Prefacing this with saying I’ve previously worked in wildlife conservation for years.
Limited hunting of big game in Africa is perfectly fine. Dipshits willing to pay $100K to shoot something fund entire villages, put kids through school, and define a value of the living animals that make it easier to define how much money anti-poaching efforts need, etc. Even if not well-managed, even with expected corruption, it ends up working out.
Absolutist conservation stances never take into account how ridiculously manipulated these ranges are already. There’s not much still natural about an ecosystem in a reserve. Predator/prey relationships are weird, tourism focuses only on charismatic megafauna, and tourist sites bring staff and place humans close to wildlife anyway. Absolutist stances end up being horrible for animals long term because the ecosystems are so messed up, so populations boom, then crash. Why would anyone want to watch hundreds of animals starve to death as a way to “manage” a population when someone is willing to pay to do the same thing in a specifically managed situation?
In most species, the most useless thing there is, is an older male. Humans let them run their counties, which is stupid. Elephants, rhinos, lions and hippos run them off because they get violent and kill their own kind. Humans haven’t recognized that’s what ours do, too. But when a rich dipshit wants to pay $100K to be brought 30 meters from an old lion and shoot it before it kills 3 cubs from a rival… I’m very OK with that.
Poaching is the real threat, and most people are too ignorant of stupid to know the difference because of an abstract fear of firearms, rather than logically looking at the whole problem.
I agree but I still reserve the right to think the obnoxious, rich cunt posing with the beast that his African guide tracked for him (and probably loaded his gun and packed his lunch) is an insufferable twat and a leach on society.
That is the once nice thing about social media. All these insufferable idiots put their insufferable actions right there in public so we can identify them and ignore them. Nothing better than seeing someone’s social media and going “ah, I’m not even gonna waste my time”
This is refreshing to see. So many people are ignorant about conservation. These places like you said actually keep the population in check and the wildlife healthy, vs watching an old animal starve to death… because nature. Animal lovers can be some of the dumbest and most ignorant people out there. A lot of them would literally put animals through years of agony because they are “rescuing” them.
Thanks, and in just glad I didn’t get down voted into oblivion.
There’s sociopaths on both sides. The insane animal people would rather suicide our species because they can’t think any other way. Then there’s definitely insane people on the hunting side that think being driven to shoot a sleeping lion is some fundamental human right to which they are entitled by virtue of penning a gun. Both are terrible.
That makes sense to me. permitted hunting to cull invasive animals in many places of the world is still going. I don’t see a problem with extending that to bug game hunting in Africa the way you described it. Like it or not humanity have changed ecosystems plenty of times in various scope and scale
Prefacing this with saying I’ve previously worked in wildlife conservation for years.
Limited hunting of big game in Africa is perfectly fine. Dipshits willing to pay $100K to shoot something fund entire villages, put kids through school, and define a value of the living animals that make it easier to define how much money anti-poaching efforts need, etc. Even if not well-managed, even with expected corruption, it ends up working out.
Absolutist conservation stances never take into account how ridiculously manipulated these ranges are already. There’s not much still natural about an ecosystem in a reserve. Predator/prey relationships are weird, tourism focuses only on charismatic megafauna, and tourist sites bring staff and place humans close to wildlife anyway. Absolutist stances end up being horrible for animals long term because the ecosystems are so messed up, so populations boom, then crash. Why would anyone want to watch hundreds of animals starve to death as a way to “manage” a population when someone is willing to pay to do the same thing in a specifically managed situation?
In most species, the most useless thing there is, is an older male. Humans let them run their counties, which is stupid. Elephants, rhinos, lions and hippos run them off because they get violent and kill their own kind. Humans haven’t recognized that’s what ours do, too. But when a rich dipshit wants to pay $100K to be brought 30 meters from an old lion and shoot it before it kills 3 cubs from a rival… I’m very OK with that.
Poaching is the real threat, and most people are too ignorant of stupid to know the difference because of an abstract fear of firearms, rather than logically looking at the whole problem.
All I heard is that we should have a hunting season for leaders over 65.
Also, sometimes it’s hilarious.
I agree but I still reserve the right to think the obnoxious, rich cunt posing with the beast that his African guide tracked for him (and probably loaded his gun and packed his lunch) is an insufferable twat and a leach on society.
No argument from me there.
That is the once nice thing about social media. All these insufferable idiots put their insufferable actions right there in public so we can identify them and ignore them. Nothing better than seeing someone’s social media and going “ah, I’m not even gonna waste my time”
I respect your take, but I don’t think it’s inconsequential enough to fit the question
It’s inconsequential because nothing’s ever going to change.
This is refreshing to see. So many people are ignorant about conservation. These places like you said actually keep the population in check and the wildlife healthy, vs watching an old animal starve to death… because nature. Animal lovers can be some of the dumbest and most ignorant people out there. A lot of them would literally put animals through years of agony because they are “rescuing” them.
Thanks, and in just glad I didn’t get down voted into oblivion.
There’s sociopaths on both sides. The insane animal people would rather suicide our species because they can’t think any other way. Then there’s definitely insane people on the hunting side that think being driven to shoot a sleeping lion is some fundamental human right to which they are entitled by virtue of penning a gun. Both are terrible.
That makes sense to me. permitted hunting to cull invasive animals in many places of the world is still going. I don’t see a problem with extending that to bug game hunting in Africa the way you described it. Like it or not humanity have changed ecosystems plenty of times in various scope and scale