A bitter debate has erupted over the British Columbia government’s recent decision to end grizzly bear trophy hunting. Here are the pros and cons of stopping the hunt.
A leopard shows its spots in the Soutpansberg Mountains, South Africa.
Sam Williams
Sound wildlife management is incredibly important, and could enhance the conservation status of large carnivores like the leopard, which has recently been listed as a vulnerable species.
Three generations of a Wisconsin family with a nine-point buck.
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources/Flickr
What place does hunting have in our urbanized society? Is it acceptable to kill for fun? For conservation? Philosophy doesn’t have all the answers, but it can help us understand opposing views.
Crocodiles are protected in Australia, but it wasn’t always so.
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Botswanan communities, hunting operators and game farmers reacted badly to the country’s hunting ban. This is because it generates income, particularly in poor rural areas.
People hunt for many reasons – it’s not just for trophies.
Kevin Chang/Flickr
Recent media coverage of trophy hunting - following the death of the lion Cecil – raises questions about why some people seem to enjoy killing animals for fun.
Canned lion hunting is the focus of the 2015 film ‘Blood Lions’, which calls for the end of being ‘bred for the bullet’.
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Now that Cecil the Lion is gone, what lessons can be taken from the controversial manner of his death?
Stuffed animals left by protesters block the doorway of River Bluff Dental clinic in Bloomington, Minnesota. Dentist Walter James Palmer, an American hunter, has been accused of killing the lion without a permit after paying $50,000 to two people who lured it out of Hwange National Park.
Reuters/David Bailey
The fact that people are still travelling thousands of miles to kill exotic animals and bring back trophies shows deeply rooted cultural problems in Western societies.
Hunting is a major source of controversy on the African continent. Many nations have strict laws against hunting while others see it as an opportunity to make money.
US TV presenter Milissa Bachman caused a stir with this pic, but she is one of many trophy hunters.
Melissa Bachman/Instagram
There has been a huge increase in attention recently to the problem of wildlife poaching, mostly from the stream of grisly stories from Africa about rhino and elephants illegally killed for their horn…
Matthew Flinders Professor of Global Ecology and Models Theme Leader for the ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, Flinders University