Recently, President Trump suggested we lift the ban on importing elephant trophies into the U.S. (though the ban on lion trophies was quietly lifted). Having spent time in Africa, I can dispel two myths about big-game hunting there.
First, these hunts don’t actually help the local economy. While hunters pay up to $50,000 for a permit, that money goes to the government. What does help locals are the larger groups of tourists who go to see live animals, supporting a wide range of businesses.
Second, there’s no real “sport” to the guided elephant or lion hunt. Elephants are everywhere, travel slowly and move in big groups — often following roads. Hunters need only wait on any back road; the elephants will eventually walk in front of their rifle.
Lions are equally easy on guided hunting tours. In the case of Cecil, the beloved lion shot by an American dentist, the guide dragged a dead impala through his territory and over the national park border. Cecil followed the scent, stepped over the border and was immediately shot. (Note that guided tours are much different than when locals are threatened in rural villages by lions; in those cases, the hunts are unpredictable, dangerous, and undertaken only to protect people.) Keep the ban on importing big-game trophies.
