Killing to Conserve: How Selling Off Ivory Is Helping to Sustain It
Killing to Conserve
How Selling Off Ivory Is Helping to Sustain It
By Collin Mattis
From an aerial view, Africa appears to be an endless stretch of true wilderness home to diverse ecosystems and abundant wildlife. But with a closer look, it becomes clear that much of this is at risk of disappearing. In the last 100 years, African elephant populations have declined roughly 84-96% due to poaching and conflicts with rural villagers.[i] This is largely a result of the high value of ivory: a luxury resource worth $1,000 a pound that can only be found on the tusks of rhinos, hippos, and more commonly, elephants.[ii] Given this high market price, individuals in many developing countries turn to poaching as a lucrative alternative to a life of poverty.[iii] While some nations, such as Kenya, have agreed to close all ivory trade and restrict the hunting of these elephants, many other African countries, such as South Africa, Namibia, Angola, Zimbabwe, and Tanzania, have long embraced sport hunting as a way to finance wildlife protection.[iv] These different approaches have forced policymakers to consider what at first appears to be a paradoxical question: can the killing of elephants actually help with their conservation?
Kenya’s restrictions on and the southern African bloc’s endorsement of trophy hunting model the two main approaches that African nations have taken to protect their diminishing elephant populations. The most common approach is that of ‘pure protection,’ in which a government works to insulate a resource using strict rules and regulations so as to stop all consumption of that resource.[v] An alternative approach is that of ‘sustained use,’ which suggests that instead of a true moratorium, a reasonable supply of the resource would be maintained, allowing for an economic gain from the use or sale of the resource that would incentivize and finance continued long-term conservation.[vi] In the case of ivory, several countries have attempted to adopt policies adhering to the ‘sustained use’ theory in the form of safari hunting, allowing hunters to pay for a permit to hunt elephants in a regulated habit.[vii] Despite the perceived backwardness of selling the slaughter of the very species that needs preservation and the negative short-term consequences of ‘sustained use’ approaches, they may be necessary in order to maintain the supply of luxury resources in impoverished countries where citizens require personal benefits from conservation in order to comply.
Examining Trophy Hunting Policies in Southern Africa
In May of 2019, Botswana’s government announced that it would be lifting its five-year ban on trophy hunting and issuing up to 400 licenses each year.[viii] Botswana, home to over 130,000 elephants, had originally banned the activity in 2014, citing declining wildlife numbers.[ix] However, it soon became clear that poor rural communities play a decisive role in maintaining elephant populations because they often resort to violence in response to elephant-caused damage to their property.[x] During the ban on trophy hunting, Botswana saw an increase in unemployment, a rising number of elephants in civilian areas, and a loss in potential government revenue.[xi] In Zimbabwe and Namibia, trophy fees, which price at around $80,000 for a single elephant, go directly to rural residents in exchange for their promise to not harm local elephant populations.[xii] In Namibia, local communities in remote locations benefit greatly from these funds; however, in Zimbabwe, where corruption is rife, rural communities rarely receive the funds.[xiii] After recognizing how much damage the ban was inflicting on its economy and people, Botswana lifted it and once again embraced trophy hunting, joining most other countries in southern Africa.
Policies vary between countries. Most often employed is a quota-based system with limited licenses and contained habitats to hunt in.[xiv] In South Africa, almost all hunting takes place in fenced private reserves which help keep elephants away from local farms.[xv] The distribution of profits also varies between countries: some focus on compensating rural residents, and others invest to develop their overall economy. Studies on trophy hunting show a great degree of variation in how hunting contributes to a country’s economy, with hunting from 2012-2014 contributing between 15,500 to 53,000 jobs and $132 to $426 million to the region of southern Africa’s GDP every year.[xvi] Meanwhile, in countries like Kenya, which has banned trophy hunting since 1977, the economy missed out on these booms, while wildlife numbers still dropped nearly 70% between 1977 and 2016.[xvii] Poverty has long been considered a driving force behind poaching in Africa, and a boost to economic development can allow these governments to work towards better law enforcement, social services, and administrative governance.[xviii]
Without directly distributing a portion of the profits obtained from ivory to the people themselves, prospects for ivory conservation are bleak. Those in desperate economic situations will not prioritize elephant conservation over their family’s livelihood. Thus, many governments have learned throughout the years that ‘sustained use’ methods in trophy hunting can be beneficial, as they allow for mutually-beneficial cooperation in conservation efforts rather than doomed attempts to forcefully change behavior. Safari hunting provides populations with incentives to keep elephant populations alive.[xix]
Conclusion
The ivory conservation debate is a unique demonstration of how governments can utilize property rights to exert greater control over a resource rather than simply banning its consumption. By controlling the amount sold, who it is being sold to, and how much it is sold for, governments can extract benefit from the resource without severely depleting it. This is particularly necessary in developing countries, where impoverished communities cannot afford to sacrifice necessities in the name of conservation. Although corruption and complicated regulation processes can present opportunities for governments to exploit their country’s resources, these methods at least provide an opportunity for citizens to get some benefit from keeping these animals alive, even if it is less than they deserve. Convincing citizens that a resource is worth conserving without incentivization proves challenging. As a result, developing countries may look to this counter-intuitive conservation strategy to preserve their most precious resources by actually using them.
*Illustration by Mena Attia
[i] Linder, Ann. “Detailed Discussion of Elephants and the Ivory Trade.” Animal Law Legal Center, 1 Jan. 1970.
[ii] Linder, Ann. “Detailed Discussion of Elephants and the Ivory Trade.”
[iii] Linder, Ann. “Detailed Discussion of Elephants and the Ivory Trade.”
[iv] Cruise, Adam, et al. “Can Killing More Elephants Actually Help to Save Them?” National Geographic, 8 July 2015.
[v] Linder, Ann. “Detailed Discussion of Elephants and the Ivory Trade.”
[vi] Linder, Ann. “Detailed Discussion of Elephants and the Ivory Trade.”
[vii] Benefits of Elephant Conservation From Safari Hunting. Conservation Force , 11 June 2018.
[viii] Mahr, Krista. “Why Botswana Is Lifting Its Ban On Elephant Trophy Hunting.” NPR, NPR, 28 Sept. 2019,
[ix] Mahr, Krista. “Why Botswana Is Lifting Its Ban On Elephant Trophy Hunting.”
[x] Falls, Nyasha Chingono in Victoria. “Lift 'Unfair' Ban on Ivory Trade, Southern African Leaders Urge Summit.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 26 June 2019.
[xi] Mahr, Krista. “Why Botswana Is Lifting Its Ban On Elephant Trophy Hunting.” NPR, NPR, 28 Sept. 2019,
[xii] Benefits of Elephant Conservation From Safari Hunting. Conservation Force, 11 June 2018.
[xiii] Mahr, Krista. “Why Botswana Is Lifting Its Ban On Elephant Trophy Hunting.” NPR, NPR, 28 Sept. 2019,
[xiv] Serrano, Monica. “Trophy Hunting: Should We Kill Animals to Save Them? Trophy Hunting: Is It Helping or Hurting Conservation Efforts?, 18 Nov. 2017.
[xv] Mahr, Krista. “Why Botswana Is Lifting Its Ban On Elephant Trophy Hunting.” NPR, NPR, 28 Sept. 2019,
[xvi] Serrano, Monica. “Trophy Hunting: Should We Kill Animals to Save Them?” Trophy Hunting: Is It Helping or Hurting Conservation Efforts?, 18 Nov. 2017.
[xvii] Mahr, Krista. “Why Botswana Is Lifting Its Ban On Elephant Trophy Hunting.” NPR, NPR, 28 Sept. 2019,
[xviii] Benefits of Elephant Conservation From Safari Hunting. Conservation Force , 11 June 2018.
[xix] Serrano, Monica. “Trophy Hunting: Should We Kill Animals to Save Them?” Trophy Hunting: Is It Helping or Hurting Conservation Efforts?, 18 Nov. 2017.