Conservation vs. Hunting??

 #GVIfans

We had a lecture on conservation going over the population of animal’s om Karongwe and how they manage the populations so the animals don't breed out of control. Zoe also went over the biomes part of South Africa, there are surprisingly 9 biomes just in South Africa. We looked at different conservation groups and how they work and what their key focus is on.

 A tricky concept of hunting came up, there are four styles of hunting

• Trophy
• Is an organised hunt with a specific target within a species or herd and the person hunting can take part of the animal back with them once it has been taxidermized.
• Game

• This hunt is based upon the quality of the game meat
• Canned

• Animals bred in an enclosure to be released to be hunted
• Culling
• The animals are killed because the population is getting to big and reducing the productivity of the reserve overall.

 

I have completed a zoology degree at uni and wildlife conservation and have never really considered hunting as having any positive effects. After the discussion the concept of specific types of hunting seemed to have less of a negative impact and more of a positive one. Below is just a few examples of pro's and cons of specific situations

 

WILDLIFE RESERVE

PUBLIC eg: Kruger National park

Pros	Cons
Many people get to see the animals Brings in money to the reserve Creates jobs for the community in restaurants and checkpoints within the reserve	Many cars give off many fumes People make rubbish Cost of road upkeep Not all people follow and respect the rules

 

PRIVATE

Pros	Cons
Less vehicles reducing road upkeep Quieter areas so you get a more personal safari guide	Always stretched for money Not cheap to stay within the reserves

 

Once animals reach a certain age they no longer viable reproductive their behaviour an change and this can possibly make them dangerous and unpredictable. They get to an age and just start destroying fences or killing other creatures that have done no harm to them. The reserves get stuck and have to keep repairing the damage. The problem is how do you resolve this issue? As overall the animal generally has to be euthanatized by a veterinarian.

 

What would it mean to a reserve if they placed the creature up on auction and organised a sophisticated ethical hunt? The money would go to the reserve to help with the upkeep and to improve their facilities such as fence upkeep, antipoaching resources, technical upgrades in security or purchasing more animals.

The person would have the situation explained to them and the creature would be clearly identified to this specific person as the target. They hunter would successfully get their trophy such as the head or hide processed and the rest of the animal would be given to the community as it is illegal to send meat internationally. All parts of the creature would be utilized.

A creature could be auctioned off from $100,000 to maybe $350,000. I have never considered the positives that hunting could provide. It can help the reserve and the surrounding communities directly, while reducing the negative impact unpredictable animals may bring.