DALLAS – DSC applauds the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) on a report that educates European decision makers and the public on the benefits of trophy hunting.An IUCN briefing published this month discusses in great detail how legal, well-regulated trophy hunting can and does generate critically needed incentives and revenue in order for government, private and community landowners to maintain and restore wildlife as a land use and to carry out conservation actions, including much-needed anti-poaching interventions.
Recently, a few cases of poorly regulated and poorly conducted hunts have brought about increased concern for trophy hunting. Confusion and misinformation have led to knee-jerk reactions and, in some cases, blanket bans on hunting and transportation of hunting trophies.
A group of members of the European Parliament have called for the signing of a declaration to ban imports of trophies. IUCN urges that their findings be incorporated into any discussions calling for partial or full bans on trophy importations. IUCN’s findings show the widespread benefits resulting from trophy hunting and provide scientific research as a basis for policy decisions.
“As a member of IUCN since 2015, DSC is pleased to see the IUCN’s findings align with our mission to better inform those in charge of making decisions and implementing policies that can forever affect our natural resources,” said DSC Executive Director Ben Carter. “We support science-based decision making ? not emotion-based ? and the IUCN’s findings demonstrate how trophy hunting not only improves wildlife populations and habitat but also the surrounding communities.”
The facts listed in the brief vividly illustrate the increased wildlife populations, the increased habitat and the improved livelihoods of surrounding communities brought about by trophy hunting revenues. Restrictions on importation of trophies can make trophy hunting programs economically unviable at local levels. This loss of local and national revenue may remove incentives for entities to properly manage and protect wildlife and would likely cause serious declines in populations of a number of threatened or iconic species.
DSC encourages hunters, conservationists and key decision makers to download the briefing here.
About DSC (Dallas Safari Club)
A member of IUCN, DSC is a mission-focused conservation organization, funded by hunters from around the world. With an administrative staff of less than 15 and a volunteer army of 500, DSC hosts the Greatest Hunters Convention on the Planet™ that raises funds for grants in conservation, outdoor education and hunter advocacy. In the past five years, more than $5 million has been channeled to qualified projects, organizations and programs in support of that mission. Get involved with DSC at www.biggame.org.
