Dakota Peterson

Dr. Canavan
English 2010
17 November 2016
Large Game Hunting Conservation
Does the hunting and killing of an animal help in its own conservation? The discussion
of large game trophy hunting in popular media is an emotional and two-sided topic, with the
animal welfare and animal rights groups on one side and hunters and conservationists on the
other. When hunting for sport, opportunity for bag limits are based on the science of animal
population management. The act of hunting is done under the rules of fair-chase. Fair-chase as
defined by the Boone and Crockett Club, is the ethical, sportsmanlike, and lawful pursuit and
taking of any free-ranging wild, native North American big game animal in a manner that does
not give the hunter an improper advantage over such animals (Sportsmen). Most hunters hunt
lawfully and ethically, taking care of and respecting the animals they harvest. There doesn't have
to be a "for" or "against" hunting attitude (Sportsmen).
One of the central aspects of large game conservation is the relationship between human
exploitation and the conservation of exploited resources. Throughout the world mammals are
hunted for sport, subsistence, and to control population size. Items such as ivory from elephant
tusks are a rare novelty that mankind would selfishly exploit if no regulation was enforced.
However, if properly utilized and regulated the sale of ivory can bring a substantial income for
3rd world countries in Africa.
Large game mammals have always been a means of food for mankind all around the
world. Prehistoric man hunted with the sole purpose of survival. They killed what they needed

to survive and used every last piece of the carcass, and wasted nothing. With relatively low
human population, impact on these animals was minimal. As humans and their technologies
began to advance, over hunting of large game started to become a problem. To this day large
game hunting provides a significant source of meat and income in rural communities and
beyond. Nevertheless, there are numerous examples of animal populations being overharvested.
Paleontologist Paul Martin and Christine Szuter discovered over-harvesting in the preEuropean North American west. In Lewis and Clark's personal journal that they kept while
leading the Corps of Discovery in 1804 they used the records of large game killed by the Corps
of Discovery. Martin and Szuter examined Lewis and Clarks journal and tallied the number of
days spent in particular areas, with the number of individuals in each group and the number of
large game killed in each area. They did this for the entire route on both the westbound leg and
the eastbound leg, between Williston, North Dakota, and Fort Clatsop, Oregon. It seemed that
after The Corp of Discovery passed central Montana the amount of large game killed on a daily
bases dropped according to Lewis and Clark's journal. The lack of large game in a pre-European
settlement, where an abundance should've been, suggested an outside variable had impacted
these large game herds.
Martin and Szuter also refer to ethnohistorian Harold Hickersons concept of an
intertribal buffer zone. Hickerson characterizes this buffer zone as contested territory on the
frontiers between tribes which, except for communal [game] drives, was normally unoccupied.
(Lyman). This buffer zone existed between approximately the MontanaNorth Dakota border
on the east and west-central Montana on the west (Lyman). They further suggest that a game
sink where large game was scarce existed between west-central Montana and central
Washington. Martin and Szuter conclude that large game was abundant in the buffer zone

because it was largely free from year-round hunting by Native Americans, whereas large game
was scarce in the game sink because of continuous human predation (Lyman).
North America is not the only continent to show how unregulated human predation
impacts large game wildlife. East African elephants were hunted and killed by the thousands in
the 19th century. The primary interest and value of East African elephants was they were bearers
of a valuable raw material ivory. Elephant ivory was exported from East Africa at an
astonishing rate during the last decades of the nineteenth century for manufacturing items such as
piano keys, cutlery handles and billiard balls (Coutu). The killing of elephants for their tusks
increased fueled by an escalating desire for consumer items and symbols of distinction among
the growing middle class in Europe and North America.
Although hunting has some positive influences it still has its negative effects on the
animals involved. The animals that are hunted and killed do endure pain and suffering. Many
times, it takes multiple shots to kill a large animal. This leads to prolong suffering of the animal.
If an animal is not killed with the first shot it significantly decreases the chances of the hunter
finding the animal. Allowing the animal to slowly bleed out and never be found causing the
animal to go to waist. Many believe that this pain and suffering is unnecessary in todays world.
The animals that are being hunted are not the only creatures that are affected. All animal
in the area that hunters are occupying are affected. The presents of hunters driving around, and
invading the animals homes making noise puts stress on the animals. Causing them to burn
extra energy as they are chased around. This disrupts eating habits not allowing them to graze
and gain the fat that they need to survive the winter. Resulting in a higher number of animals
that die due to natural causes. Rules and regulations have been put in place to help diminish
these negative effects on animals.

In the late 19th and early 20th century that hunting conservation became a topic of interest
in the world. International treaties, such as the Convention for the Preservation of Wild
Animals, and the Birds and Fish in Africa in 1900 came into play (Lindsey). North America
also had a conservation movement in the late 19th century that led to the North American Model
of Wildlife Conservation. Which hunters stand by to this day.
The North American Model of Wildlife Conservation is a set of seven principles that
hunters and conservationist follow. The North American Model includes Alaska, Canada as well
as the lower 48 states. The seven principles of the North American Model are. 1. Wildlife
resources are a public trust. 2. Markets for game are eliminated. 3. Allocation of wildlife is by
law. 4. Wildlife can be killed only for a legitimate purpose. 5. Wildlife is considered an
international resource. 6. Science is the proper tool to discharge wildlife policy. 7. Democracy of
hunting is standard (Bookhout).
Many hunters believe that the North American Model is the sole contributor to the form,
function, and successes of wildlife conservation and management in the United States and
Canada. However, animal welfare and animal rights groups believe the model to be outdated and
flawed. According to Thomas Serfass, who stated I would describe the North American Model
as incomplete. (Serfass). Serfass is a professor at Frostburg State University in Maryland. He
also stated that, Its never been a complete story of wildlife conservation. (Serfass). One of the
elements that is missing from the Model is the history of wildlife conservation efforts that have
been contributed by federal land management agencies (Thuermer). Serfass also said that
Federal funding has never been a prominent part of whats been, or at least whats been
portrayed [as] the North American Model. Setting land aside in the public domain in perpetuity is
probably the most substantive thing we do for wildlife conservation. (Serfass).

Despite its flaws conservationist and hunters stand by the North American Model. Many
quote U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt who said. The encouragement of a proper hunting
spirit, a proper love of sport, instead of being incompatible with a love of nature and wild things,
offers the best guaranty for their preservation. (Theodore Roosevelt). Former US president
Theodore Roosevelt was an avid hunter and conservationist who was one of the creators of the
North American Model.
Hunters have since then claimed to be the leaders in wildlife conservation efforts. With
taxes on much of the equipment hunters use that go directly to wildlife preservation and
conservation. Hunters have contributed $4.2 billion to conservation through a 10% federal
excise taxes on firearms, ammunition, and gear since the 1937 Pittman-Robertson Act
(Amrhein). Millions of acres of public-use land have been purchased, preserved, and maintained
with this money. Annually hunters in the United States spend roughly $746 million on licenses
and public land access fees alone (Amrhein). Sportsmens licensing revenues account for more
than half of all funding for state natural resource agencies. To include the more than 10,000
private hunting-advocate organizations, like the National Wild Turkey Federation, Ducks
Unlimited, and the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation collectively contributed $300 million to
wildlife conservation every year (Amrhein).
A relatively recent example of how large game trophy hunting contributed to wildlife
conservation is the story of the Galana Ranch. The 1.6 million acre Galana Ranch resided on the
border with Tsavo East National Park (Anderson). In 1960 Martin Anderson a retired Marine,
lawyer, and entrepreneur, ventured into the country on his first hunt. He was intrigued by what
he read from Ernest Hemmingway and Robert Ruark.

He soon turned his passion for hunting into a passion for wildlife conservation. Anderson
took a giant leap into sustainable wildlife conservation when he bid on and won a 46-year lease
on the Galana Ranch. Anderson then had to ask himself. Was developing this virgin land the
right thing to do? Would he destroy it for the elephant and the Waliangulu [bushmen]?
(Anderson). He decided to pursue a business in cattle farming and ranch hunting. He developed
pipelines, water points, roads, airstrips, and lodges, all of which contributed to the financial and
conservation bottom lines. They generated revenues from 16,000 cattle and from hunting a
variety of species. Wherever possible, they employed native Kenyans in their cattle and wildlife
operations.
One of the first challenges Anderson faced was to find a way to reduce elephant hunting
by bushmen. Although they hunted only with poison-tipped arrows launched from wooden
longbows with 100 pound draw weights and only for meat (not ivory). The bushmen were
proficient enough that they were decimating the elephant herd. Anderson reported that one
search between the Galana and Tana Rivers, discovered the carcasses of about 900 elephants,
including 352 tusks, weighing more than 6,500 pounds. (Anderson). Anderson decided to
incorporated the Waliangulu into his elephant management program, allowing them to harvest
elephants on a sustained yield basis.
For ten years, Galana made profits from safari hunting based on sound conservation
principles. However, in May 1977, anti-hunters succeeded in banning all legal" hunting in
Kenya. Without hunting, wildlife on Galana ceased being an asset. Hunting had provided a
major source of revenue for sustainable, profitable, private conservation. Thanks to the wildlife
activists, there were no revenues and no hunters or guides in the field to police against poaching.
Poachers then slaughtered more than 5,000 of the 6,000 elephants Anderson and his partners had

conserved. Also, hunting provided native people with incomes and with meat, giving them an
incentive to be part of the conservation effort.
Large game hunting has positive and negative impacts. Research has shown that if done
properly hunting can contribute to large game and environmental conservation. It also has many
positive effects on certain economies, especially in some third world countries. Those that argue
that its unnecessary killing of innocent animals may have a point. Humans dont have to hunt to
survive any more. Wildlife naturally manage itself thousands of years before human influences.
Whether we practice conservation through hunting or not. We must all work together to help
preserve our worlds natural resources.

Works Cited
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Hunt vs Animal Rights Comments. Daily Reckoning, n.d. Web. 13 Sept. 2016.
Anderson, Terry. "How Hunting Saves Animals." Hoover Institution. 29 Oct. 2015. Web. 13
Sept. 2016.
Bookhout, Theodore A., ed. "The North American Model of Wildlife Conservation." Integrating
Science and Policy in the North American West Large Carnivore Conservation (2012): n.
pag. Wildlife.org. The WildLife Society. Web. 26 Sept. 2016.
Coutu, Ashley N. "The Elephant In The Room: Mapping The Footsteps Of Historic Elephants
With Big Game Hunting Collections." World Archaeology 47.3 (2015): 486503. Religion and Philosophy Collection. Web. 18 Sept. 2016.
Lindsey, Peter A., et al. "Trophy Hunting And Conservation In Africa: Problems And One
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Web. 18 Sept. 2016.
Thuermer, Angus M., Jr. "Study: Non-hunters Contribute Most to Wildlife | WyoFile." WyoFile.

N.p., 24 Jan. 2015. Web. 13 Sept. 2016.

Worland, Justin. "Why Hunters of Big Game Believe They're the Real Conservationists." Time.
Time, 29 July 2015. Web. 13 Sept. 2016.