re: Wild elephants could be extinct in a few decades

im on my way back from Thailand right now. Elephant dust grew my ween by 3", it's now 4" long

Who down voted me? That gif is an honest representation of how I feel about the elephant population crisis.

I have no desire to hunt elephants, but I understand that the elephant population as a whole is better off with limited hunting...

Funny how the goofy liberals hate people killing elephants, but its ok to kill your baby. Seems logical

"An Apology to Elephants" is a powerful documentary.

Humans can be real losers.

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I don't think a controlled shoot is "adventurous" or what have you. Its really lame, but I'm willing to allow it to save the damn animal as opposed to continuing to allow it to die out.

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There is a reason why they are included in the big 5, and it isn't due to size...

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I like to hunt deer, rabbit, ducks, etc. But why on earth would one want to hunt an elephant?

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Various reasons.

Why would anyone hunt deer?
Why would anyone hunt rabbits?
Etc.

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I like to hunt deer, rabbit, ducks, etc. But why on earth would one want to hunt an elephant?

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Why would anyone hunt deer?
Why would anyone hunt rabbits?
Etc.

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Ya, I find it interesting that certain animals get preferential treatment by human emotion, endangered status notwithstanding.

I wouldn't want to shoot an elephant either, nor a deer, a bear, or a rabbit. But I don't see that as a reason to stop someone either. Outside of endangered status, what's the difference?

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Kenya: Ban hunting 40 years ago, elephant numbers decimated
Botswana: Keep hunting in place, elephant numbers increase

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Until recently, Kenya also had extremely lax penalty laws if you were caught poaching. It was only a fine of a couple hundred dollars or so. Botswana and Zimbabwe, on the other hand, basically have kill-on-sight laws if a guard catches poachers in a conservation area. The surplus of an animal species isn't necessarily a reflection of controlled hunting practices. If poachers are scared to hunt in a certain area, the populations will thrive.

My issue with controlled hunting isn't necessarily that exotic animals are dying, but it is the uncertainty that the huge amount of money paid for by a hunter is being put back into the animals' protection, like most countries who allow it are promising. We are dealing with Africa, after all. There are also instances of male elephants, rhinos, lions being killed at a very high rate, which makes reproduction impossible.

I will say, however, that when I was lucky enough to go on a safari in Tanzania, I noticed how extremely placid most lions were. We could literally drive within 10 feet of them, and they wouldn't move or care. I don't really see the adventure in driving up next to an animal like that, just so you can pop it in the dome and claim you "hunted" it. But that's just me.

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I wouldn't want to shoot an elephant either, nor a deer, a bear, or a rabbit. But I don't see that as a reason to stop someone either. Outside of endangered status, what's the difference?

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Sustenance, usefulness and motivation is where I make decisions. I eat venison and rabbit and duck and quail and rainbow trout, etc. Granted, I may not be motivated just to eat, but it's a worthwhile effort. Part of it is pursuing my advancement in a craft or hobby I care about, part of it is food, part of it is bragging rights.

All of those things often aren't present in exotic hunts (or even domestic hunts like bear). I'd like to see a grizzly, I have no interest in killing one, for example.