Uganda has ended its ban on trophy hunting. Will that lead Kenya to do the same?
This is a huge issue in East Africa. Many of the region's most respected conservationists are coming around to the idea that Kenya's hunting ban, imposed in the mid-1970s, has only made things worse for wildlife (numbers are down by an estimated 70 percent since then, though there are many other factors behind the drop).
Killing wildlife may seem anathema to animal lovers, who, when they think of sport hunting, might recall colonial-era images of Teddy Roosevelt standing in front of the 10 lions and three rhinoceros he killed that day. But if it's regulated properly, trophy hunting can be incredibly profitable, and beneficial.
The idea is that communities will be more interested in protecting wildlife if they can get some benefit from it. In present-day East Africa, it's difficult to overstate just how much people hate wildlife. Elephants eat all their crops and lions kill their cattle. If an American or a Japanese hunter is willing to pay them $50,000 to kill a single lion, perhaps they'll be more likely to tolerate those losses.
The fear, as some animal welfare groups claim, is that Kenya is too corrupt to regulate trophy hunting properly. But some conservationists argue that the Kenyan government is too much in the thrall of "the animal rights lobby," as it's come to be known, with its big checks and frequent offers of assistance. And with wildlife numbers in such freefall, it would seem that it's time for new ideas.
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