Do you think that hunting big felines (lions, leopards, pumas,…) can be ok under any circumstance?

[Anonymous]

I just heard that a friend has done it and am completely shocked. I have nothing against hunting when you eat the meat of the animal you hunt but animals that we don’t eat are out of question for me.

[NamerOfStars]

Absolutely. What do you think happens when all the mid-level predators are taken out? The big ones either eat themselves into wiping out their food sources, or turn to human prey and start attacking people.

Consider mountain lions: they've been legally protected from hunting for decades now, and consequently are not only making their way further and further east, they're losing their fear of humanity and are attacking people. Maintaining the delicate balance of the ecosystem is a tricky thing, and we screwed it LONG before we understood it, and what disruptions might mean. Taking no action now is ALSO disrupting it, because it'll just reset itself around us, until we become a regular prey item for bigger predators, and then before long, there won't BE any bigger predators, because humans don't take kindly to being killed.

I'm all for proper management and restrictions on hunting, but reasonability goes both ways. And I'm damn opposed to good (if bland) meat being wasted while there are people going hungry.

[Lliam]

My attitude is exactly the same as yours. Don't kill unless you are hunting for food or defending yourself. There is nothing fun about snuffing out a life. I've done it and regret it. But eating is necessary. Harvesting a non-endangered herbivore, fowl or fish is a natural part of survival and more humane that eating factory farmed and processed meat.

I just remembered that shooting clubs and associations have done a great deal to preserve natural habitats and nurture healthy ecosystems. It's similar to the way indigenous people cared for their environments.

For the British, look at the vast tracts of "game preserve" that are owned by royals and aristocrats for the purpose of hunting.

So, once again, hunting for food is fine. But I don't understand those who enjoy killing. And I think it's sick to shoot megafauna with a powerful rifle from a distance just for the ego boost.

I'm always happy to hear of trophy hunters getting eaten by lions or trampled by elephants.

[purplepoppy]

There's a misconception that the money from trophy hunting goes into conservation. Most get funnelled into criminal organisations.

[KostasKouvalis]

How do you know this?

[purplepoppy]

I heard it at a conference I was at.

[KostasKouvalis]

I believe it. I've always thought the conservation thing was bullshit. They're just using it as a scapegoat.

[Agape93]

Yeap. While I detest trophy hunting, sometimes you need to remove problem animals. Bonus if you can make extra on the remains.

[BCA6010]

Lions are actually overpopulated (same with African elephants, at least in Zimbabwe) and it's hurting the populations of other animals in the area, most notably the wildebeest. It never ceases to amaze me how rampant the lying about those two animals is in the West. Personally, I will probably never hunt a lion because it's way too expensive for what it is to me. Leopard is more reasonable despite the fact their population isn't anywhere near as large.

Lions are not often eaten, but they can be. The only reason it isn't more common is because it's illegal for locals to hunt them in most countries, and there are better and easier sources of meat. If a tourist hunts in Africa, any and all meat that can be processed will be, and gets shared with the local people. It's way too much of a hassle to try and ship it back to the US or Europe.

[KostasKouvalis]

I understand that money gets put back into conservation, but I personally don't support trophy hunting. I might support it if the animal is sick and suffering or doing it to feed the local village, but shooting something just to mount it on your wall is so wasteful and immoral. They make more money anyways from people who come to shoot these animals with their cameras.

[jennifer_bloom]

I feel sorry for those animals when they get killed and I believe they should be protected as much as logically and reasonably possible.

[loveslongnails]

There's no reason to hunt them unless they individually threaten a tribe's safety. Nature has keep things in balance for thousands of years. It's man who encroaches on the big feline's environment.

[Pyrofox]

With Jaguars and the stealthy big cats the larger concern becomes are you really the one doing the hunting...

[ShiftingMonke]

I think its a great idea and I fully support it.

[Asker]

Can you give some arguments?

[ShiftingMonke]

Predators in the wild act as regulators to the prey population. Slower, older, and sicker animals are eaten so that other animals can eat enough to remain healthy. Prey populations are kept strictly managed by the Department of Natural Resources, so that the breeding population remains healthy and the environment isn't overburdened by animals.
If the predator population isn't regulated, they overeat and begin thinning the prey animals. They also expand their hunting territories where they encroach upon settlements and you absolutely don't want wild big cats in the neighborhood, as they'll eat pets and even children if they're desperate. Also, starvation during predator bloom is a terrible death for magnificent creature.
Controlled hunting is effective because the deaths the animals face are quick and more painless than anything nature offers. For hunters, it's great because hunting predators is much harder, requiring more of a test of skill. Plus the tags are rarer and more expensive; animal tags going to the DNR to fund parks and other wildlife conservation. Also, hunters have an incredible amount of respect for the animals they kill.
It can seem like bloodthirsty work, or the actions of a psychopath, but no one loves nature more than hunters and you will learn a lot walking through the woods with one.

[gorydetails]

Absolutely it’s ok. A lot of these big-cat hunts are for older males who are often killing cubs. The money that is generated helps out these local villages and natives that wouldn’t have that money otherwise.

[Dargil]

I do not. An exception would be a vermin problem like coyotes but nearly all cat species are endangered.

[Paul09]

Humans suck, they love to murder and destroy for pleasure. What did you expect? I find any hunting is disgusting. You have to have something wrong with you , to do so. Hunters have no empathy.

[WellGreetingsISay]

Only if you really need food in wilderness

[Pterodon]

Not endangered ones like the snow leopard

[riverrat3]

Only if said cat hunts humans

[Astarlessnightsky]

nope