A RIVERINA recreational hunter has defended the perception of hunting in the wake of the killing of a Zimbabwean lion named Cecil.
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Will Barton said not all hunters were looking for trophy as in the case of a lion killed by American tourist Walter Palmer.
“Thousands of cows and sheep are slaughtered in Australia for human use, not just for food but sheep skin products or leather wallets.”
He said there was no difference between breeding fish to be caught in lakes and rivers – and hunting with a rifle.
Mr Barton said hunting animals for food had long been necessary for humans to survive.
“There would be people who’s grandfathers hunted for food,” he said.
“An appropriately well-managed hunting operation can be a tool of conservation.”
While hunting around the supermarket has become normal for most people, Mr Barton said hunting could still be used to feed a family.
In Australia, hunting is also used to reduce the numbers of invasive pests such as foxes, rabbits and deer.
“You can’t shy away from the fact that there is an inherent challenge in putting one’s skills against a wild beast,” Mr Barton said.
Mr Barton said there was much more to hunting than simply walking into the bush and taking aim.
“It takes patience they don’t just walk past the front of a rifle, you don’t jut rock up in a park and start shooting,” he said.
Despite effective hunting tools, Mr Barton said they weren’t always a match for senses wildlife had evolved with such as picking up a threat’s scent as well as better hearing and sight.
Since the lion’s death, people across the globe have called for an end to trophy hunting and Zimbabwe has said the American dentist had “killed an icon”.
Zimbabwe’s environment minister Oppah Muchinguri said Mr Palmer was a 'foreign poacher' who paid for an illegal hunt and he should be extradited to Zimbabwe to face justice. The man who organised the hunting trip has been charged.
Ms Muchinguri, a senior member of President Robert Mugabe's ruling ZANU-PF party, described Cecil, a lion well-known to tourists in the Hwange National Park, as an "iconic attraction".
"The illegal killing was deliberate," she said at a news conference. "We are appealing to the responsible authorities for his extradition to Zimbabwe so that he can be held accountable for his illegal actions."
Mr Palmer admitted to killing the 13-year-old lion, who was fitted with a GPS collar as part of an Oxford University study.
In March, the Australian government banned imports of lion trophies in a bid to crack down on hunting.