President Zuma: Ban Trophy Hunting
in South Africa NOW!
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What will it take for leaders around the world to put an end to trophy hunting? Last year, while most of the world was worrying over the long-term survival of Africa’s threatened lions, a U.S. trophy hunter killed the most famous lion of all in an illegal hunt in Zimbabwe. No sooner had protests died down than a hunter from Germany went out and killed the largest bull elephant in Africa in decades.
The world is finally seeing trophy hunting for what it truly is: a senseless pastime for a very few callous people — a tiny fraction of the one-percenters — who travel the world, killing as much and as often as they can.
These ecologically reckless actions are destroying entire ecosystems and driving whole species of animals to the brink of extinction. And they are also destroying local economies. One African conservationist estimated that eco-tourists who lodged in the area to take photos of Cecil the lion brought in more money in one week than American dentist Walter Palmer spent to murder the famous animal. Over his lifetime, a living Cecil could have brought in $1 million in tourism. Every year, wildlife-based eco-tourism generates tens of billions in tourist spending.
