KILLING FOR TROPHIESAN ANALYSIS OF GLOBAL TROPHY HUNTING TRADE3Killing for Trophies: An Analysis of Global Trophy Hunting TradeInternational Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW)Published on June 14, 2016TABLE OF CONTENTSIntroduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4List of Abbreviations and Acronyms . . . . . . . . .4Executive Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5Trophy Hunting Industry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6What is Trophy Hunting? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6SIDEBAR: Link Between Trophy Hunting and Poaching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7What is Canned Hunting? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8History of Trophy Hunting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8SIDEBAR: The Profile of a Trophy Hunter . . . . . .9SIDEBAR: Hunting Clubs and Trophy Hunting Incentive Schemes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10The Business of Trophy Hunting . . . . . . . . . . .11Working with a Trophy Hunter Outfitter . . . . . . .11How Much Does it Cost? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11Transportation and Taxidermy . . . . . . . . . . . . .12Permits and Importation Procedures . . . . . . . .12Cost Implications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12SIDEBAR: Airlines Banning the Shipment of Hunting Trophies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13INFOGRAPHIC: Trophy Hunting by the Numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14 15Laws and Policies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16History of Nature Conservation . . . . . . . . . . . .16What is CITES? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16CITES Structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16Monitoring and Enforcement . . . . . . . . . . . . .16Levels of Protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17Trophy Hunting and CITES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17Domestic Laws . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17Bans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18SIDEBAR: Spotlight on Lions . . . . . . . . . . . . .18SIDEBAR: Bans Decrease Overall Demand . . .19Global Import and Export Data Analyses . . . .20The CITES Trade Database . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20Methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20Global Prevalence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21Top Importing and Exporting Countries . . . . . .21World Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21Which Animals Are Most Sought After? . . . . .22Taxa Trophy Hunted . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22SIDEBAR: American Black Bears . . . . . . . . . .23INFOGRAPHIC: Trophy Hunting Around the World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24 25Africa Big 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26Country Specific Case Studies . . . . . . . . . . . .29United States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30Australia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34China . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36European Union . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38France . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40Germany . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41Russia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42South Africa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44United Kingdom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48Spain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50United Arab Emirates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51Mexico . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52Scandinavian Region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .54Netherlands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55Switzerland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .56List of Relevant Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6254 International Fund for Animal Welfare Killing for Trophies: An Analysis of Global Trophy Hunting TradeWhen a hunter paid $350,000 USD for the right to shoot and kill a rare rhino in Namibia, the debate on killing animals in the name of conservation reignited . While many scientists and organizations reject the “killing them to save them” philosophy that hunters tout as their justification, the practice of sport hunting big game remains legal in nearly all the worlds nations .In the months since, people have watched as numerous high-profile big game hunters posted pictures with their prized kills and opponents of this practice expressed their disbelief that human beings could take the lives of such charismatic megafauna in the name of sport .But it was the death of Cecil the Lion in Zimbabwe in July 2015 that caught and held the worlds attention . Trophy hunting opponents condemned Walter Palmer, the US dentist who admitted to killing the iconic black-maned alpha male from Hwange National Park, and a media maelstrom ensued .In order to study the array of claims that trophy hunting benefits animals, we must first establish the extent to which trophy hunting is practiced . In this report, we chose to start with identifying the numbers of trophies traded across national borders and reported to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) . We estimate that as many as 1 .7 million hunting trophies could have been traded between nations between 2004 and 2014 . At least 200,000 trophies of threatened taxa, or an average of 20,000 trophies per year, have been traded between nations in the same period .Not surprisingly, the United States accounts for a staggering 71 percent of the import demand, or about 15 times more than the next highest nations on the list . IFAW researchers pored through the many and dispersed records of CITES Trade Database and have produced this enlightening report on the state of international trophy hunting today .We believe leaders should make informed decisions governing the industry with data as supporting evidence, and this information should act as a springboard for more academic peer-reviewed research on the merits, or lack thereof, of trophy hunting when it comes to the conservation of species and associated animal welfare implications .Sincerely, Azzedine T . Downes President and CEO, International Fund for Animal WelfareINTRODUCTIONEXECUTIVE SUMMARYAs the trophy hunting industry has grown over the last few decades, governments, conservationists, and animal welfare advocates are keen to understand its global economic and conservation impacts with data as supporting evidence .Unfortunately, little credible research had been done to understand the global trophy industrys extent and impact . This report is a result of a comprehensive analysis of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) Trade Database . Approximately one million trade records of CITES-listed wildlife species are reported and entered into the database annually, accounting now for more than 13 million wildlife trade records of more than 34,000 scientific taxa names on the CITES Appendices .As many as 1 .7 million hunting trophies have been traded between nations between 2004 and 2014 . And at least 200,000 trophies from threatened taxa, or an average of 20,0000 trophies per year, have been traded between nations in the same period . Our research found that 107 different nations (comprised of 104 importing nations and 106 exporting nations) participated in trophy hunting trade between 2004 and 2014 . However, although there is worldwide demand for animal trophies, according to the CITES database, the top twenty countries are responsible for 97 percent of trophy imports .The United States (US) accounts for 71 percent of the import demand, or about 15 times more than the next highest nations, Germany and Spain (both 5 percent) .These top 20 importing countries are killing and importing their trophies mainly from Canada (35 percent), South Africa (23 percent), and Namibia (11 percent) . The most common trade of threatened taxa trophies come from Canada to the US, followed by trophy trade from African nations to the US .Analyses of the CITES database found that three of the four threatened taxa from the Africa Big Five species (African elephant, African leopard, and African lion) are among the top six most traded of imperiled taxa .Of the top 20 threatened taxa, African lions have the strongest statistically significant increase of trophy hunting trade since 2004 . At least 11,000 lion trophies have been traded worldwide from 2004 to 2013 . Other Africa Big Five species are also popular with trophy hunters, with more than 10,000 elephant trophies and more than 10,000 leopard trophies being legally traded worldwide between 2004 and 2014 . Like African lions, the African elephant trophy hunting trade has increased since 2004, while leopard trophy hunting numbers rose for several years after 2004, but have since decreased . This analysis can serve as a baseline for more study on how trophy hunting is changing and how the global industry ultimately affects animals and their populations, both regionally and globally .LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMSCAMPFIRE: Communal Areas Management Programme for Indigenous ResourcesCIC: International Council for Game and Wildlife ConservationCITES: The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and FloraCoP: Conference of PartiesESA: Endangered Species ActEU: European UnionFAO: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United NationsIFAW: International Fund for Animal WelfareIUCN: International Union for Conservation of NatureSCI: Safari Club InternationalUNEP: United Nations Environment Programme UNEP-WCMC: United Nations Environmental Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre USFWS: US Fish and Wildlife Service76 International Fund for Animal Welfare Killing for Trophies: An Analysis of Global Trophy Hunting TradeWhat is Trophy Hunting?Hunting is the activity of chasing and killing wild animals or game, especially for food or sport.1 “Trophy hunting,”2specifically, is a form of hunting in which the hunters explicit goal is to obtain the hunted animals carcass or body part, such as the head or hide, as a trophy that represents the success of the hunt. Trophy hunting is legal in certain areas with the proper permits and must be differentiated from poaching.3Poaching is the illegal take of game, though like trophy hunting it can be done for acquisition of coveted parts or products from the target species. For the purpose of this report a distinction was made between trophy hunting (where a gun or bow and arrow were used in the hunt) and trophy fishing or trophy trapping as the method used to find and kill the animals departs considerably from the common use of trophy hunting. TROPHY HUNTING INDUSTRYSIDEBAR: Link between Trophy Hunting and PoachingPoachers have been known to exploit trophy hunting loopholes in order to launder illegal wildlife products en route to the black market . One example is that of the African rhino . The typical rhino horn is about two feet long and 10 pounds, and each pound of rhino horn can sell for approximately USD$30,000 .4The ancient Persians believed rhino horn vessels could detect poisons; the Chinese believed rhino horn powder could reduce fevers; the Yemenis prized the horn for coming-of-age daggers presented to teenage boys; and although there is no scientific proof that rhino horn can cure cancer, throughout Asia there is a strong belief that rhino horn is a cancer medicine .5Commercial trade of rhino horn is regulated by CITES, which only allows for trophy hunted and stuffed rhinos from a small number of African countries, and secondary sales of the horn are illegal .6However, to get around these regulations, smugglers have been caught paying Thai and Vietnamese residents to pose as trophy hunters, bringing them to a South African private hunting reserve where they then pretend or attempt to shoot rhinos, and have had a trained professional hunter on standby to kill the game on their behalf .7For example, in November of 2013, a 44-year-old Thai senior official of a trading company was found guilty of arranging for approximately 20 Thai women to pose as rhino trophy hunters . He was sentenced to a 40-year prison term in South Africa in 2013 after pleading guilty .8It is estimated that approximately 300 rhino horns have been exported by “pretend” hunters since 2009, according to the Asahi Shimbun, one of Japans largest national newspapers . The number of Thai and Vietnamese hunters has increased over the past several years . The Asahi Shimbun reported that 588 applications were approved by South Africas Department of Environmental Affairs for rhino trophy hunting between 2009 and November 2012, 320 of which came from Vietnam and 40 of which came from Thailand .9In 2009, the South African government put a moratorium on rhino horn trade due to concerns that trophy hunting permits were being abused and horns illegally exported . However, at the end of 2015, a South African judge lifted the domestic ban . South Africa and Vietnam signed a memorandum in December to end illegal rhino transactions by sharing information and through other measures . South Africa has called on Vietnam to make it a rule to confirm whether hunters have kept rhino horns, but Vietnamese officials have been accused of turning a blind eye to the request .10Other species, including lions, have also been a target for smugglers, for example where traditional medicines using lion bones are coveted .118 International Fund for Animal WelfareWhat is Canned Hunting?Canned hunting is the hunting of animals in an enclosure too small to allow an animal any chance of escape, hunting animals that are drugged or sedated, and/or hunting human-habituated animals . Canned hunting is also commonly referred to as shopping and shooting, put and take, or captive hunting . Canned hunting operations, which are commonly referred to as shooting preserves, acquire animals through different means . They may breed wild animals themselves or animals may come from private breeders, animal dealers, circuses, or zoos .12Several African game preserves specialize in breeding mutant big game animals, such as white lions or the so-called golden wildebeest13in the attempt to create an exclusive market . The breeders charge $50,000 to hunt a golden wildebeest, almost 100 times as much as a hunt for a wildebeest of typical coloration .14South Africa has seen an increase in canned hunt demand . South Africa, where canned hunting is most prevalent, has approximately 200 ranches with between 6,000 and 8,000 lions and “hunters pay as much as $20,000 to bag a big male,”15which is still significantly cheaper than hunting a lion in the wild . The US is the bigg