IUCN / SSC Cat Specialist Group - Digital Cat Library |
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| Balme, G.A.; Hunter, L.T.B.; Goodman, P.; Ferguson, H.; Craigie, J.; Slotow, R. | |
| An adaptive management approach to trophy hunting of leopards (_Panthera pardus_): a case study from KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa | |
| 2011 Book Chapter | |
In principle, the trophy hunting of large carnivores has substantial potential to foster their conservation (Lindsey et al. 2007; Loveridge et al. 2007b). Predators may be tolerated to a greater extent when they augment human livelihoods, and hunting may be a means by which private landowners and local communities can generate revenue from the presence of carnivores (Leader-Williams and Hutton 2005). If the profits realized from harvesting a few individuals are sufficient incentive for people to tolerate the larger population, the goals of trophy hunting and conservation are compatible. However, poorly managed trophy hunting may produce a variety of deleterious effects on carnivore populations. Excessive and sustained harvesting of a species can lead to its local extinction, or reduce numbers to such an extent that a population is no longer viable in the long term (Treves and Karanth 2003). Similarly, even when quotas for trophies appear conservative, hunting may constitute additive rather than compensatory mortality, particularly given that other anthropogenic sources of mortality are rarely included in the calculation of quotas (Caro et al. 1998). Additionally, uncontrolled trophy hunting may erode the genetic diversity of a species by consistently selecting the fittest individuals in a population that would normally survive to propagate the species, particularly adult breeding males and females (Harris et al. 2002; Coltman et al. 2003). Finally, hunting can alter demographic patterns in carnivore populations, resulting in impacts on non-hunted cohorts (Tuyttens andMacdonald 2000). Accordingly, for trophy hunting to be considered a legitimate tool in the management and conservation of carnivores, it is essential that hunting practices avoid detrimental impacts on populations and are demonstrated to be biologically sustainable. |
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