18 January 2019

Well, trophy hunting is not my thing, but I'm not against it.

For one thing, trophy hunting is -- as far as I know -- always also meat hunting. In the USA, at least, the law requires that the meat from game animals not be wasted. A friend of mine is a trophy hunter, primarily. That is, he seeks the biggest, most outstanding specimens. He also hunts with a longbow. Which means he needs to get within 15 yards -- just a few steps -- of his quarry, or he doesn't shoot. And even then, often, he can't shoot because the animal must be relaxed, and in the right position, with no intervening brush, etc. So mostly, my friend's hunts do not include any shots at all. He applied for a Bighorn Sheep tag (license) in Wyoming for about 20 years before finally being drawn in the lottery. He trained for months, and lost about 80 pounds to prepare for the hunt. He hunted hard for weeks ... and never drew his bow. My friend kills fewer animals than a pure meat hunter. And, as he tells me, he not only uses the meat, but the trophy honors the animal.

A lot more could be said on this subject, but mostly I wanted to make the point that the meat is not wasted, and that actually trophy hunters don't kill much, compared to how much they hunt.

The other big thing that's important to remember is that the people who are against trophy hunting are invariably animal-lovers ... and so are trophy hunters. All animal-lovers are natural allies in the effort to preserve habitat.