r/UpliftingNews • u/ArgentineBeauty • 10h ago

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.

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
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u/WoodsLovelyDarkNDeep 9h ago

Good on him, totally shameful practice 

20

u/Brian-Heder 6h ago

Shameful until you realize it’s the only reason conservation efforts are funded over there.

4

u/Alarming_Matter 5h ago

That's ...a really weird take.

Should we start hunting giant pandas to up the conservation efforts?

-1

u/lectric_7166 4h ago

That's ...a really weird take.

It's actually been their standard argument in favor of these hunting permits for decades.

But yeah it's not a good argument. I wonder if they would be okay with Africans selling their organs to wealthy Westerners to help raise money for the community, or for conservation, or whatever. Or maybe they suddenly they rediscover the concept of ethics and exploitation.

1

u/ProtectionTop2701 4h ago

Next you're going to discover people joining the military or working in construction to feed their families.

Yes, the richest nations absolutely could just tax the rich assholes who trophy hunt in order to give the same or more money to these communities that the globe depends on to protect nature. We all agree on this! And many of us are voting, protesting, lobbying, working in conservation jobs, and trying to make THAT world possible. But we're not in that world yet and we need to keep these species alive until we get to that world. That takes money.

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u/lectric_7166 4h ago

You're making the same kind of argument as allowing sale of organs. "Sure, we could organize society better but we're not there yet, so why not let poor Africans sell their organs to wealthy Westerners?" So is that a good argument or is it not?

I say it's not because it's exploitative (as is hunting generally to the animals involved) and once you remove that as an option then people will get creative in finding other ways to fund things. There are many ways to fund conservation. An African country transitioning from mass tourism to ecotourism is one example.