It is a growing concern by conservation-orientated hunters and other
stakeholders that the constant removal of breeding males in their prime (or
even at a younger age) has a severe negative effect on the gene pool of the
hunted species. This does not only affect the trophy potential of the species in
question but the entire genetic health of the species. Dr Kevin Robertson has
put this in the following words, in particular for buffalo:
“Lets face it – trophy hunting, when not done correctly, i.e. with knowledge and
careful consideration is not genetically sustainable. In fact trophy hunting is the
exact opposite to the principles livestock breeders or cattle rancher’s practices.
With any livestock breeding operation we were all taught to put our best bull or
ram with our most fertile females, feed them well, keep them healthy, cross your
fingers and hope for the best. Improvement in all the economically important
traits is usually the result of such efforts.
“The situation with trophy hunting is the exact opposite. Here we specifically
target the best, most impressive-looking specimen and collect it, thereby eliminating
forever its genes from the populations gene pool.”
Here is the complete proposal, developed by the Working Group for the Erongo Verzeichnis:
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