Trophy Hunting

Trophy hunting is a controversial and brutal hunting practice in which hunters pay to kill wild animals, predominantly for "fun" – for the trophy. Parts of the animal, usually the head, are kept by the hunter. Trophy hunting targets animals in the wild as well as in captive facilities in the form of canned hunts.

Trophy hunting is bolstered by the persistent myths that it is a sustainable conservation tool and that it generates significant income for conservation. Born Free USA rejects these arguments and instead promotes compassionate solutions to conservation challenges.

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What's Wrong with Trophy Hunting?

Trophy Hunting Infographics

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What Is Wrong with Trophy Hunting?

In 2015, the world was outraged by the killing of Cecil the lion by an American trophy hunter. Cecil’s death – and the death of his son, Xanda, also by a trophy hunter—sparked a worldwide debate about the brutality of this practice. Only one in five Americans supports trophy hunting. The majority of Americans believe it is an outdated and brutal sport without any conservation benefits. And, opposition to trophy hunting is not a partisan issue; people from across the political spectrum oppose.

Trophy Hunting Often Targets Already Vulnerable Species.

Trophy hunters target many species, but the most iconic and expensive species to hunt are known as the Big Five: the lion, elephant, leopard, rhinoceros (both black and white), and Cape buffalo. Many of these species are already in crisis. For instance, as few as 20,000 lions remain in the wild and tens of thousands of elephants are poached for their ivory each year. Wild rhino numbers in Africa are around 25,000, and more than 1,000 per year lose their lives to illegal killing in South Africa alone. Trophy hunting exacerbates these problems and puts additional pressure on already vulnerable species.

The Economic Benefits of Trophy Hunting Are Overstated.

Trophy hunting proponents argue that trophy hunting creates vast economic opportunities in places where hunts take place. In truth, these figures are grossly misstated and only a tiny portion (around 3% of revenue) is invested back into local communities for welfare, education, and other programs.

Trophy Hunting May Lead to Other Cruel Practices.

The demand for animal trophies has led to another cruel practice: canned hunting.
Canned hunts are private or commercial trophy hunts in which animals are raised and released into a confined area to be hunted. Hunters usually pay the ranch operator for a guaranteed successful hunt, which often involves targeting animals who are caged, lured to feeding stations, or drugged before they are killed.

The canned hunting industry has, in turn, led to the development of captive breeding of wild animals solely to be used in hunts.

Canned hunting takes place across the globe, including in the United States, which has around 1,000 such facilities containing thousands of wild animals destined to be slaughtered.

Learn more about canned hunting and captive breeding »

The U.S. Plays a Major Role in Trophy Hunting.

Between 2005 and 2014, more than 1.26 million wildlife trophies from more than 1,200 species were imported to the United States, including around 5,600 African lions, 4,600 African elephants, 4,500 African leopards, 330 southern white rhinos, and 17,200 African buffalo. The U.S. is also the importer of trophies of CITES-listed species, importing more items than the next nine highest nations combined.

Trophy hunting is facilitated by the U.S. government, which issues trophy import permits and, since 2018, the government has taken steps to promote the practice. On March 1, 2018, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) issued a memorandum withdrawing its earlier findings as to whether the trophy hunting of certain species from parts of Africa enhanced the survival of those species. Going forward, USFWS decisions to issue individual permits for trophy hunting imports will be done on a case-by-case basis, likely resulting in trophy hunting permits being freely granted.

In 2017, the DOI also established the International Wildlife Conservation Council. The Council was comprised almost exclusively of representatives of pro-hunting interests and was tasked with advising the DOI on the benefits of Americans going abroad to hunt. While the Council was dissolved in 2020, trophy hunting remains current and ongoing wildlife concern.

By Scott Padavan (HyenaUploaded by Mariomassone) [CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.
By Hatem moushir [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], from Wikimedia Commons.
Himalayan Ibex Trophy Hunter
Photo by Hesham Usama Khan / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0).

Trophy Hunting Infographics

View and share our trophy hunting graphics, which break down the persistent myths surrounding trophy hunting.

Trophy Hunting Is Not Wildlife Conservation

Trophy hunting is a brutal practice that does not support conservation.

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Trophy Hunting Negatively Impacts Endangered Species

Trophy hunting just another deadly pressure on already threatened species.

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The U.S. Plays a Major Role in Trophy Hunting

The United States is the world's biggest importer of wildlife trophies.

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The Circle of Death on South Africa's Lion Farms

Lives of exploitation from birth to brutal death.

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Take Action against Trophy Hunting

Trophy Hunting Webinar

Trophy Hunting: Killing Is Not Conservation

On Wednesday, July 22, 2020, Born Free USA hosted Trophy Hunting: Killing Is Not Conservation, a webinar on trophy hunting. Born Free USA CEO, Angela Grimes, hosted a conversation with experts from around the world: Eduardo Gonçalves, Founder of Campaign to Ban Trophy Hunting (U.K.); Dr. Mark Jones, Head of Policy at Born Free Foundation (U.K.); Jennifer Place, Pike Associates, LLC (U.S.); and Dr. Liz Tyson, Born Free USA Programs Director (U.S.). Panelists discussed why trophy hunting is unsustainable, the cruelty of canned hunting, the status of work to end this terrible practice both in the U.S. and internationally, legislative efforts in the U.S., and more.

More Resources

Trophy Hunting: Busting the Myths and Exposing the Cruelty

This report, published by Born Free in July 2019, challenges many of the myths that persist about the supposed “benefits” of trophy hunting and exposes trophy hunting for what it truly is: a cruel practice that neither significantly benefits wildlife conservation efforts nor provides vast economic opportunities for local communities in the places where hunts take place.

The Trophy Hunting Debate

Trophy hunters claim that trophy hunting aids in wildlife conservation efforts, contributes greatly to national economies, and helps support local communities. These claims are deeply controversial. In truth, trophy hunting does little to nothing in terms of wildlife conservation, contributing to national economies, or supporting local communities.

Trophy Hunting Timeline

In 2014, the Obama Administration banned the import of legally-hunted elephant remains from Zimbabwe and Zambia, noting the lack of information to support that trophy hunts help conserve species. Recently, however, the U.S. Government has taken concerning steps and made inconsistent statements to suggest that it may reverse these and other bans, and encourage international trophy hunts.

Report: Economics of Trophy Hunting in Africa Are Overrated and Overstated

This 2013 trophy hunting report details the true economics of trophy hunting in Africa and reveals that very little of the revenue generated by trophy hunting is invested in conservation efforts or back into local communities.

Paper: Effects of Trophy Hunting on Lion and Leopard Populations in Tanzania

House Natural Resources Committee Democrats' "Missing the Mark" Report on Trophy Hunting (2017)

World of Animals: "Trophy Hunting: The Bad, The Ugly... and the Good?"

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