Green Daily

At first, it may not seem like shooting animals for sport could possibly be an exercise in wildlife conservation, but a opinion writer for the BBC might convince you to take a second look. The idea is simply this: the sustainable use of wildlife resources -- backwards as it may seem -- produces a much more protective environment for species than a simple ban on hunting and animal trade.

Take elephant populations in Africa as an example. Countries in S. Africa have taken a sustainable use approach, issuing permits to kill a limited number of animals based on age, sex, and breeding status. Hunting provides a source of income for local communities and elephant populations remain large and healthy. More importantly, incidents of poaching have dropped significantly -- since the elephants represent a profitable industry, there's less incentive to simply slaughter animals for their worth on the black market.

Protectionist strategies like those in Kenya have produced a slight rebound in elephant populations, but have been unsuccessful in stamping out the intense poaching that threatens the species. With a ban on the killing of any elephants, communities take little interest in protecting the animals, leaving it entirely up to law enforcement. In contrast, protecting the elephants is little but a drain on government resources.

Sustainable use strategies like those of Nambia, Botswana, Canada, and the US are favored by the UN Convention on Biological Diversity. Unfortunately, 'sustainable use' doesn't make for great nature posters and bumper stickers.