InvestorsHub Logo
icon url

fuagf

08/07/15 12:24 AM

#236504 RE: fuagf #236493

The Economic Case Against Trophy Hunting

by Beenish Ahmed Aug 3, 2015 5:08pm


CREDIT: AP

[...]

Trophy hunting itself accounts for an average of about two percent of all tourism-related revenues for sub-Saharan African countries. The amount of overall revenue from hunting big game that goes towards community development is only around three percent. That number might even be lower since many of the countries where game hunting is most widely practiced are plagued by corruption that may well undermine the amount of earnings that reach local communities from collectively-held land.

Trophy hunting generally cuts short the earning potential of a living animal. For example, the ivory of a single poached elephant can earn about $21,000 on the black market. That’s a small fraction of the $1.6 million that same elephant can rake up through ecotourism over the course of its life.

The number of jobs generated by trophy hunting across the continent of Africa has been put at around 15,000. Some researchers, however, point out that the jobs created by the industry are rather low considering how much land is used for the sport. For the 11 countries where big game hunting is most widely practiced, hunting preserves take up about 15 percent of national territory, but account for less than one percent of their respective country’s GDP. The earnings from tourism overall are up to six times the amount accrued from trophy hunting.

http://thinkprogress.org/world/2015/08/03/3687425/trophy-hunting/