Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Consumptive Wildlife Tourism in Southern Africa: Implications for Sustainability

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Wildlife Tourism Dynamics in Southern Africa

Part of the book series: Geographies of Tourism and Global Change ((GTGC))

  • 12 Accesses

Abstract

This chapter provides an overview of consumptive wildlife tourism in East and Southern Africa. It also sheds light on the current controversy regarding utilitarian and ontological perspectives revolving around the trophy hunting industry. The chapter also explains the concept of trophy hunting as a commercial industry generating revenues for conservation. To generate a broader understanding of trophy hunting, we give a history of its development in the East and Southern African region and an account of trophy hunting in critical hunting hotspots. We show the rationale for the industry and the possibilities for reconciling the controversy. Our analysis found the controversy in the hunting industry as needing better knowledge about each side of the debate. Under proper management, trophy hunting, conservation, and rationality of ethics are possible if the balance between the interests of pro-hunter and anti-hunters is harmonized. Lastly, implications for sustainability are discussed considering perspectives among stakeholders and the public.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Akama, J. S. (2004). Neo-colonialism, dependency and external control of Africa’s tourism industry. In J. S. Akama (Ed.), Tourism and postcolonialism: Contested discourses, identities and representations (pp. 140–152). Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Angula, H. N., Stuart-Hill, G., Ward, D., Matongo, G., Diggle, R. W., & Naidoo, R. (2018). Local perceptions of trophy hunting on communal lands in Namibia. Biological Conservation, 218, 26–31.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baker, J. E. (1997). Trophy hunting as a sustainable use of wildlife resources in southern and eastern Africa. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 5(4), 306–321.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baldus, R., & Cauldwell, A. (2004). Tourist hunting and it’s role in development of wildlife management areas in Tanzania.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barnes, J. I., & Novelli, M. (2007). Trophy hunting and recreational angling in Namibia: An economic, social and environmental comparison. In Tourism and the consumption of wildlife (pp. 177–190). Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brink, H., Smith, R. J., Skinner, K., & Leader-Williams, N. (2016). Sustainability and long term-tenure: Lion trophy hunting in Tanzania. PloS One, 11(9), e0162610.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carpenter, S., & Konisky, D. M. (2019). The killing of Cecil the Lion as an impetus for policy change. Oryx, 53(4), 698–706.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chardonnet, P., Clers, B. D., Fischer, J., Gerhold, R., Jori, F., & Lamarque, F. (2002). The value of wildlife. Revue Scientifique et Technique-Office International Des Épizooties, 21(1), 15–52.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clark, G. E. (2007). Hunting in context. Environment: Science and Policy for Sustainable Development, 49(5), 3–4.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cooney, R., Freese, C., Dublin, H., Roe, D., Mallon, D., Knight, M., Emslie, R., Pani, M., Booth, V., & Mahoney, S. (2017). The baby and the bathwater: Trophy hunting, conservation and rural livelihoods. Unasylva, 68(249), 3.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cousins, J. A., Sadler, J. P., & Evans, J. (2008). Exploring the role of private wildlife ranching as a conservation tool in South Africa: Stakeholder perspectives. Ecology and Society, 13(2).

    Google Scholar 

  • Crosmary, W., Côté, S., & Fritz, H. (2015). The assessment of the role of trophy hunting in wildlife conservation. Animal Conservation, 18(2), 136–137.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Darimont, C. T., Codding, B. F., & Hawkes, K. (2017). Why men trophy hunt. Biology Letters, 13(3), 20160909.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Di Minin, E., Leader-Williams, N., & Bradshaw, C. J. (2016). Banning trophy hunting will exacerbate biodiversity loss. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 31(2), 99–102.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Di Minin, E., Clements, H. S., Correia, R. A., Cortés-Capano, G., Fink, C., Haukka, A., Hausmann, A., Kulkarni, R., & Bradshaw, C. J. A. (2021). Consequences of recreational hunting for biodiversity conservation and livelihoods. One Earth, 4(2), 238–253. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oneear.2021.01.014

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dube, N. (2019). Voices from the village on trophy hunting in Hwange district, Zimbabwe. Ecological Economics, 159, 335–343. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2019.02.006

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Etherington, N. (2016). Big game hunter: A biography of Frederick Courteney Selous. Robert Hale Ltd.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ghasemi, B. (2021). Trophy hunting and conservation: Do the major ethical theories converge in opposition to trophy hunting? People and Nature, 3(1), 77–87.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gunn, A. S. (2001). Environmental ethics and trophy hunting. Ethics & the Environment, 6(1), 68–95. https://doi.org/10.1353/een.2001.0006

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harris, R. B., Cooney, R., & Leader-Williams, N. (2013). Application of the anthropogenic Allee effect model to trophy hunting as a conservation tool. Conservation Biology, 27(5), 945–951.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heffelfinger, J. R., Geist, V., & Wishart, W. (2013). The role of hunting in North American wildlife conservation. International Journal of Environmental Studies, 70(3), 399–413.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hewitson, L. J., & Sullivan, S. (2021). Producing elephant commodities for ‘conservation hunting’ in Namibian communal-area conservancies. Journal of Political Ecology, 28(1), 1–24.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Humavindu, M. N., & Barnes, J. I. (2003). Trophy hunting in the Namibian economy: An assessment: Research article. South African Journal of Wildlife Research—24-Month Delayed Open Access, 33(2), 65–70. https://doi.org/10.10520/EJC117175

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Humavindu, M. N., & Stage, J. (2015). Community-based wildlife management failing to link conservation and financial viability. Animal Conservation, 18(1), 4–13.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hurt, R., & Ravn, P. (2000). Hunting and its benefits: An overview of hunting in Africa with special reference to Tanzania. In H. H. T. Prins, J. G. Grootenhuis, & T. T. Dolan (Eds.), Wildlife conservation by sustainable use (pp. 295–313). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-4012-6_15

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Knezevic, I. (2009). Hunting and environmentalism: Conflict or misperceptions. Human Dimensions of Wildlife, 14(1), 12–20.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Koot, S. (2019). The limits of economic benefits: Adding social affordances to the analysis of trophy hunting of the Khwe and Ju/’hoansi in Namibian community-based natural resource management. Society & Natural Resources, 32(4), 417–433.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lamprechts, M. (2009). Trophy hunting in Namibia from the 1960s to the present day. Namibian Professional Hunting Association Report.

    Google Scholar 

  • LaRocco, A. (2016). The comprehensive hunting ban: Strengthening the state through participatory conservation in contemporary Botswana. The Politics of Nature and Science in Southern Africa, 179–207.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lewis, D. M., & Alpert, P. (1997). Trophy hunting and wildlife conservation in Zambia: Caza Deportiva y Conservación de la Vida Silvestre en Zambia. Conservation Biology, 11(1), 59–68.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lindsey, P. A. (2008). Trophy hunting in sub-Saharan Africa: Economic scale and conservation significance. Best Practices in Sustainable Hunting, 1, 41–47.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lindsey, P. A., Alexander, R., Frank, L. G., Mathieson, A., & Romanach, S. (2006). Potential of trophy hunting to create incentives for wildlife conservation in Africa where alternative wildlife-based land uses may not be viable. Animal Conservation, 9(3), 283–291.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lindsey, P. A., Roulet, P., & Romanach, S. (2007). Economic and conservation significance of the trophy hunting industry in sub-Saharan Africa. Biological Conservation, 134(4), 455–469.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lindsey, P. A., Balme, G. A., Booth, V. R., & Midlane, N. (2012). The significance of African lions for the financial viability of trophy hunting and the maintenance of wild land. PLoS One, 7(1), e29332.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lindsey, P. A., Balme, G. A., Funston, P. J., Henschel, P. H., & Hunter, L. T. (2016). Life after Cecil: Channelling global outrage into funding for conservation in Africa. Conservation Letters, 9(4), 296–301.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lindsey, P., Allan, J., Brehony, P., Dickman, A., Robson, A., Begg, C., Bhammar, H., Blanken, L., Breuer, T., & Fitzgerald, K. (2020). Conserving Africa’s wildlife and wildlands through the COVID-19 crisis and beyond. Nature Ecology & Evolution, 4(10), 1300–1310.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lovelock, B. (2007). An introduction to consumptive wildlife tourism. In Tourism and the consumption of wildlife (pp. 25–52). Routledge.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Macdonald, D. W., Jacobsen, K. S., Burnham, D., Johnson, P. J., & Loveridge, A. J. (2016). Cecil: A moment or a movement? Analysis of media coverage of the death of a lion, Panthera leo. Animals, 6(5), 26.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • MacKay, K. J., & Michael Campbell, J. (2004). An examination of residents’ support for hunting as a tourism product. Tourism Management, 25(4), 443–452. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0261-5177(03)00127-4

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Makuyana, P. G. (2018). Trophy hunting: To ban or not to ban? Legal pathways for Zimbabwe in the aftermath of Cecil the lion. Journal of Sustainable Development Law and Policy (The), 9(1), 133–167.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mbaiwa, J. E. (2018). Effects of the safari hunting tourism ban on rural livelihoods and wildlife conservation in Northern Botswana. South African Geographical Journal = Suid-Afrikaanse Geografiese Tydskrif, 100(1), 41–61.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mbaiwa, J. E., & Hambira, W. L. (2021). Can the subaltern speak? Contradictions in trophy hunting and wildlife conservation trajectory in Botswana. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 1–19, 1107–1125. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669582.2021.1973483

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mkono, M. (2018). The age of digital activism in tourism: Evaluating the legacy and limitations of the Cecil anti-trophy hunting movement. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 26(9), 1608–1624.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mkono, M. (2019). Neo-colonialism and greed: Africans’ views on trophy hunting in social media. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 27(5), 689–704.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mkono, M. (2023). How we can make the trophy hunting debate less fraught. Nature Human Behaviour, 7(1), 6–8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mosimane, A. W., & Silva, J. A. (2015). Local governance institutions, CBNRM, and benefit-sharing systems in Namibian conservancies. Journal of Sustainable Development, 8(2), 99.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Munro, P. (2021). Colonial wildlife conservation and national parks in Sub-Saharan Africa. In oxford research encyclopedia of African history.

    Google Scholar 

  • Muposhi, V. K., Gandiwa, E., Bartels, P., & Makuza, S. M. (2016). Trophy hunting, conservation, and rural development in Zimbabwe: Issues, options, and implications. International Journal of Biodiversity, 2016, 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1155/2016/8763980

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Musika, N. V., Wakibara, J. V., Ndakidemi, P. A., & Treydte, A. C. (2022). Using trophy hunting to save wildlife foraging resources: A case study from moyowosi-kigosi game reserves, Tanzania. Sustainability, 14(3), 1288.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mweetwa, T. (2016). Effect of a temporary hunting ban on the demography of African Lions (Panthera Leo) using a protected area.

    Google Scholar 

  • Naidoo, R., Stuart-Hill, G., Weaver, L. C., Tagg, J., Davis, A., & Davidson, A. (2011). Effect of diversity of large wildlife species on financial benefits to local communities in Northwest Namibia. Environmental and Resource Economics, 48(2), 321–335. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10640-010-9412-3

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Naidoo, R., Weaver, L. C., Diggle, R. W., Matongo, G., Stuart-Hill, G., & Thouless, C. (2016). Complementary benefits of tourism and hunting to communal conservancies in Namibia. Conservation Biology, 30(3), 628–638. https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.2016.30.issue-3; https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.12643

  • Nasi, R., Brown, D., Wilkie, D., Bennett, E., Tutin, C., Van Tol, G., & Christophersen, T. (2008). Conservation and use of wildlife-based resources: The bushmeat crisis (Technical series, 50). Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity/Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR).

    Google Scholar 

  • Nelson, F., Lindsey, P., & Balme, G. (2013). Trophy hunting and lion conservation: A question of governance? Oryx, 47(4), 501–509. https://doi.org/10.1017/S003060531200035X

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Palazy, L., Bonenfant, C., Gaillard, J.-M., & Courchamp, F. (2012). On the use of the IUCN status for the management of trophy hunting. Wildlife Research, 39(8), 711–720.

    Google Scholar 

  • Parker, K., De Vos, A., Clements, H. S., Biggs, D., & Biggs, R. (2020). Impacts of a trophy hunting ban on private land conservation in South African biodiversity hotspots. Conservation Science and Practice, 2(7), e214.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Poudel, J., Henderson, J. E., & Munn, I. A. (2016). Economic contribution of hunting expenditure to the southern United States of America. International Journal of Environmental Studies, 73(2), 236–254.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Saayman, M., van der Merwe, P., & Saayman, A. (2018). The economic impact of trophy hunting in the South African wildlife industry. Global Ecology and Conservation, 16, e00510. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2018.e00510

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sheikh, P. A., & Bermejo, L. F. (2019). International trophy hunting. Congressional Research Service.

    Google Scholar 

  • Spong, G., Hellborg, L., & Creel, S. (2000). Sex ratio of leopards taken in trophy hunting: Genetic data from Tanzania. Conservation Genetics, 1, 169–171.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stoddard, J. E., Pollard, C. E., & Evans, M. R. (2012). The triple bottom line: A framework for sustainable tourism development. International Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Administration, 13(3), 233–258. https://doi.org/10.1080/15256480.2012.698173

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, W. A., Child, M. F., Lindsey, P. A., Nicholson, S. K., Relton, C., & Davies-Mostert, H. T. (2021). South Africa’s private wildlife ranches protect globally significant populations of wild ungulates. Biodiversity and Conservation, 30(13), 4111–4135.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Teichman, K. J., Cristescu, B., & Darimont, C. T. (2016). Hunting as a management tool? Cougar-human conflict is positively related to trophy hunting. BMC Ecology, 16(1), 1–8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thomsen, J. M., Lendelvo, S., Coe, K., & Rispel, M. (2022). Community perspectives of empowerment from trophy hunting tourism in Namibia’s Bwabwata National Park. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 30(1), 223–239. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669582.2021.1874394

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ullah, I., & Kim, D.-Y. (2020). A model of collaborative governance for community-based trophy-hunting programs in developing countries. Perspectives in Ecology and Conservation, 18(3), 145–160. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pecon.2020.06.004

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Usher, M. B. (1986). Wildlife conservation evaluation: Attributes, criteria and values. Springer.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Van der Merwe, P., Saayman, M., & Rossouw, R. (2014). The economic impact of hunting: A regional approach. South African Journal of Economic and Management Sciences, 17(4), 379–395.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • van Houdt, S., Brown, R. P., Wanger, T. C., Twine, W., Fynn, R., Uiseb, K., Cooney, R., & Traill, L. W. (2021). Divergent views on trophy hunting in Africa, and what this may mean for research and policy. Conservation Letters, 14(6), e12840.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Walters, W. H. (2009). Google scholar search performance: Comparative recall and precision. Portal: Libraries and the Academy, 9(1), 5–24.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weaver, L. C., & Petersen, T. (2008). Namibia communal area conservancies. Best Practices in Sustainable Hunting, 2008, 48–52.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wood, F. (1997). The delights and dilemmas of hunting: The hunting versus anti-hunting debate. University Press of America.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yeomans, N., Hare, D., Dröge, E., & Hart, A. G. (2022). Ten years of coverage of trophy hunting in UK newspapers. Frontiers in Conservation Science, 3, 133.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Recreation, Parks and Tourism Management, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA

    Lyakurwa G. Jerome

  2. Department of Wildlife Management, The College of African Wildlife Management, Mweka, Moshi, Tanzania

    Edwin Sabuhoro

Authors
  1. Lyakurwa G. Jerome
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Edwin Sabuhoro
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Lyakurwa G. Jerome .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department Tourism and Hospitality Management, University of Botswana, Gaborone, Botswana

    Lesego S. Stone

  2. Department of Environmental Science, University of Botswana, Gaborone, Botswana

    Moren T. Stone

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2024 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Jerome, L.G., Sabuhoro, E. (2024). Consumptive Wildlife Tourism in Southern Africa: Implications for Sustainability. In: Stone, L.S., Stone, M.T. (eds) Wildlife Tourism Dynamics in Southern Africa. Geographies of Tourism and Global Change. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-57252-4_10

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-57252-4_10

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-031-57251-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-031-57252-4

  • eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation