28 Jul 2022

Written by Francine Barchett

The whole hunting story has not been put together. A comprehensive literature review on recreational hunting (Di Minin et al., 2021) tells us: “Evidence is lacking to answer the pressing questions of where and how hunting contributes to just and sustainable conservation efforts.” As trophy hunting ban proposals show no sign of abating and general interest in hunting is waning, one must ask: “Is there a future for trophy hunting? Or for recreational hunting in general?”

Earlier this year, I met with Ms Catherine Semcer of PERC and an AWEI Fellow, Dr Brian Child of the University of Florida and an AWEI Board Member, and Dr Keith Tidball from Cornell University, all members of my PhD committee, to begin unpacking the sustainability of trophy hunting in Southern Africa. In June, our curiosities led us to initiate a hunting forum.

The International Hunting Discussion Forum aims to gather diverse stakeholders to address gaps in hunting’s sociocultural, conservation, and economic drivers and challenges. While we largely focus on trophy hunting in Southern Africa, we apply comparative lenses from North America and Europe to learn from each other. 

Our group is a unique contributor to the hunting-conservation space due to its format and membership base. Each month, a different expert leads us through a topic, allowing an open, frank, and honest questioning of an existing hunting paradigm or issue. During our first meeting, for example, we compared hunting and conservation models across continents, including the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation and Southern African and European frameworks.

We are also focused on diversity. We include not only senior-level academics and practitioners but also youth and mid-career professionals. Young conservationists are often not part of high-level discussions, yet when groups allow a variety of backgrounds, cultures, and experiences, research shows that they are more likely to solve problems and be innovative. 

So far, we have eighteen confirmed institutions represented. Professors and masters and PhD students hail from Southern African Wildlife College, Oxford, Stellenbosch, and more. We have professional hunters, conservation practitioners, and community leaders representing Zimbabwe, Botswana, Africa as a whole, and the Community Leaders Network of Southern Africa. Furthermore, we have past and present representatives from American-based trophy hunting organizations and from the Nordic countries. Diverse experiences and perspectives will allow us to generate both research and practical recommendations that examine and bolster hunting’s links to conservation and communities.

While our group has just begun, we are optimistic for what is ahead. As the Convention on Biological Diversity’s Post-2020 Framework underscores the need to build strategic partnerships for reaching biodiversity goals, this group is an opportunity to bring together academics, practitioners and senior- and junior-level leaders to enhance an important part of the global conservation puzzle, of which Africa plays a substantial role.

Francine Barchett, AWEI Fellow

Please reach out to Francine via email (fgb43@cornell.edu) if you have any questions. The forum is keeping the names of participants (other than Core Group members) and video recordings private so as to preserve personal privacy and the sensitivity of topics covered.