarily makes hunting that animal a “canned hunt.”

So while all canned hunts are bad, not all captive bred animal hunts are canned, and therefore, not all are bad.

Got it?

 

[Pheroze]

Do we need to re-open the ‘canned lion hunting’ debate?

I don't think we do for this thread.

I put the term in quotes as I did not want to get into how the author defined it. What I thought was important was that, however it is defined, the author pointed out that hunters were also critical of certain practices. I though that, for the uninitiated, this is a helpful way of saying hunters care how a hunt is done.

 

[Shootist43]

The authors of this article seemed to be walking on both sides of the fence. I'm not too sure where they finally wound up.

 

[Divernhunter]

Yes we should

 

[Philip Glass]

Good article. Craig Packer is featured in the film Trophy and is a reasonable scientist. I also know Kevin Reid from Texas who is mentioned here in. He has some rhino now.
Philip