Hunter's Path XVI

HUNTING NEWS
FROM AROUND THE WORLD
AFRICA
Elephant Census
THE RESULTS OF THE FIRST AFRICAN-WIDE
elephant survey are now available. Between 2007
and 2014, the number of savannah elephant decreased
by one third. The population in 2014 was
estimated to be 350,000 to 400,000 animals. Additionally,
elephant numbers in the rainforests of
Central Africa have fallen even more drastically.
Funded primarily by a grant of seven million US dollars
from Microsoft founder Paul Allen, the counts
from the air involved ninety scientists working in
eighteen countries. With eighty-one aircraft and the
participation of many wildlife protection agencies
and relief organizations, samples were determined
and then extrapolated.
According to the responsible scientists, the causes
of the population decreases are poaching and the
loss of natural habitats for the pachyderms. Human
population growth and the continual spread
of agriculture are causing suitable habitats to shrink.
Above all, increasing cattle grazing, mostly by migrant
herds, makes conservation efforts difficult.
The scientists counted more than three million cattle
in elephant habitat. They also spotted hundreds
of poacher camps from the air. Actual elephant
poaching is usually done by young men from the
local villages. Afterwards, smuggler rings run by organized
crime transport the ivory to Asia, especially
to China and Vietnam.
rdb
How many elephant are there?
Photo: iStockphoto
TROPHY HUNTING
Banning Trophy Hunting Will
Exacerbate Biodiversity Loss
INTERNATIONAL PRESSURE TO ban trophy
hunting is increasing. However, three scientists from
Finnish, British and Australian universities argue in
an article in Trends in Ecology and Evolution (Vol. 31,
Issue 2, December 30, 2015), that hunting can be an
important conservation tool, and that it can benefit
biodiversity conservation and local people. “The
hunting industry is characterized by many problems
and shortcomings, in particular in Africa,” state
Di Minin, Leader-Williams and Bradshaw, the three
authors. “Nevertheless trophy hunting can help address
the ongoing loss of species.” Therefore, blanket
hunting bans would exacerbate biodiversity loss.
The authors see three main reasons for this. First,
financial resources for conservation are limited in
developing countries. Hence, wildlife use is necessary
to generate enough funding to support
meaningful conservation success over large areas.
Sustainable hunting can create important incentives
for biodiversity conservation in areas where photographic
tourism is not possible or not economically
viable. If revenue cannot be generated from trophy
hunting, natural habitats will be transformed to
other forms of land use that provide higher return
on investments, but that have negative impacts on
biodiversity.
Second, trophy hunting can have a smaller footprint
than other tourism in terms of carbon emissions, infrastructure
development, and personnel, and can
generate more revenue from a lower volume of tourist
hunters. Compared with photographic tourism,
the trophy-hunting industry relies on fewer tourist
hunters, because the income generated per hunter
is higher. Additionally, hunters are interested in maintaining
good quality habitat for the simple reason that
the caliber of the animals harvested therein is also high.
Finally, hunters are prepared to hunt in areas lacking
attractive scenery, and that require less infrastructure,
therefore minimizing habitat degradation.
4 | Hunter´s Path 4/2016