Most people associate the image of a man visiting Africa dressed in safari gear and holding a gun as something from the past. From a sad, dark past in which people kill elephants, rhinos, lions, and other animals for the fun of it. Unfortunately, and strangely enough, this vile activist continues even today.

 

"Trophy hunters" are wealthy individuals who travel around the globe in order to kill animals for "fun". The hunters then keep the body of the animal, or some part of the animal (like the head or their skin) as a "trophy". The gruesome keepsakes are then displayed in their homes and bragged about with other trophy hunters.

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They even have an organization called Safari Club International. SCI encourages the hunting of animal, giving their members "gold stars" based on the numbers and types of animals they have killed. 

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Trophy hunters have no regard for the lives of the animals they kill, nor the

families they tear apart in the process.

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As wild animals have increasingly been treated as commodities and killed for

cash or ego, population numbers have declined dramatically. Rich trophy 

hunters could choose to help animals with their resources and save species,

instead, they opt to take advantage of corruption within the government of

certain African nations and seize the opportunity to satisfy their blood lust.

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SCI and trophy hunters want you to believe they are vital to conserving wild

species; however, trophy hunting is in fact harmful to conservation efforts:

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• Hunters frequently kill animals critical to strengthening the gene pool of the species they are hunting. 

• Hunters' kill quotas are often not based on scientific evidence.

• Age restrictions for hunted animals are often ignored, thus compromising genetic health. 

 

190,000 wild animals are exported as trophies annually. 

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While countless more are killed locally without entering the global trade. Commonly hunted species include bear, duck, wolf, bobcat, polar bear, moose, elk, cougar, and many African species including elephants and lions.

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Trophy hunters also frequently rely on cruel and unfair practices like baiting, hounding, trapping, and the use of guides and technology to ensure a kill.

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They also engage in "canned" hunting, which is a practice involving the breeding of animals in captivity. Hunters then shoot caged animals who have no natural fear of humans.

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Don't believe their lies! Monies derived from trophy hunting play no significant role in conservation efforts. The spending of wildlife watchers, however, dwarfs the amounts generated by trophy hunting.

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Ask yourself this: why is it that a homeless person who used a bow and arrow to kill a domestic house cat for food would end up in jail, but a rich person with the ability to travel, buy permits and expensive equipment and assistance from others is allowed to kill animals like elephants in order to mount a head on his living room wall? 

 

At home, and abroad, trophy hunting is a vile, disgusting activity that takes lives without dignity and without reason.