Every year, hundreds of thousands of wild animals, representing hundreds of different species, are killed by trophy hunters. Trophy hunting is a type of hunting that is for the purpose of procuring a “trophy” that the hunter can take home and mount on a wall or in his den. Trophies range from the whole animal, often stuffed in naturalistic poses, to the head with antlers or horns, or the tusks (such as elephant tusks). Trophy hunters also often participate in contests with other hunters to see who can kill the largest animals, or all animals of a certain type (such as bears).
While the trophy hunting of endangered and threatened species—African elephants, cheetahs, leopards—attracts a great deal of attention, the vast majority of wild animals that trophy hunters kill—such as impala, black bears, common zebra, warthogs, eland, African buffalo, African lions, giraffes, and baboons—are not protected from hunting by laws. Trophy hunting is one of the main threats to the survival of many wild species. In fact, often the rarer the species, the more it is sought by trophy hunters.
Trophy hunting, like other types of recreational hunting, is inherently cruel. Animals are shot with guns—some hunters even use bow and arrows—in a manner that does not cause immediate unconsciousness, causing the animals to suffer. Often animals that are wounded but not killed are never recovered by the hunter because they run away and the hunters cannot find them. These animals suffer from their wounds and often experience a slow, painful death.
HSI opposes trophy hunting and works to establish laws and regulations that stem this cruel sport.
