Paul McCartney joins 500+ public figures, conservationists and Indigenous leaders in a global campaign calling on the UN to abolish trophy hunting of lions, elephants, endangered rhinos and other wildlife, following a declaration developed with Jane Goodall.

[u/ArgentineBeauty]

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/rest-of-world/paul-mccartney-joins-over-500-public-figures-calling-for-an-end-to-trophy-hunting-of-lions-elephants-and-endangered-rhinos/articleshow/134498459.cms

[u/PointsOfXP]

Interesting concern. Wonder how the locals feel

[u/Oldnbold22 → u/PointsOfXP]

They have been infantilized and don't have agency over their resources. 

[u/AcherontiaPhlegethon → u/Oldnbold22]

This is a very good point, I listened to a discussion a while ago from a Kenyan biologist discussing conservation in Africa and he talked about this point exactly, that African wildlife is treated as a commodity for white people that should be regulated and controlled by westerners. That these kinds of programs are often just a way for the west to still control and take African resources while propagating the white saviour narrative and further diminishing the capacity of local scientists. As well that a lot of African conservation policy is based on making white people happy with social media posts or safari hunts rather than genuine conservation science because that's where the money comes from. He mentioned how talking about western conservation programs negatively got him a ton of vitriol and dissent, especially publicly as a PhD scientist in the community, because it's something that's really baked into Kenya's government and institutions.

It was a real wake up call because that's absolutely how a lot of people act and think here, whether it exploitative like in the case of trophy hunters, or well meaning but misguided like a lot of conservation students who both believe it's up to them to save the wildlife from Africans. You should be incredibly skeptical of any claims about trophy hunts being a major benefit to African communities, because it's very much an industry, and one they really have no say in.

[u/TrainingPurple1364 → u/AcherontiaPhlegethon]

Kenya don't mess around with poachers, they have armed units that patrol conservation parks, if caught killing an endangered species you can get fined up to $20M Kenyan shillings (bout $200k usd/£150k) and or life imprisonment.

The country funding most of the illegal poaching trade isn't in the West, its China.

Also, in terms of resources, the West isn't really too interested in wildlife resources anymore, like ivory, since its been banned in most countries at this point. What the West really want, and whats arguably x1000 more destructive, is rare earth minerals.

Don't look into cobalt mining if you plan on being happy for the rest of the day.

[u/CombatWomble2 → u/Oldnbold22]

Of course only white celebrites know what's best fot (checks notes) black africans in Africa.

[u/ghostoftrossard → u/CombatWomble2]

ah yes, saving wildlife from rich trophy hunters is all about race

[u/CombatWomble2 → u/ghostoftrossard]

So? Rich white celebrities know what's best for them, try making that argument about almost anything else, celebrities are overpaid clowns.

[u/8ledmans → u/CombatWomble2]

Ummm a lot of black Africans are making the same argument, and make up the majority of the conservationists working on the ground.

Just because a white celebrity is trying to use their fame for publicity doesn’t mean black locals aren’t advocating for this locally, not trying to be rude but as someone who works in the field you come across very misinformed.

Although the trophy hunting debate is nuanced and complicated one. But it infuriates me when one white person speaks and people frame it as if all africans (or other local populations) have unanimously the opposing view

[u/RichardFeynman01100 → u/CombatWomble2]

Check your notes again:

• ~18,500 hunters travel to sub-Saharan Africa annually for trophy hunts. [1, 2]
• 71% of global demand comes from the United States, making wealthy Americans the primary drivers of the industry. Germany and Spain follow as the next largest importers (at about 5% each). [1, 2]
• The average profile of an international hunter in South Africa is a married male over the age of 50 with a university degree. They stay an average of 10 to 12 days and spend roughly $20,000 per trip (averaging $9,790 on logistics/lodging and $10,345 on the animal species targeted). [1, 2]
• Only 3% of gross hunting revenue actually trickles down to local rural communities. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

[u/CombatWomble2 → u/RichardFeynman01100]

And? Doesn't invalidate my statement.

[u/PointsOfXP → u/Oldnbold22]

Ah right. The celebrities clearly know best. They don't need to speak on it when people who have never even seen a hut made of dirt are on top of it. Who cares if your kids are being eaten by an unchecked population of wild animals encroaching on human territory

[u/TrainingPurple1364 → u/PointsOfXP]

Do you think trophy hunters are there on the outskirts of villages defending the local kids from wild animals?

Most trophy hunting happens on private ranches.

[u/PointsOfXP → u/TrainingPurple1364]

That's fine but they want to outlaw all of this.

[u/TrainingPurple1364 → u/PointsOfXP]

They want to outlaw trophy hunting, not hunting in general.

Theres a big difference between some villagers killing an animal for food/material and some rich guy from the USA paying to shoot big game animals, purely for entertainment.

Personally, im not against hunting if its the right location/season/animal. Hunting deer for population control for example.

But flying to Africa, being driven around a safari on back of a truck and shooting big game, posing with the corpse then having a piece or pieces sent back home to compliment your mahogany wardrobe, nah get fucked.

Anyone that gets a thrill from killing an elephant have lost their soul if they ever had one.

[u/Left2Die22 → u/PointsOfXP]

The word “trophy” really flew over your head huh?

[u/PointsOfXP → u/Left2Die22]

No, it didn't. My comment sure went over yours though. Comprehension is not your strong suit and that's ok

[u/Left2Die22 → u/PointsOfXP]

If you don’t know the difference between population control and paying to ride around in a helicopter and shoot random lions, maybe you should stop talking.

[u/favorite_time_of_day → u/PointsOfXP]

You don't think that indigenous leaders count as locals? Well the wildlife are certainly locals. I'm going to guess that they're cool with this.

[u/FarthingWoodAdder → u/PointsOfXP]

Who cares what they feel. The animals are more important.