Trophy Hunting

Nikolaj Bichel and Adam Hart
Springer, £109.99

Trophy Hunting’s concluding paragraph asks whether it’s time we had fundamental discussions about hunting’s role in modern society, and about what makes it ethical or unethical. Hart and Bichel propose that the killing of animals may not even be central to this controversy – having read their thorough and wide-ranging book, I’m inclined to agree. The debate is about local communities, species and ecosystems, colonial legacies, clashes of political ideology, the characters and motivations of hunters, virtue signalling by powerful celebrities, and much more.

Each of these issues is explored with its nuances and complexities. Sometimes, the conclusion is counterintuitive. For example, the very concept of trophy hunting is offensive to many people in the west because of the colonial associations that accompany rich white men killing animals that local people are forbidden to hunt. However, ironically, arguments against trophy hunting bring their own form of neocolonialism. Local people may want the proceeds from trophy hunting along with the added bonus that a problem animal is removed. Is it appropriate for western campaigners to try to take away this choice?

We also have ecological impacts to consider, and the authors put forward convincing evidence that, in certain situations, trophy hunting can contribute to conservation. Often the benefits come in terms of funds. In one private reserve in South Africa, for example, 24,000 photography tourists contributed a third of what 46 hunters spent in 2016. The carbon footprint and wildlife disturbance of photography tourists is therefore vastly higher than that of hunters.

In other situations, trophy hunting can directly prevent environmental degradation by reducing the population of species such as deer. This is no magic bullet – in fact the very codes of practice that were designed to avoid damage from trophy hunting can prevent it from having benefits. Avoiding hunting females and young is a good rule if you want to preserve populations, but the opposite of what’s needed to control them. These complexities are vital to consider in decisions about when and where trophy hunting might be justified.  

Dr Rebecca Nesbit

Reviewed by writer, artist and ecologist Dr Rebecca Nesbit