“Trophy,” a documentary that explores the commodification of threatened and endangered African species, which premiered earlier this month at the Quad Cinema in New York City, is enough to have Cecil the Lion rolling over in his grave.
While the directors should be commended for putting the issue in the spotlight, it feels more like an attempt by the trophy hunting industry to save face following the public backlash after the tragic death of Cecil the lion at the hands of an American trophy hunter in Zimbabwe in 2015. And it’s no wonder, since the movie’s narrative unfolds after the directors attend the Safari Club International’s (SCI) annual hunter’s convention.
They drank the Kool-Aid.
To appease the public, the trophy hunting industry claims that without it there would be no money in Africa for conservation. In the movie, well-heeled American trophy hunters are the unsung heroes whose money is helping to save Africa’s magnificent animals from the bad-guys—local poachers driving these animals to extinction. It’s hard to stomach the hypocrisy—American trophy hunters think their money makes killing ok.
The idea that it doesn’t is not broached by directors who promise to tell both sides of the story with critical examination. The movie never considers that legal trophy hunting is one of the reasons that Africa’s Big Five face extinction in the first place and that legal trophy hunting fuels poaching.
Exposing the Big Game 
Reblogged this on The Extinction Chronicles.
Okay. So why don’t all the wildlife-loving and charitable hunters pool the money they would have spent acquiring trophies and pay the poachers to stop their killing. Then the money left over could feed all the orphans the hunters usually save from starvation with their kills.
The Trophy hunters can “claim” anything they want. It does not make it true. For decades, people in the U.S. have believed the lies about “hunters paying for conservation.” This is skewed information, which in reality means that any sale of “munitions” goes to the state game dept. coffers, which includes sales for “protection.” Game depts. lie and manipulate their “statistics,” just like any other fraudulent outfit.
I maintain that hunters ARE conservationists in the same sense that child molesters are advocates for child welfare. Both want a plentiful supply of victims.
We certainly called this one right, didn’t we. 😦