Economic Lens

Economic Lens
Wildlife tourism has become a particularly popular trend over the years. Riding on elephants, taking pictures with lions, swimming with dolphins are only a few of the adventurous and thrilling activities that wildlife tourism provides. Even my own school is planning a trip to South Africa to participate in several of the enthralling ventures.
Trophy hunting, or the activity in which people hunt wild animals, has also gained tremendous recognition over the years. Hunting animals usually has a very strong negative connotation; however, when hunting is done right, it brings numerous economic benefits.
While it might seem hard to believe, it is actually legal. However, there are several restrictions as to which animals you can hunt,

or which weapons you are allowed to use, etc.
According to the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) tourism is responsible for “economic growth, inclusive development, and environmental sustainability” (unwto). It’s also one of the biggest industries in the world, and it has even developed into its own separate branches, including wildlife tourism. An apparent, major benefit of wildlife tourism is the actual income that the country earns from tourists. Tourists can do a tremendous amount of good to conservation. Not only does it give personal businesses self-interest in helping maintain and protect animal rights, but it also brings in a lot of money, just like trophy hunting.
In addition, since wildlife tourism is getting more and more recognition, it can help bring to light illegal hunting and poaching (thoughtcatalog.com).

For example, a very recent event of the illegal killing of the lion, Cecil, gained colossal attention throughout social media and the news. However, Cecil’s death also brings up the question of whether trophy hunting is safe after all. Walter Palmer, the killer of Cecil, had purchased a hunting permit for 55,000 dollars; yet, he is put in trial for hunting a lion. Cecil was a protected animal and a local favorite. Palmer claims, however, that he had no knowledge of that prior to his hunt and blames the guides for not notifying him about Cecil (independent.co.uk). The “Cecil case” can lead to a very long, heated discussion, but the main takeaway from this is that trophy hunting can never be 100 percent safe. Although, most trophy hunters believe that they are helping with conservation, they might be doing more harm than good. For

instance,
only a limit of five black rhinos are allowed to be hunted per year in Namibia (savetherhino).

There’s another catch to trophy hunting: it is extremely expensive. Permits for trophy hunting usually cost thousands of dollars, which leads to the idea that killing animals can actually help conservation. This concept might seem ridiculous at first, but trophy-hunting permits bring in a plethora of money. For instance, the so-called “ten-day ‘elephant package’ could cost… 36,000 [dollars]” (learnenglish). Even if you merely wish to watch the hunt, you are obliged to pay 3,800 dollars (abcnews). The prices are strikingly high, meaning that so is the revenue. South Africa alone brings in more than 744 million dollars every single year, making it its “most profitable form of commercial land use” (learnenglish). This enormous amount of money can not only be used to aid the many third world countries in Africa, but also with conservation. Many argue that by killing wild game during hunting, it causes some species to go extinct. However, strong economic incentive has motivated landowners to expand their territories, reintroduce species, and take care of the animals in general, which would indicate the opposite: more animals are safe. One might even conclude that the world is saving animals, by killing

them.
Furthermore, trophy hunting is a valuable industry because not only does it bring in money from hunting permits and accommodations, but it also creates numerous career options. The industry has created approximately 6,000 jobs in South Africa, meaning that the employment rates have gone up by 3.5 times. Thousands of other jobs have been created all over Africa (environmentmagazine.org).

Ultimately, as eccentric as it sounds, trophy hunting and conservation can coexist.