Those wishing and wanting and often do protect elephants (whether African or Asian) unfortunately, at times encounter the destructible lot – trophy/sport hunters, but please realise if they barge/bulldoze into your conservation plans or similar, conversations etc., You have skewered their factually-challenged and limited negative attention. So hey, you must be doing something right! Keep going 😊

This shrinking and unimaginative group repeatedly spout the same line/s over and over. They obviously think we are backwards or whatever. Anyway, the usual - “By hunting, we are supporting conservation” or “the meat of the hunted animal feeds the locals” or “we give millions (currency) to conservation programmes” and similar nonsense. Guys (hunters) do you honestly think we believe that utter rubbish? This, they hope will throw us, disarm, rattle/etc us (buddy, you need a lot more than that) to ever put a dent in our existence.   

The last flimsy excuse amuses me (by the way, the guilty are always great at making excuses, little else but they certainly do triumph in that sphere). I recently watched an amusing guy talk about something unrelated to anything to do with wildlife conservation. The subject was a hunter who, what do you know, murdered his equally blood thirsty wife of many years.   

This hunter was another dentist from the US (not the one who killed ‘Cecil, the lion’, but there does seem to be a pattern here), anyway this funny guy informed the viewers the said dentist/hunter of course littered wildlife conservation with BS, he was after all the president of an African safari programme. 

So, little did the wholesome African safari tourist realise their precious and often hard-earned money was not actually funding genuine wildlife conservation, at all, as they were assured-- namely African elephant conservation endeavours, but the tourists were instead unintentionally and subtly funding the hunting industry. This is all on the internet and fairly- easy-to-come-by realisation by just doing the right thing and that is researching your ‘safari’, whether African or elsewhere before booking.   

So, this self-anointed ‘brilliant’ dentist/hunter touted, rather boldly in fact (that is why I said, truthful info. is easy to find out and contradicts this lot’s robust egocentric efforts as it easily outsmarts them. Like every time, only because their giant egos block their common sense) he aids conservation as the money they (hunters) generate is ploughed back into conservation, ensuring the world still is lucky enough to have elephants strolling around. However, the guy telling the story brilliantly and simply slaughtered this dentist/hunter’s moment of reassuring and appeasing the public by drawing attention to an obvious fact – Of course they do (as only that narrow mindset believes – hunting aids conservation) because “they need to ensure they have a steady flow of animals to blow the sh*t out of” and for all involved, also ensure that money wheel keeps spinning.   

For those still clinging on to the unproven ‘fact’ hunters do actually help conservation I will share a basic bit of info. Say hunting a healthy adult elephant costs about $350 000. A lot, right? (Let’s put legitimacy and ethical practices on hold, and that includes the (largely corrupt) governments, organisers, scouts, etc allowing/benefitting from these (mainly) nefarious international activities – as lines pockets rather well), but take that same ‘old’ elephant and work out the money it reaps for the same governments and benefits locals 10 times or more, any quantity of hunted meat laid before them ever will only because the endangered elephant is still alive and doing its thing as it should do, and that free and natural activity draws tourists to them and in turn the tourists support conservation, local businesses, communities, etc.   

That elephant may still ‘work’ for another 10 years and in that period (this can be factually researched) that ellie will generate 5 times or more. A lot more than $350 000, never mind 20 or 30 years!   

They (trophy/sport hunters or legal poachers) struggle with the truth and digesting proven facts is a serious problem for them, like the wonderful fact that the tourism industry of viewing wild animals far outweighs any funds/support generated from any kind of hunt/ legal or illegal poaching. 

An afterthought. When ambushed by the thoughtless badgering acts of this detrimental lot (hunters), ask them to please quell your confusion (although you are not really confused by their efforts) if they are so concerned with wildlife conservation then why have they chosen to pay such a high amount to kill instead of donating the exact same amount (not a placating bit) to proven conservation efforts?   

 See how they respond :wink: