What is trophy hunting?

Trophy hunting is basically like a recreational past time for hunters. It is a like a wild game of sport for them. Well, we all know that the hunters keep the animal (or its head, skin or any body part) and they usually display them as their trophy or their souvenir to show that they have suceeded in their wild game of hunting.

Why do people trophy hunt?

Majority of the hunters gain or puruse enjoyment from trophy hunting. Worse, hunters even took it as their hobby and they find pleasure killing animals in their leisure.

How many animals are killed each year from trophy hunting?

According to NBC Bay Area, 1.2 million animals have been killed by trophy hunters over the past 15 years. Many of these animals are endangered, threatened or near-threatened species.

In which countries trophy hunting is legal?

• Canada
• South Africa
• Namibia
• Mexico
• Zimbabwe
• New Zealand
• Tanzania
• Argentina
• Zambia
• Botswana

Should trophy hunting be illegal?

Of course, the answer is yes. Why? Because trophy hunting is unethical and it signals that the animal has less worth or value in our life. A person should not take this kind of wild game of hunting as their enjoyment, as their leisure or even as their hobby. A person should not find pleasure by caussing suffering and killing other living beings/animals. People often failed to see that it is contributing in pushing animals to the brink of extinction.

In my personal experience, I actually have visited Chavit's Baluarte Museum when my family were having a summer vacation at Vigan, Ilocos Sur in 2017. For those who may not know who Chavit Singson is, he is a Filipino politican and he was the Governor of the province of Ilocos Sur, Philippines and the Deputy National Security Adviser for the Philippine government. And, of course, Chavit Singson is the owner of Baluarte Museum. Going back, at first I did not realize that it was basically Chavit's trophy room when we entered the building. Good thing that my eldest brother was acting kinda like a tour guide during our trip to the museum and because of that, I learned many things about trophy hunting and also about Chavit Singson.

In all honesty, I kinda felt ashamed of myself because at first I was really fascinated by the animals displayed in the museum because they were so huge and there were a lot animals that I did not know they actually existed in this planet. Also, I even saw a 2D painting of Chavit Singson and I find it really odd because it was morphed and it showed Chavit as a centaur. I thought to myself, "Does he enjoy killing animals that much? Does he really find pleasure to see them just like trophies? Like toys? To the extent, he took it as a hobby?"

So, as Dominican students and nature lovers, we want to put an end on trophy hunting because it is our duty to protect animals. Animals play an important vital role in the environment and in our life in general. They make sure that our nature and our environment runs smoothly. Therefore, we cannot afford to push them on the brink of extinction. Animals are not trophies or accessories. Stop trophy hunting.