2348. Trophy Hunting Fees Do Little to Help Threatened Species, Report Says

By Jada F. Smith, The New York Times, June 13, 2016

Cecil, the lion, was killed by Minnesota dentist and trophy hunter Walter Palmer last year. 

WASHINGTON — Advocates of trophy hunting, and even the United States government, have long justified the killing of protected wildlife in Africa by saying that taxes and fees from the hunts help pay for larger conservation efforts.

But a new report by the Democratic staff of the House Natural Resources Committee challenges those claims, finding little evidence that the money is being used to help threatened species, mostly because of rampant corruption in some countries and poorly managed wildlife programs. It concludes that trophy hunting may be contributing to the extinction of certain animals.

It has been almost a year since an American hunter killed a beloved lion named Cecil in Zimbabwe, setting off an international debate over sport hunting and widespread anger on the internet. Since then, the Obama administration has placed lions in Africa under the protection of the Endangered Species Act, France has banned the import of lion trophies, and more than 40 airlines have said they will no longer transport hunting trophies.

The 25-page House report, called “Missing the Mark,” says that while poaching remains the gravest threat to animals like lions, rhinoceroses and leopards, “trophy hunting also removes a significant number of animals from these rapidly declining populations.”

“As the tragic death of Cecil the lion showed us,” the report says, “trophy hunters do not always play by the rules, and the trophy hunting industry needs to be regulated and held accountable for there to be any hope of a consistent conservation benefit.”

In theory, elaborate big-game hunts — which can cost tens of thousands of dollars, including trophy fees, professional guide payments, transportation and lodging — could help poor countries maintain robust conservation programs and give aid to residents. In the past, the money has been used to repair degraded environments, and the revenue from trophy hunting has been seen as deterring local residents from killing animals because they consider them a nuisance or a danger.

However, the report says, “In assessing the flow of trophy hunting revenue to conservation efforts, we found many troubling examples of funds’ either being diverted from their purpose or not being dedicated to conservation in the first place.”

The Endangered Species Act says hunted trophies can be brought to the United States only if they do not contribute to the extinction of a species. That standard is not always met, the report says, and it recommends that the Fish and Wildlife Service improve its permitting process so that only trophies that actually enhance the survival of species are allowed into the country.

The service has the authority to require an import permit for any species listed as threatened or endangered. In 2014, the agency suspended imports of elephant trophies from Tanzania and Zimbabwe because of “catastrophic population declines.” But, according to the study, it has been reluctant to use its authority to restrict other trophy imports that do not meet the standards on protecting species.

The agency has also used special rules to exempt from permitting requirements many imports of animals listed under the Endangered Species Act, the report says. For the species covered in the House report, the Fish and Wildlife Service required only one import permit from 2010 to 2014, though more than 2,700 trophies eligible for permitting were imported during that time. For the 1,469 leopard trophies that could have required an import permit, the agency required none.

Because Americans bring home more trophies of protected species than hunters from any other country, some conservationists believe that the United States government has the responsibility and the leverage to force a change. The urgency for such change, however, can be largely credited to Cecil the lion.

“Before Cecil, there was a certain complacency surrounding what to do about the lion, almost an indifference,” said Craig Packer, a lion expert who ran the Serengeti Lion Project in Tanzania for 35 years and has been critical of hunting practices in that country.

“After Cecil, it became clear that the public was much more skeptical of sport hunting,” he said. “It shows the power of public opinion.”

1961. Murder of Cecil Shows Why All Trophy Hunting Should End

By Captain Paul Watson, August 4, 2015

Cecil who was lured and murder by American trophy hunter Walter Palmer

Media is predictable. First there is the news, followed by the public reaction and if the public reaction hits a high enough exposure the effect is viral and quite damning. And then what follows is the backlash as people try to hijack the story to suit their own agendas. Such is the case with Dr.Walter Palmer, the man who murdered Cecil the lion.

First came the news and then the outrage. Now the backlash as the condemnation of Palmer is condemned by people with their agendas. What about the other animals? Big game hunters are conservationists? Leave the poor man alone? He's suffered enough? He thought he was doing everything legally? His guides were to blame? How is he supposed to return to his dental practise? Get over it? It's racist to oppose white hunters and not black hunters?

We should not get over it. We should not forget it. The man has not suffered enough. His crime was egregious, his lust for blood unacceptable. We need to use this vile individual to help pass laws to ban trophy hunting. We need to shame the entire trophy hunting community at every opportunity. We need also to end the perversion of blood sports, from bull fighting to the Faroese Grind.

Do I want the man to die? No, I do not wish death on any living being. Do I want to destroy the life that he had, his medical practise, his reputation? Yes I do. He robbed us of a living treasure. He robbed all of us. I take that personally. Do I hate him? No I do not hate anyone, but I hate what he represents and I hate what he has done.

And our outrage is having a positive impact. Delta, Air France, Emirates, Air Canada and United have banned the shipment of wildlife trophies. Zimbabwe has banned lion hunting. The U.S. Congress is considering a bill to ban wildlife trophies into the U.S. Botswana has banned big game hunting.

We need to keep this outrage alive and we need to focus on destroying the Safari Club International and their 50,000 sadistic members. We need to create an understanding that any one who puts a head of an animal on the wall as a trophy should be ostracized and publicly shamed.

Modern day head-hunting should be tossed on the dustbin of history where human head-hunting lies covered in the barbaric dust of historical travesties.

Decapitating noble animals like lions, elephants, pilot whales, giraffes, wolves, elk, moose, zebra, and so many more is a perversion that modern society should not tolerate. 

I took the liberty of making a few alternations to a few verses of Leonard Cohen's incredible poem Nevermind so that it suits Dr. Walter Palmer. 

NEVERMIND

The game was lost
The contract signed,
They did not catch me,
I crossed the line.
I was not caught.
Yet many tried
I live among you,
Well disguised.
I have to leave
My life behind
I have the bodies,
That you will find.
My stories told
With facts and lies.
I once had a name
But never mind.

The man is a serial killer who has lived amongst us well disguised. Even the nimrods at the Safari Club International have turned against him. Yet any suffering he may endure, if he is capable of being shamed at all, pales in comparison to the suffering he caused to Cecil and the other animals he stalked and murdered.

You turned me in
At least you tried
You side with them
Whom you despise.
This was my heart
This swarm of flies.
This is your mouth,
Your bowl of lies.
I served them well,
So I’m surprised,
I’m of their kin,
I’m of their kind.
Never mind.

The story’s told,
With facts and lies,
We own the world,
So never mind.

And I used the word murdered deliberately because I do not restrict the term to the killing of a human. Murder is the deliberate killing of a sentient, self aware, thinking, feeling being, capable of emotions and I believe the victims of this serial killer were all self aware, sentient beings who had thoughts, emotions and even dreams.

We must not let Dr. Walter Palmer fade into obscurity, his foul deeds forgotten nor should we allow ourselves to be side-tracked by those who would promote their own agendas over this despicable act.

This is an opportunity to strike hard at the perversity of trophy hunting and we should use it as best we can. Dr. Palmer is just one of many who practise this horrific crime, but he is now the face of this blood soaked perversion and we need to keep that face before the public so that neither her nor his victims are forgotten.