4 thoughts on “Petition: Ask the US Government Not to Encourage Trophy Hunting! | Animal Welfare Institute”
I signed the petition. But the trophy hunters will keep winning. While many people are opposed to the killing, especially the ego trips that result in the deaths of so many magnificent beings, the opposition does not seem to have the will, much less the political power and funding, to get the hunts stopped.
For example, many people like to shoot wildlife with cameras instead of guns. Wildlife watching has increased 20% from 2011 to 2016, and from 71.8 million watchers to 86 million.
Yet, Ryan Zinke asserts that “hunters and anglers are at the backbone of American conservation, so the more sportsmen and women we have, the better our wildlife will be.” However, he also notes that “any decline in hunting numbers, real or perceived, is of great concern since hunting provides the lion’s share of funding for nationwide conservation work thanks to excise taxes on firearms, ammunition, and archery equipment that garner more than $1.1 billion annually.
So until enough wildlife watchers, photographers, and protectors support anti-hunt organizations to pay lobbyists and donate to campaigns, they will lose. They can continue to help change the general culture to disparage the killers and their lies about helping conservation, but that doesn’t help the thousands of wildlife victims in the meantime.
Has anyone watched the PBS documentary “Cheetah Children”? It shows exactly just how difficult it is for wildlife generally, without the additional pressure of trophy hunting – disease, competition from other wildlife, habitat loss, weather. It was one of the saddest, but also uplifting, documentaries I have seen.
Killing for the sole reason of puffing up human ego is repulsive, and has no place in the modern world of diminishing wildlife populations. Especially when one animal is never enough – they’ve got to have a roomful of dead wildlife; five lions, several impala, elephant, etc. Repulsive.
Thanks for the link. Will watch. I agree. Being a wild animal is difficult. Aside from hunting and the predator/prey relationship, there are all those illnesses and parasites the animals can get, as well as all the possible accidents and natural disasters. No easy life.
I’m not sure why the anti hunting groups or whoever is involved in wildlife salvation can’t encourage an excise tax on photographic equipment and accessories. The gear costs a fortune anyway so a few more bucks isn’t going to really matter. This should be on all the equipment, even if you only plan to shoot at your kid’s soccer games. All we ever hear about is about how hunters support wildlife. It’s time for photographers and videographers to step up.
Exposing the Big Game 
I signed the petition. But the trophy hunters will keep winning. While many people are opposed to the killing, especially the ego trips that result in the deaths of so many magnificent beings, the opposition does not seem to have the will, much less the political power and funding, to get the hunts stopped.
For example, many people like to shoot wildlife with cameras instead of guns. Wildlife watching has increased 20% from 2011 to 2016, and from 71.8 million watchers to 86 million.
Yet, Ryan Zinke asserts that “hunters and anglers are at the backbone of American conservation, so the more sportsmen and women we have, the better our wildlife will be.” However, he also notes that “any decline in hunting numbers, real or perceived, is of great concern since hunting provides the lion’s share of funding for nationwide conservation work thanks to excise taxes on firearms, ammunition, and archery equipment that garner more than $1.1 billion annually.
So until enough wildlife watchers, photographers, and protectors support anti-hunt organizations to pay lobbyists and donate to campaigns, they will lose. They can continue to help change the general culture to disparage the killers and their lies about helping conservation, but that doesn’t help the thousands of wildlife victims in the meantime.
Has anyone watched the PBS documentary “Cheetah Children”? It shows exactly just how difficult it is for wildlife generally, without the additional pressure of trophy hunting – disease, competition from other wildlife, habitat loss, weather. It was one of the saddest, but also uplifting, documentaries I have seen.
Killing for the sole reason of puffing up human ego is repulsive, and has no place in the modern world of diminishing wildlife populations. Especially when one animal is never enough – they’ve got to have a roomful of dead wildlife; five lions, several impala, elephant, etc. Repulsive.
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/cheetah-children-full-episode/15705/
Thanks for the link. Will watch. I agree. Being a wild animal is difficult. Aside from hunting and the predator/prey relationship, there are all those illnesses and parasites the animals can get, as well as all the possible accidents and natural disasters. No easy life.
I’m not sure why the anti hunting groups or whoever is involved in wildlife salvation can’t encourage an excise tax on photographic equipment and accessories. The gear costs a fortune anyway so a few more bucks isn’t going to really matter. This should be on all the equipment, even if you only plan to shoot at your kid’s soccer games. All we ever hear about is about how hunters support wildlife. It’s time for photographers and videographers to step up.