Trump’s Trophy-hunt Troubles: What if Big-game Hunting Saves the Elephant?

By Selwyn Duke

Is the road to the elephants’ graveyard paved with good intentions? This is an apropos question now that President Trump, after reversing a 2014 Obama-era ban on the import of elephant trophies from Zimbabwe and Zambia, has put the decision on hold in the face of withering criticism.

The backlash is understandable. Elephants, and other large African game, are magnificent, much-romanticized animals whose populations have dropped drastically the last few decades. But what if, counterintuitively, controlled legal hunting of these species can ensure their survival?

The most compelling argument is this: Unlike Westerners, Africans view these animals as nuisances; the creatures kill their livestock, destroy their crops and at times harm humans (I knew a Kenyan priest whose nephew was killed some years ago by an elephant). Consequently, Africans sometimes try to eradicate them — e.g., the poisoning of lions. 

But the large fees and other revenue trophy hunting brings — perhaps $40,000 to $70,000 for a lion or elephant, a fortune in Africa — create an incentive to keep these creatures around. Wealthier Africans will open their private lands to them, protect them and facilitate their breeding.

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