David @ Tokyo

The recent article in the BBC from Eugene Lapointe of the World Conservation Trust that I mentioned yesterday may have been timed to co-incide with a symposium recently held by the IUCN in London which found "strong links between recreational hunting, conservation & rural livelihoods".

Some important points in my mind:

The need for good governance at all levels was a theme echoed by many speakers.

And:

Among the outcomes to be further considered by the SUSG ... the need for wider understanding of the contribution which hunting makes to pro-biodiversity land management and livelihoods.

I'm not a hunter myself and I probably never will be. The same will go for many people who care about conservation, and thus likely have a kneejerk reaction of cringing at the idea of recognising the killing of animals for recreation as an OK thing.

Nonetheless it's hard to deny the benefits that have been seen through the approach in pure conservation terms, as argued by Eugune Lapointe and here at this symposium.

The animal welfare groups in particular will fight this tooth and nail, I imagine.

Labels: Eugene Lapointe, IUCN, sustainable use