So how come so few Africans engage in trophy hunting? CITES records show that trophy hunters coming to Africa are all “foreign” – USA, EU, Mexico, Russia, Canada – meaning that African nations are selling their best wildlife to foreign spenders. Also, it is entirely clear that most trophy hunting operators are percentage wise hugely white. They lease hunting concessions all over, but their headquarters are based far outside Africa.
Looking at the lists of “professional” hunters on the rolls of professional hunting organizations, almost all are white. From Zimbabwe and South Africa in particular.
So how come, if the African nations that support trophy hunting, is it an industry run and controlled by foreigners? Why have these African nations, claiming conservation benefits, not engaged more in the trophy hunting business? Sure, bigwigs are involved in hunting concessions, much profit is earned overseas (a major trophy hunting operator was mentioned in the Panama Papers for parking profits in a tax “haven”).
But hardly a single indigenous African, regardless of wealth, engages in trophy hunting. This is just weird is it not? You would expect the indigenous African rich to do their “bit” for hunting conservation so supported by their governments? As for African communities supporting trophy hunting in exchange for the dribs and drabs they are thrown – forget it.
African nations need to realize that trophy hunting provides little conservation benefit, community benefit. It is pure exploitation.