« In the face of human-caused global mass extinctions, it is unacceptable that exploitation of wild animals is still permitted solely for the acquisition of a hunting trophy and that trophies can continue to be legally imported. »
The German Hunting Association (DJV), on the other hand, finds the demands « counterproductive ». According to animal rights activists, between 2014 and 2018 almost 125,000 trophies of species protected by the CITES convention for the protection of species were imported.
The largest importers are the USA and the EU, it said. Because hunters would often target rare species and particularly impressive specimens. The argument that trophy-hunting funds support the local population was also questioned:
since most hunts take place on private land and the hunting sector is plagued by corruption, trophy-hunting revenues tend to benefit hunting operators, private farm owners, and local elites.
« Hunting is legal, heavily regulated, and has been proven to contribute to nature conservation and the livelihood of local people, » said Stephan Wunderlich, coordinator for international hunting affairs and species protection at the German Hunting Association, the German Press Agency.
« When there is hunting, other forms of land use take their place, such as animal husbandry and agriculture, which destroy habitats. » Many African countries are divided on the issue of trophy hunting:
Botswana and Zimbabwe are currently trying to increase the legal shooting of elephants and sales opportunities for ivory. In Tanzania, on the other hand, a land conflict in the Serengeti region is about the threatened eviction of Maasai from an area used for trophy hunting.
