Trophy Hunting

In light of the recent killing of a beloved lion in Zimbabwe, I thought I would start a thread about trophy hunting. I put it in the Politics section because the debate about whether trophy hunting contributes or detracts from conservation efforts has become quite widespread and I think it's worthy of further debate here.

So, what does everyone think? Does the money that people pay to kill endangered animals like lions, elephants, rhinos, etc actually go towards conservation efforts? Have we seen an increase in populations due to trophy hunting, or are more permits being sold than animals being saved?

You can read more about Cecil the lion here:

http://ift.tt/1D8lT77


Disclaimer: I'm not talking about hunting for food/supplies/sustenance/survival here. I'm talking specifically about trophy hunting as defined as :a specific and selective legal form of wildlife use that involves payment for a hunting experience and the acquisition of a trophy by the hunter".