Rex B wrote:Without trophy hunting, lions would be wiped out by the locals. To them lions are vermin who kill their cattle, which is how they measure wealth. Trophy hunters pay a lot of money into the local economy, and give the lions value.

I talk with a guy on one of the sniper forums who works as a contractor in Africa for a U.S. based anti-poaching company. Some of the forum people thought he was a poacher until we learned who he worked for and what he does for a living. His job is to hunt poachers. Although he doesn't openly say so, you can tell that they don't make arrests. Dangerous way to make ends meet.