As repugnant as trophy hunting is, it has its defenders. And invariably, they argue that killing lions and elephants in Africa is actually beneficial to the local communities where it occurs.
We’ve seen a couple of good rejoinders to that, and today the Boston Globe weighs in with piece by Nigerian scholar who says that corruption and lawlessness prevent that simple calculus.
Claims that hunting adds significantly to country revenues are overstated. A report from eight countries in eastern and southern Africa found that trophy hunting adds little to GDP, only about 0.03 percent, compared to tourism, which adds up to 5 percent. The thousands of dollars American hunters pay to shop for game rarely trickles down to the rural communities where those animals are found.
We’ve seen more assertive broadsides arguing this point, but it seems significant that the Globe is wading into this important issue. What do you think?
