Til forsvar for løvejakt

Den store snakkisen i sosiale medier de siste dagene har vært den drepte løven Cecil. Men dersom vi legger til side at dette dreier seg om ulovlig (og svært lite sympatisk) jakt, er det viktig å ikke overreagere. Trofejakt har mange fordeler, skriver Barry Curtis hos Spiked, og EUs forslag om å forby import av jakttrofeer vil være skadelig.

"Secondly, kneejerk EU legislation will deter permitted hunting that actually benefits wildlife and poor economies. If one cannot keep a trophy, one may not be willing to pay £35,000 to hunt a lion. This money is then lost to the local economy and deprives local people of many of the resources they need to maintain decent conservation. For example, 40 per cent of the world’s lions live in Tanzania. Along with Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe (where Cecil was shot), Tanzanian lions are deemed to be part of a sustainable population, so hunting permits can be obtained. Bearder was, therefore, wrong: the import of hunting trophies is completely legal where the countries of origin have sustainable populations of the species in question.

According to Alexander N Songorwa, director of wildlife for the Tanzanian Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism, trophy hunting generated roughly $75million for Tanzania’s economy from 2008 to 2011. The EU would be depriving Tanzania of this money. What’s more, an effective ban on trophy hunting would lead to a massive loss of habitat for lions and other species, as African societies would devote the land to other uses, and it would reduce available funds and incentives to tackle illegal poaching."