Originally Posted By: BMWTurboDzl
Originally Posted By: hattaresguy
I suspect none because no one understands how trophy hunting works. Nice rifle BTW.
1. Was the lion wasted?
No typically locals are poor and only to happy to take the meat. Nothing is wasted.
2. Why is a trophy hunt so expensive?
I don't know the exact details of this case, I suspect the media is way off as usual. Typically if you want to shoot say an elephant you need a permit. The local game wardens identify X number of animals to be removed each year. Typically they are older males who are blocking younger males from breeding. So the number of permits issued is very limited and as a result they are very expensive. I have heard of people paying $250k for some!
Its called herd and animal management. These poor countries lack resources to fight poachers, also the locals view a lot of the animals like elephants in this example as nuisance animals. By charging in some cases $200k to shoot an old animal they are able to gain resources they wouldn't otherwise have to fight poachers. The locals now also make money off this so they have an incentive to not help the poachers or kill the animals themselves.
Large game trophy hunting is actually doing a ton of good in Africa and is why a lot of animals are still around. FYI the Chinese are paying poachers to kill anything with a horn left and right so without it they would have probably shoot every last one by now. Its so bad that in some areas game warden's shoot and hunt the poachers.
The same limp wristed OMG its nature don't touch it, I don't understand it but save it attitude, is why wild forest fires sweep threw areas all the time. The forest and trees are not properly managed so nature does it. If controlled logging and underbrush removal was done so you had a healthy forest with large healthy trees they would be less common. Fires are natures way of achieving this.
Weak sauce. Making money from safari's and employing the poachers to protect is a better way. Culling the herd however isn't usually necessary as nature takes its course.
Hugh?
Poachers are just poor people trying to make a living. Either someone on the black market pays them to shoot the animal for a part of it, the game wardens kill them, OR you can make trophy hunting valuable so they become guides. Any local starving villager with a family can be a poacher.
Natures great, we can help it along. Keep an animal that cannot bread in charge of a heard for a few more years and nature will kill it. Or we can kill it, charge for that privilege, than a young male can get in their and do what young males do best. Make babies!
The real conversationalists are hunters. Safari Club and big game hunting club members have spent more actual DOLLARS on conservation than all the feel good hand wringers net worth's put together. I know guys in my club who have spent over a quarter million dollars to shoot certain Rhino's. That money goes directly to the local government to protect the specials. They also spend thousands in the local area making the animals very profitable to have around. A local can make an entire years wage in one week with a group like this in town! No hand wringing internet feel good has written a check like that.
