Trophy Hunting Persuasive Essay

Words: 570
Pages: 3

On July 2, 2015 a dentist from Minnesota named Walter Palmer killed a lion in Zimbabwe (Macdonald, Jacobsen, Burnham, Johnson, & Loveridge, 2016). Little did he know, he shot Cecil, a beloved lion of ecotourourists, and started a massive explosion in the media. The American people immediately demonized this ‘killer’ and made false claims about how he illegally and intentionally murdered Cecil. In fact, it was the opposite. The hunter harvested the animal legally and had no idea that the lion he killed was Cecil (Macdonald, et al., 2016). Despite these facts, the media continued to focus on the killing and published incorrect information. This incident brought the issue of trophy hunting to the attention of many Americans. Immediately, the act was demonized and only viewed as morally unacceptable and harmful to Africa’s beloved animals. This example showed a misinformed view on trophy hunting. However, when looking at facts and history, trophy hunting has far …show more content…
Ever since mankind has moved away from hunting for survival to grocery stores and livestock, human have practiced trophy hunting for many reasons. Today with the increase in hunting overseas, people view the action as excessive and corrupt. What most people see is the large amount of effort and money put towards killing a helpless animal. Nevertheless, against intuition, the killing of animals actually profits wildlife and the local communities when regulated correctly. The millions of dollars that flood into Africa each year go towards conservation of habitat and to the local people. When funded, the governments are then more equipped to monitor and maintain a stable, healthy population of animals. Moreover, trophy hunting supplies jobs and money to an extremely poor nation. In short, despite its disapproval, trophy hunting in Africa has far more benefits than hindrances, and it supports the local ecosystems and