Legal and illegal trophy hunting

• In Event: Legal and illegal wildlife crimes

Abstract

While the world, as we know it, is rapidly changing through the deterioration of the natural environment and species loss, this crisis is poorly addressed. Rather than pushing the alarm button, a widespread practice that includes the deliberate killing of animals in their natural environment still proceeds, even though the species are at risk of extinction. Hunting for leisure is an activity that is banned in several countries, while most countries in the world still allow such killing of wildlife either for economic profit, for sustenance or under the umbrella of wildlife management. This paper explores trophy hunting through data collected in Norway that concern the legal and illegal import of trophies from abroad to Norway and the motivations hunters have for partaking in hunting, both of endangered species and those not yet endangered. It provides an insight into Norwegian hunting culture through assessing import data concerning legal and illegal import of trophies to Norway, information from the Norwegian fisher-and hunter association’s website, and how hunters of endangered species present themselves with their kill.

Author

• Ragnhild Sollund, University of Oslo