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This work constitutes an approach to hunting management in Uruguay. We have focused on wild boar hunting, the most widespread form of recreational hunting in this country. We explored the connections and discrepancies between the different actors based on a qualitative study conducted with conservationists, animal rights groups, nature managers, and hunters. The informality of hunting and the lack of population studies on wildlife were the main concerns raised while hunting with dogs was the most controversial issue. These results allowed us to propose some potential management actions to improve hunting management: issuing a hunting license, regulating hunting with dogs, developing collaborative wildlife monitoring, promoting new technologies within the framework of ethical hunting, and developing a realistic and effective poaching control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human-wildlife conflict creates negative outcomes for both people and wildlife by threatening human safety and property and leading to the persecution of wildlife. Conflict with large carnivores results in real and perceived threats to human interests and safety, and thus a range of management tools is necessary to mitigate conflict and facilitate coexistence between humans and carnivores. We investigated hazing with trained hounds (Canis familiaris) as an aversive conditioning tool to affect mountain lion (Puma concolor) behaviour. We conducted repeated human approach trials with GPS-collared mountain lions divided into treatment (n = 39) and control groups (n = 12). Trials consisted of approaching mountain lions while broadcasting human voices over a speaker, and then measuring the flight initiation distance (FID), defined as the distance between the approaching researcher and the mountain lion when the mountain lion began to move, and the distance moved by mountain lions in response to the approach. Immediately after the approach trial was completed, we hazed treatment mountain lions through pursuit with trained hounds, while control animals received no hazing. The mean ± SE FID of treatment animals increased from 75 ± 16 m during trial 1 to 128 ± 12 m during trial 4. The mean total distance moved doubled from 278 ± 39 m to 582 ± 68 m from trials 1 to 4, indicating that pursuit with hounds can alter mountain lion response to a benign stimulus. In contrast, control animals displayed a habituation response, allowing humans to approach closer during subsequent trials (trial 1 mean: 68 ± 16 m; trial 4 mean 35 ± 12 m). However, control animals showed high variability in distance moved with no significant change from trial 1 (297 ± 60 m) to trial 4 (442 ± 135 m). These results suggest that hazing with trained hounds can be used to displace mountain lions and perhaps increase their sensitivity to human approach. Habituated animals in other carnivore species (e.g., coyote (Canis latrans)) are often more prone to conflict, and thus limiting habituation may help reduce conflict, especially in areas where mountain lions frequently encounter humans such as the wildland-urban interface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Dixi is the property of Universidad Cooperativa de Colombia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Tourism activity in natural protected areas is increasing worldwide. These areas belong to the country's heritage and their natural conditions should be preserved, taking advantage of the resources and the sustainable use of the area. The general objective of the study was to analyse the perception of travel agencies and visitors to a natural protected area and the specific objectives were to determine the image of the natural protected area from the perspective of visitors and to learn about the travel agencies' perception of the natural protected area as a tourist destination for sport hunting and hiking. The study is a mixed approach, basic, non-experimental, descriptive, cross-sectional design. A probabilistic sampling by convenience and intentional was estimated, considering 100 visitors and 5 formal travel agencies in the city of Mancora with interest in providing tourist services to the protected natural area. The study found that 12% of the visitors agree that the area has an image of an ecological and restful place, a place for tourism activities such as trekking, sport hunting, hiking, bird watching, biking, and photography. On the other hand, travel agency representatives have little knowledge of the destination; however, they show interest in considering the destination as part of their tourism packages, given that there is evidence of potential demand because the destination is innovative and offers sports tourism practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wetland conversion threatens wetland specialists by reducing their core habitat. The sitatunga is a wetland specialist with declining populations. However, knowledge of sitatunga ecology and threats is limited, particularly outside protected areas. We examined sitatunga food sources, and habitat use in undisturbed Marshes and Marsh-Savannah transition blocks, and a Cultivated (disturbed) block in River Mayanja wetland, central Uganda. We recorded indirect indices and sightings of sitatunga along a 10 km transect in each block, and surveyed food sources in 34 plots along the transects. Our results indicate that the indices and sightings of Sitatunga had lower relative frequency in the Cultivated than in the Marshes and Marsh-Savannah transition blocks. Sitatunga feed on 39 plant species in 13 families and six growth forms; grasses, herbs, sedges, climbers, shrubs and water weeds. Cyperus papyrus, Echinochloa pyramidalis, Leersia hexandra accounted for 58% of sitatunga food sources. There were more individuals and species with Sitatunga feeding activity in the Marshes and Marsh-Savannah transition blocks than in the Cultivated block. Our results show that sitatunga habitat use and food sources are constrained in disturbed habitats while threats are intensified. To maintain wetland integrity and stability of sitatunga populations, stakeholders need to address wetland encroachment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hunting by rural and urban populations is essential for securing access to protein and other nutrients throughout the tropics. The hunting patterns of urban hunters in Amazonia, and the similarities with those of rural hunters, are unclear, as are the social factors that influence hunting practices. We analyze the effects of socioeconomic and cultural factors on hunting frequency and composition of species hunted by urban and rural Amazonian hunters. We interviewed 49 urban hunters and 57 rural hunters within 10 municipalities in western Amazonia in Brazil. A total of 44 species were cited as hunted. Our analyses show that the probability of engaging in sport hunting (for recreation) is greater among urban hunters. Rural inhabitants, hunters with lower monetary incomes, and hunters who were non-practicing Christians and atheists hunted more frequently. The composition of species hunted was similar, regardless of the hunters' livelihood (rural or urban) or religion. We found that hunting frequency is influenced by hunters' socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds, but these factors do not affect the composition of the harvest. This similarity between urban and rural hunters might be related to species distribution and availability and could potentially impact the most hunted species if hunting grounds overlap. Understanding hunting patterns, especially those of urban hunters, allows for more effective hunting management strategies, improvements in law enforcement against illegal hunting, as well as development of more effective and sustainable conservation actions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 2008 United States (US) listing of the polar bear as a threatened species prohibits the importation of polar bear trophies into the US, significantly decreasing the number of Americans paying for guided polar bear hunts in Canada. We examined the numbers and composition of the harvest in three polar bear subpopulations—Northern Beaufort Sea, Southern Beaufort Sea, and Viscount Melville Sound—located in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region in the western Canadian Arctic in order to identify what happens when support for guided hunting is withdrawn. We find that there was no significant change in the number of polar bears harvested or in the sex composition of the harvest in the three subpopulations after the US listing. Over the 12-year study period, harvests in each subpopulation were always within the quota. The number of guided hunts decreased after the US listing, and the number of subsistence hunts increased in each subpopulation during this time. The number of bears harvested as a percentage of tags (hunting licenses to harvest one polar bear, the sum of which equals the annual quota) used was significantly higher in the Northern Beaufort Sea after the listing. This is because a tag issued for a guided hunt is considered used even if the hunt is unsuccessful, which is often the case, as hunters seek large male bears, whereas a tag issued for subsistence is re-issued until a successful harvest. We conclude that while the US listing and rapid decline in guided hunts did not affect the number of polar bears harvested, it did disrupt the Inuit cultural economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last few years there has been an increase in the popularity of sport hunting as well as heightened editorial and social media coverage of conservation stories, leading to polarizing views on hunting for wildlife management. This research project takes a critical look at the core ethical practices that are imperative to the sustainability of hunting, from the perspective of local hunters in British Columbia. A community-based participatory research (CBPR) methodology was utilized and semi-structured interviews with resident hunters and Indigenous peoples were conducted in order to integrate the opinions of these two groups whom are key stakeholders in the success of the province's hunting economies. Themes of stereotyping, sustainability and inclusion were discovered. It is apparent through this research that the integration of their perspectives and knowledge of the land is central to the sustainability of both the hunting industry and the environment despite circulating discourses on hunters and hunting practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hunting is an increasingly contentious topic. Trophy hunting, whereby people hunt individual animals with desirable characteristics in order to keep body parts (e.g. horns, heads, hides, antlers) as mementos, is especially contested. Political pressure, often in the form of trophy import bans, is being applied in multiple nations, and campaigns to ban trophy hunting, or trophy imports, attract considerable media attention. However, trophy hunting often has conservation value, acting to protect habitat and provide income for local communities. Assuming that media coverage can influence public and political opinion, negative or simplistic media coverage of trophy hunting has the potential to cause adverse outcomes for conservation and local communities. Here, we analyse coverage of trophy hunting from July 2010 - June 2020 (five years before and five years after the death of Cecil the Lion) in the most popular UK media outlets (624 articles in total), assessing the overall sentiment of each article, and the species and countries covered. Ninety percent of all coverage occurred after the death of Cecil the lion, marking this event as a watershed moment in UK mainstream media depiction of trophy hunting. The overall sentiment of articles was largely against trophy hunting (63.1%), and this was more pronounced in tabloids (84.2%) than broadsheets (42.2%). Pro-trophy hunting articles were very uncommon overall (3.5%). Articles that described the complexity of trophy hunting decreased following Cecil and were most common in pre-Cecil broadsheets (35.7%, dropping to 30.6%) and rarest in post-Cecil tabloids (3.1%). Articles focussed mainly on charismatic but rarely hunted species including lion, elephant and rhino, with commonly hunted species (such as impala or Cape buffalo) only rarely being mentioned. When countries were mentioned, southern African nations predominated, with four nations (Zimbabwe, South Africa, Namibia and Botswana) being named in 68% of qualifying articles. We conclude that simplistic media depiction of trophy hunting has the potential to cause negative outcomes for conservation through its impact on public perception and political opinion.

Abstract People hunt and kill animals for sport in many parts of the world. This raises many issues, some of which were brought to the fore when a lion Panthera leo, nicknamed Cecil, was killed by a trophy hunter in Zimbabwe in 2015. Cecil's death led to an unprecedented public reaction in Europe and the USA, and a debate in which opponents and supporters of sport hunting advanced different types of argument based on, inter alia, conservation, animal welfare and economics. The reaction to the Cecil event provides a perspective for scrutinizing sport hunting more widely. In this article we explore parallels between lion trophy hunting in Africa (which can involve either wild or captive‐bred lions) and shooting of common pheasant Phasianus colchicus, a sport which is largely sustained in the UK by the annual release of over 40 million captive‐bred birds. These two forms of sport hunting share common themes that are likely to be influential for the future of sport hunting more widely. These include the extent to which sport hunting maintains land for wildlife, and the impacts of intensification (e.g. the extent to which quarry are reared and released). Concern for the welfare of quarry animals is a dominant theme in debates about hunting. These themes are likely to be relevant for the conservation of many species hunted for sport. Increasing distaste for the killing of animals for sport in many countries may lead to the end of some types of sport hunting, with implications for both habitat and wildlife conservation. It would be both prudent and appropriate for conservationists to increase the urgency with which they seek alternative methods for preventing loss of biodiverse land to other uses. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article.

Wildlife management as an applied science is new in Latin America. Although there were some previous pioneering cases, as in the case of guano birds in Peru, most programs and projects were initiated only in the 1960s and especially in the 1970s, when specialized academic training also began. Currently, there are wildlife management operations in all countries of the region. However, the vast majority of them have conservation purposes, i.e. they are carried out to recover populations of rare or endangered species and/or to stimulate tourism. They are not done to stimulate economic and social development through the production of meat and other products that can be marketed, although in some cases this may occur. One of the few exceptions is the already widespread management of Amazonian River turtles, which serves to improve the food supply of riverine populations. Another is sport hunting, which is still tolerated in a few countries, such as Argentina. The main obstacle to the application of conventional wildlife management is the distorted environmental information that society receives and its consequent strong opposition to hunting, which it considers inhumane and dangerous for the species. On the other hand, influenced by the society´s attitude, wildlife policies and laws are deficient and inefficient, and illegal hunting and wildlife trafficking are widespread. The future of wildlife management for direct economic purposes in the region does not look favorable. Its greatest possibilities are found mainly in portions of natural ecosystems that are not very inhabited, especially tropical forests, for the benefit of indigenous and rural populations, where hunting for sustenance is currently practiced in an unregulated manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The practice of sport hunting in colonized areas presents a set of knowledge and techniques indispensable to self-control and the domination of territories elsewhere by colonial empires, by their leaders and, more generally, by the political elites of the Northern states. During his scientific mission to English Equatorial Africa in 1909, Theodore Roosevelt responded to a double commission from the Smithsonian Institute and the American Museum in Washington. In this African mission, he brought and trained his youngest son Kermit, aged 20, in an initiatory journey. This article proposes to study this ritual of passage and the practice of sport hunting in the English colonial space as a revelation of the socio-racial hierarchies at work in the territories dominated by the English Empire.

After having banned sport hunting in 1979, Uganda reintroduced it in 2001 around Lake Mburo National Park, and in 2006 in the Kabwoya and Kaiso-Tonya Game Management Area, with the aim to reduce human-wildlife conflicts, especially poaching, by providing incentives for the local inhabitants in order to positively change residents' attitudes towards wildlife. We conducted interviews and reviewed documents to analyse and evaluate the impacts of reintroduction of sport hunting. The income generated from sport hunting was used to provide social services and implement social development projects. There was no proof of hunting income being used for conservation purposes. Although the local perceptions of the sport hunting benefits varied, the benefits did initially help to improve local residents' attitudes towards wildlife and poaching temporarily stopped—but resumed later. Hence, this study shows that the common underlying assumption of sport hunting policies and other market- and community-based approaches to conservation—that when local residents receive benefits, they will appreciate wildlife—is debatable.

After having banned sport hunting in 1979, Uganda reintroduced it in 2001 around Lake Mburo National Park, and in 2006 in the Kabwoya and Kaiso-Tonya Game Management Area, with the aim to reduce human-wildlife conflicts, especially poaching, by providing incentives for the local inhabitants in order to positively change residents' attitudes towards wildlife. We conducted interviews and reviewed documents to analyse and evaluate the impacts of reintroduction of sport hunting. The income generated from sport hunting was used to provide social services and implement social development projects. There was no proof of hunting income being used for conservation purposes. Although the local perceptions of the sport hunting benefits varied, the benefits did initially help to improve local residents' attitudes towards wildlife and poaching temporarily stopped—but resumed later. Hence, this study shows that the common underlying assumption of sport hunting policies and other market- and community-based approaches to conservation—that when local residents receive benefits, they will appreciate wildlife—is debatable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the concept of the "true hunter" (vrai chasseur) among big game hunters in French colonial Indochina. Drawing primarily on French language texts published by highly experienced European hunters between 1910 and 1950, it first examines in detail the true hunter ethic, which required hunters to hunt and kill their prey in a "sporting" (sportif) manner. This ethic involved adherence to an expansive and complicated set of rules related to stalking, marksmanship, knowledge possession, restraint, prey selection, choice of firearms and ammunition, and others. True hunting was regarded as by definition difficult and, as is argued, the practical realization of the true hunter ideal entailed not simply engaging in hunting as an activity, but instead successfully performing a very difficult but specific type of killing. The article's second purpose is to engage a paradox associated with the texts, their authors, and the ethic. While critical of other hunters for "unnecessary slaughter," many killed staggering numbers of animals. This paradox is accounted for by placing the true hunters in the broader social context of colonial Indochina. Both their type of sport hunting and the virtuosity of their killing distinguished them from the indigenous populations that served their hunts and other European hunters. This virtuosity also legitimized the scale of their killing and placed these hunters into a distinctive social and moral community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

People hunt and kill animals for sport in many parts of the world. This raises many issues, some of which were brought to the fore when a lion Panthera leo, nicknamed Cecil, was killed by a trophy hunter in Zimbabwe in 2015. Cecil's death led to an unprecedented public reaction in Europe and the USA, and a debate in which opponents and supporters of sport hunting advanced different types of argument based on, inter alia, conservation, animal welfare and economics.The reaction to the Cecil event provides a perspective for scrutinizing sport hunting more widely. In this article we explore parallels between lion trophy hunting in Africa (which can involve either wild or captive‐bred lions) and shooting of common pheasant Phasianus colchicus, a sport which is largely sustained in the UK by the annual release of over 40 million captive‐bred birds.These two forms of sport hunting share common themes that are likely to be influential for the future of sport hunting more widely. These include the extent to which sport hunting maintains land for wildlife, and the impacts of intensification (e.g. the extent to which quarry are reared and released). Concern for the welfare of quarry animals is a dominant theme in debates about hunting.These themes are likely to be relevant for the conservation of many species hunted for sport. Increasing distaste for the killing of animals for sport in many countries may lead to the end of some types of sport hunting, with implications for both habitat and wildlife conservation. It would be both prudent and appropriate for conservationists to increase the urgency with which they seek alternative methods for preventing loss of biodiverse land to other uses. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the most confusing and least academically understood fields of the tourism industry at global level is ironically the lucrative and highly priced phenomenon of big game hunting which is often carried out as a means of recreational sport. Colloquially known variously as trophy hunting , sport hunting or safari hunting , the practice of big game hunting represents one of the fastest growing and perhaps most controversial aspects of both sport and income generating activities involving wildlife exploitation. The multi-billion-dollar industry, which is often targeted for criticism by animal rights groups that oppose killing of animals on moral grounds, is examined critically from a pro-hunting perspective. In a bid to establish whether trophy hunting qualifies as a true sport or not, the study unravels how human lust for money has reduced trophy hunting into a mafioso-like syndicate with little or no scruples for sporting and conservation principles which are essential ingredients to qualify hunting as a true sport. This study is therefore a milestone not only in putting together major principles upon which trophy hunting bases its claims as a sport, but also in unravelling secretive abuses of wildlife that deny trophy hunting the status of sport that its original hunting philosophers had envisaged. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2001 sport hunting was reintroduced in Uganda around Lake Mburo National Park, and in 2008 at Kabwoya and Kaiso-Tonya Game Management Area, to derive economic benefits for communities and thus reduce human–wildlife conflict and change communities’ attitudes towards wildlife. We used the policy arrangement approach to analyse and compare the development of the two sport hunting policy arrangements. Through interviews and document review we learned that the arrangement at Lake Mburo changed considerably over time, whereas that at Kabwoya remained relatively stable. The two policy arrangements started with small constellations of actors but turned out to be complex arenas, mainly involving disagreement regarding the benefits. Land ownership proved to be a crucial factor in explaining the differences between the arrangements. Our results also show that benefits do not change communities’ attitudes towards conservation, thus questioning incentive-based policies for conservation. We argue for a careful analysis of the complex social, cultural and political contexts in which conservation and development policies are implemented, to better understand their outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Sport hunting of wildlife can play a role in conservation but can also drive population declines if not managed sustainably. Previous simulation modelling found that large felid species could theoretically be hunted sustainably by restricting harvests to older individuals that have likely reproduced. Several African countries currently use age-based hunting for lions although the outcomes have yet to be evaluated in a wild population., Here we provide the first empirical evidence that a system of incentives sufficiently encouraged age-based hunting and reduced offtake of a wild felid, thereby reducing the potential risk of unsustainable hunting on a threatened species. We examined long-term hunting data and the lion population trend in Niassa National Reserve, Mozambique., To incentivise hunter compliance, a 'points' system was developed, which rewards operators that harvest lions older than the 6-year minimum trophy age recommended for sustainable hunting and penalises operators that hunt 'underage' lions (<4 years). A key component of this system is the ecological application of key physical traits that predictably change with age in order to estimate (by hunters) and validate (by authorities) trophy individuals' ages pre- and post-mortem, respectively. Analysis of 138 lion hunts and 87 lion trophies from 2003 to 2015 revealed that after enforcement of age restrictions in 2006, hunters shifted harvests to suitably aged lions (>6 years), from 25% of offtakes in 2004 to 100% by 2014., Simultaneously, the number of lions and percentage of quota harvested decreased, resulting in lower lion offtakes. Following an initial decrease after enforcement of the ageing system, the percentage of hunts harvesting lions stabilised, demonstrating that hunters successfully located and aged older lions., Synthesis and applications. Evidence suggests that age restrictions combined with an incentive-based points system regulated sport hunting and reduced pressure on the lion population. We attribute the successful implementation of this management system to: (1) committed, consistent enforcement by management authorities, (2) genuine involvement of all stakeholders from the start, (3) annual auditing by an independent third party, (4) the reliable, transparent, straightforward ageing process and (5) the simple, pragmatic points system for incentivising hunter compliance. Our study demonstrates that the use of age restrictions can increase the selectivity of sport hunting and lower trophy offtakes to reduce the possibility of unsustainable sport hunting negatively impacting species populations in the absence of reliable estimates of population size. It must be noted, however, that there was no measurable change in the lion numbers over the past decade that could be attributed to the implementation of this policy alone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Human disturbances are increasing in Arctic regions and have been suggested as one of the main factors explaining caribou ( Rangifer tarandus) decline. The cumulative effects of disturbances may negatively affect caribou habitat use, survival, and population dynamics. Thus, there is a need to evaluate the impact of various human disturbances, especially those that cause direct mortality (e.g., sport hunting). We evaluated the relative importance of caribou and hunter habitat selection and landscape characteristics on caribou vulnerability to sport hunting in northern Québec, Canada. We used resource selection functions to describe habitat selection of 223 caribou and 87 hunters. We then characterized >169,000 caribou harvest sites recorded over 17 years according to the relative probability of co-occurrence of caribou and hunters, the relative probability of occurrence of hunters only, or the characteristics of the landscape (e.g., distance to human infrastructures, elevation, land cover type). Landscape characteristics better explained caribou vulnerability to sport hunting than habitat selection of caribou and hunters, or their co-occurrence. Caribou were more vulnerable in proximity to hunting infrastructures (e.g., roads, outfitter camps) than elsewhere, but caribou strongly avoided roads. Caribou were also more vulnerable on frozen lakes than in other land cover types. Lakes were, however, avoided by caribou and not selected by hunters. Harvest was more likely in smoother terrain, even if caribou and hunters did not select for this characteristic. We demonstrated caribou were more vulnerable in areas with good accessibility (near roads) or where caribou were easily detectable (lakes, smoother terrain), which also represents areas that were either avoided or not selected by caribou or hunters. This discrepancy between harvest distribution and behaviors of caribou and hunters suggests that harvest may be an opportunistic event where visibility and accessibility increased chances of success for hunters. Managers could use this information to manipulate hunting success according to population estimates and harvest quota by establishing minimal distance to risky areas within which hunting would be prohibited. © 2016 The Wildlife Society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although being an important conservation tool in Africa, trophy hunting is known to influence risk perception in wildlife species, thus affecting the behaviour and fitness of most targeted species. We studied the effects of trophy hunting on the flight behaviour of impala ( Aepyceros melampus), greater kudu ( Tragelaphus strepsiceros) and sable ( Hippotragus niger) in two closed ecosystems, Cawston Ranch (hunting area) and Stanley and Livingstone Private Game Reserve (tourist area), western Zimbabwe. Using standardized field procedures, we assessed the flight behavioural responses of the three species in two seasons: non-hunting (December-March) and hunting (April-November) between March 2013 and November 2014. We tested the effect of habitat, group size, sex, season, start distance and alert distance on flight initiation distance using linear mixed models. Habitat, group size sex and alert distance did not have any effect on flight initiation distance for the three species. The three species were more alert and displayed longer flight initiation distances in the hunting area compared with the tourist area. Flight initiation distances for the three species were higher during the hunting season for the hunting area and low during the non-hunting season. Flight distances of the three species did not differ between the hunting area and the tourist area. We concluded that trophy hunting increased perceived risk of wild ungulates in closed hunting areas, whereas ungulates in non-hunting areas are less responsive and somehow habituated to human presence. Management plans should include minimum approach distances by tourists as well as establishing seasonal restrictions on special zones to promote species viability. Research aimed at integrating behavioural responses with physiological aspects of target species should be promoted to ensure that managers are able to deal with the behavioural trade-offs of trophy hunting at local and regional scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural resource management agencies in many countries take advantage of recreational hunting to manage the impacts or abundance of mammal populations that damage biodiversity or environmental, economic, or social values. In Australia, public lands are increasingly being made available for recreational hunters to pursue introduced mammals that can cause substantial damage to important resources. There is fervent debate over the role that recreational hunting might play in controlling introduced mammals in Australia, and scant evidence to build management strategies upon., In this review, we combine information from Australia and elsewhere in a systematic examination of the potential for recreational hunting to contribute to the control of introduced mammals on public lands in Australia. We examine the traits of introduced mammal species and populations, geographical settings, hunters, and management agencies to propose situations where hunting might be most useful, and suggest how current practice could be improved., We find there is insufficient evidence to support or disprove arguments that contemporary recreational hunting programs are effective at controlling introduced mammal populations on public lands. Moreover, current hunting management programs offer little potential for clarifying the situation or optimizing the value of recreational hunting as a pest animal control tool., To resolve this problem, we outline a framework of competing models and diagnostic criteria for assessing the effects of recreational hunting on introduced mammal populations. We contend that hunting will continue to be an under-utilized and over-politicized resource until management strategy is informed by transparent monitoring based on rational strategic objectives that provide mutual benefits to hunters and public resource managers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of International Forestry Review is the property of Commonwealth Forestry Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In the face of fundamental land-use changes, the potential for trophy hunting to contribute to conservation is increasingly recognized. Trophy hunting can, for example, provide economic incentives to protect wildlife populations and their habitat, but empirical studies on these relationships are few and tend to focus on the effects of benefit-sharing schemes from an ex post perspective. We investigated the conditions under which trophy hunting could facilitate wildlife conservation in Ethiopia ex ante. We used a choice experiment approach to survey international trophy hunters' (n = 224) preferences for trips to Ethiopia, here operationalized as trade-offs between different attributes of a hunting package, as expressed through choices with an associated willingness to pay. Participants expressed strong preferences and, consequently, were willing to pay substantial premiums for hunting trips to areas with abundant nontarget wildlife where domestic livestock was absent and for arrangements that offered benefit sharing with local communities. For example, within the range of percentages considered in the survey, respondents were on average willing to pay an additional $3900 for every 10 percentage points of the revenue being given to local communities. By contrast, respondents were less supportive of hunting revenue being retained by governmental bodies: Willingness to pay decreased by $ 1900 for every 10 percentage points of the revenue given to government. Hunters' preferences for such attributes of hunting trips differed depending on the degree to which they declared an interest in Ethiopian culture, nature conservation, or believed Ethiopia to be politically unstable. Overall, respondents thus expressly valued the outcomes of nature conservation activities-the presence of wildlife in hunting areas-and they were willing to pay for them. Our findings highlight the usefulness of insights from choice modeling for the design of wildlife management and conservation policies and suggest that trophy hunting in Ethiopia could generate substantially more financial support for conservation and be more in line with conservation objectives than is currently the case. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revue Anthropologie et Sociétés is the property of Anthropologie et Societies and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Use of live animals as bait is not an uncommon practice in hunting worldwide. However, some curious accounts of the use of human babies as bait to lure crocodiles in sport hunting exist on the island of Sri Lanka, where sport hunting was common during the British colonial period. Herein we compile the available records, review other records of the practice, and discuss the likelihood of the exercise actually having taken place. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hunting has a long history, and contentious recent past. We examined the relationship between aggression and hunting attitudes, investigating the moderating role of sex. Two studies are presented--a psychometric evaluation of a unidimensional instrument for assessing hunting attitudes, which was then administered to a sample of general population participants to assess the relationship between aggression and hunting attitudes. Finally, university students completed measures of hunting attitudes and instrumental/expressive aggression. Men were more instrumentally aggressive than women and were more supportive toward hunting. The relationship between instrumental (but not expressive) aggression and hunting attitudes was moderated by sex--men's hunting endorsement increased with instrumental aggression, while women's endorsement of hunting decreased with increasing instrumental aggression. Expressive aggression was not predictive of hunting attitudes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Applying Bernard Suits's conceptual definition of game-playing, and his outline of a conceptual definition of sport, I ask and answer the following question: can hunting be a sport? An affirmative answer is substantiated via the following logic. Premise one, all sports are games. Premise two, a game is a voluntary attempt to overcome unnecessary obstacles. Premise three, fair-chase hunters voluntarily accept unnecessary obstacles. Conclusion one: fair-chase hunting is a game. Premise four, a sport can be defined as a game that requires the exercise of physical skill, has a wide following, and institutional stability. Premise five, some fair-chase hunts require physical skill, have a wide following, and have institutional stability. Conclusion two: fair-chase hunting that requires physical skill, has a wide following, and institutional stability is a sport. After substantiating each premise and conclusion I consider and refute several important objections. Primarily, (1) that hunting lacks constitutive rules and (2) that hunting lacks volitional engagement and thus cannot be a game or sport. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sport hunting may have severe behavioural consequences, and possibly conservation implications for wildlife populations. We used flight initiation distances by two herbivores, impala (Aepyceros melampus) and greater kudu (Tragelaphus strepsiceros) to assess the impacts of sport hunting on their flight behaviour. We compared Gwaai, a designated hunting area adjacent to Hwange National Park, a protected area in Zimbabwe. We aimed to estimate flight initiation distances (FIDs) for impala and kudu as this can be a good measure of hunting effect on behaviour. Our results suggest that impala and kudu are more flight prone in hunting areas than in non-hunting areas. We propose habituation to explain the shorter FIDs in the protected area, and the risk of being shot by hunters the higher FIDs in the hunting area. We concede that more field observations are needed to estimate the distance at which animals will always trigger an immediate flight response from approaching predators (Dmin) and the distance above which prey will not move away from an approaching predator as it is not perceived to be dangerous (Dmax) in our study area. However, we suggest that Dmin is a useful index for wildlife managers to assess predation risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article highlights the social impacts of sport hunting on the livelihoods of local people using a case study around Benoue National Park, Northern Cameroon. Sport hunting is a way for local people to receive economic benefits from wildlife resources concerning community conservation. However, social impacts on local people, including displacement and restriction of access to natural resources, have rarely been considered. Nineteen months of fieldwork, mainly based on interviews and observations in one village, showed that sport hunting in Northern Cameroon generated tax revenues of about US$1.2 million in 2008 and also provided profit sharing and employment opportunities to local communities. However, this figure is less than that in other African countries such as Tanzania, as both employment opportunities and profit sharing are inequitable in this community. Simultaneously, locals' rights over natural resource use, especially hunting rights, even for their livelihoods, were regulated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Today, people in the U.S. commonly engage in mutual relationships with white-tailed deer (WTD) in manners consistent with those that ultimately resulted in the domestication of animals in the past. Using a wide range of media depicting perspectives of sport hunters, biologists, ecologists, and game managers this paper explores: 1) the influence of anthropogenic environments on WTD behavior, 2) 'game' management and the ability to create valued demographics, and 3) the selection for increased antler size in farmed WTD. This study demonstrates that in order to gain a more accurate understanding of domestication, analyses should focus on the evolution of mutualisms between people and animals. Insights gleamed from this analysis also contribute toward our archaeological understanding of prehistoric animal domestication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tanzania holds most of the remaining large populations of African lions (Panthera leo ) and has extensive areas of leopard habitat (Panthera pardus ), and both species are subjected to sizable harvests by sport hunters. As a first step toward establishing sustainable management strategies, we analyzed harvest trends for lions and leopards across Tanzania's 300,000 km of hunting blocks. We summarize lion population trends in protected areas where lion abundance has been directly measured and data on the frequency of lion attacks on humans in high-conflict agricultural areas. We place these findings in context of the rapidly growing human population in rural Tanzania and the concomitant effects of habitat loss, human-wildlife conflict, and cultural practices. Lion harvests declined by 50% across Tanzania between 1996 and 2008, and hunting areas with the highest initial harvests suffered the steepest declines. Although each part of the country is subject to some form of anthropogenic impact from local people, the intensity of trophy hunting was the only significant factor in a statistical analysis of lion harvest trends. Although leopard harvests were more stable, regions outside the Selous Game Reserve with the highest initial leopard harvests again showed the steepest declines. Our quantitative analyses suggest that annual hunting quotas be limited to 0.5 lions and 1.0 leopard/1000 km of hunting area, except hunting blocks in the Selous Game Reserve, where harvests should be limited to 1.0 lion and 3.0 leopards/1000 km. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polar bear sport hunting (which in the case of Nunavut is defined as a form of conservation hunting) is an economically important form of Aboriginal ecotourism in the Canadian Arctic territory of Nunavut. Each sport hunt provides approximately 20 times the monetary value of a polar bear taken in a subsistence hunt. Positive cultural outcomes for communities that offer these hunts include the revival of dog mushing; preservation of traditional sewing, hunting and survival skills, and accommodation within the industry for the subsistence economy and Inuit norms of sharing. Concurrently, there are frequent community discussions about the industry that provides insight into Inuit views of hunting for recreation as well as western-style wildlife management, which allow for an examination of how Inuit communities are working to accommodate the non-Inuit culture and the market economy. Sport hunting provides Inuit with a reason to support western-style conservation and learn about scientific research and management programmes. Recent international concern about climate change impacts on two polar bear populations and its extrapolation to all populations threatens the conservation programme already in place in Nunavut. Polar bear conservation is of primary concern to Inuit and non-Inuit alike, but pressure to reduce hunting that is not supported by evidence, could result in an undue reduction in the value of polar bear harvesting (by reducing hunting and stopping conservation hunting). This may well result in a loss of local support for conservation measures, including polar bear quotas, which would erode, rather than support, protection for this species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

I examined the sex and age at death of Asiatic black bears (Ursus thihetanus) killed by sport hunters or during nuisance incidents in 2 neighboring mountain ranges (Kitakami Highland [KH] and Ohwu Mountains [OH]) in northern Honshu, Japan. Between 1993 and 2000, 1,005 bears were killed in these areas (361 nuisance kills, 644 sport-hunting kills). Nuisance bear removals were 1.3 times greater in KH than in OM. Males removed during nuisance incidents tended to be younger in OM than in KH; older males as well as females made up proportionately more of KH nuisance removals. The monthly nuisance removals varied widely by year in both areas, with the largest yearly variation in September in KH and August-September in OM. Female deaths accounted for much of the increase in nuisance kills ill KH during September. Both sexes contributed to the increase in OM nuisance kills during August and September. The number of bears killed by sport hunting in KH was 4.7 times larger than in OM. OM terrain is steep and has deep snow during winter, which largely restricts human settlement and agriculture to the eastern edge of this area. Conversely, KH is gently sloping with less snow cover, allowing human settlement and agriculture to disperse more widely into mountainous bear habitat. Such differences in habitat conditions likely influence the degree of human-bear conflict and hunting pressure. Because the population was isolated and many females were removed in KH, 1 recommend more careful monitoring of the population by examining the sex and age structure of harvested animals relative to densities and real measures of hunting effort. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Between 1999 and 2004 we undertook an ecological study of African lions (Panthera leo) in Hwange National Park, western Zimbabwe to measure the impact of sport-hunting beyond the park on the lion population within the park, using radio-telemetry and direct observation. 34 of 62 tagged lions died during the study (of which 24 were shot by sport hunters: 13 adult males, 5 adult females, 6 sub-adult males). Sport hunters in the safari areas surrounding the park killed 72% of tagged adult males from the study area. Over 30% of all males shot were sub-adult (<4 years). Hunting off-take of male lions doubled during 2001–2003 compared to levels in the three preceding years, which caused a decline in numbers of adult males in the population (from an adult sex ratio of 1:3 to 1:6 in favour of adult females). Home ranges made vacant by removal of adult males were filled by immigration of males from the park core. Infanticide was observed when new males entered prides. The proportion of male cubs increased between 1999 and 2004, which may have occurred to compensate for high adult male mortality. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: There is a lack of consensus among some conservation NGOs and African governments concerning the acceptability and effectiveness of trophy hunting as a conservation tool. This lack of consensus is due partly to a lack of reliable information on the economic significance and ecological impact of the industry. We provide a review of the scale of the trophy hunting industry, and assess both positive and negative issues relating to hunting and conservation in Africa. Trophy hunting occurs in 23 countries in Africa, with the largest industries occurring in southern Africa and Tanzania, where the industry is expanding. The trophy hunting industry has remained static or is shrinking in Central and West Africa. A minimum of 1,394,000km2 is used for trophy hunting in sub-Saharan Africa, which exceeds the area encompassed by national parks. Trophy hunting is thus of major importance to conservation in Africa by creating economic incentives for conservation over vast areas, including areas which may be unsuitable for alternative wildlife-based land uses such as photographic ecotourism. However, there are a number of problems associated with the industry which limit conservation benefits. Several of these problems are common to multiple countries, suggesting that if solutions were developed, conservation benefits would accrue over large areas. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

There is a lack of consensus among conservationists as to whether trophy hunting represents a legitimate conservation tool in Africa. Hunting advocates stress that trophy hunting can create incentives for conservation where ecotourism is not possible. We assessed the hunting preferences of hunting clients who have hunted or plan to hunt in Africa ( n=150), and the perception among African hunting operators ( n=127) of client preferences at two US hunting conventions to determine whether this assertion is justified. Clients are most interested in hunting in well-known East and southern African hunting destinations, but some trophy species attract hunters to remote and unstable countries that might not otherwise derive revenues from hunting. Clients are willing to hunt in areas lacking high densities of wildlife or attractive scenery, and where people and livestock occur, stressing the potential for trophy hunting to generate revenues where ecotourism may not be viable. Hunting clients are more averse to hunting under conditions whereby conservation objectives are compromised than operators realize, suggesting that client preferences could potentially drive positive change in the hunting industry, to the benefit of conservation. However, the preferences and attitudes of some clients likely form the basis of some of the problems currently associated with the hunting industry in Africa, stressing the need for an effective regulatory framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]