Use or abuse of trophy hunting for conservation genomics?

• Published in: The Journal of wildlife management Vol. 88; no. 7
• Main Authors: Klinga, Peter, Pečnerová, Patrícia, Blaxter, Mark, Höglund, Jacob
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 01.09.2024
• Subjects: biodiversity; law; monitoring; specimens; threatened species; wildlife management
• ISSN: 0022-541X; 1937-2817
• DOI: 10.1002/jwmg.22631

Novel genomic tools can yield information important for the conservation of threatened species. Remains of hunted individuals may provide important genomic information; however, the ethics of using remains of hunted animals for conservation research, especially remains of trophy‐hunted animals, is controversial. While there are ongoing political discussions considering blanket bans on the import and use of trophy‐hunted specimens, the consequences of such bans for conservation science have not been broadly discussed. Should conservation science accept samples acquired through legal trophy hunting? We investigate the ethical and practical considerations surrounding the use of biological samples acquired through legal trophy hunting. We propose that trophy‐hunted specimens should not be banned from conservation genomic research. Specimens from hunting could contribute to science and conservation genomic monitoring of wildlife and provide information for biodiversity management. We argue that in cases where legal and sustainably managed hunting systems are in place, efforts should focus on enforcing the collection of samples from hunted animals for evidence‐based wildlife management. In our opinion, systematic genetic sampling should be obligatory for all trophy‐hunted specimens, and ideally conservation genomic monitoring should be a necessary part of wildlife monitoring providing data for sustainable biodiversity management. We provide a flowchart displaying the decision‐making processes with integration of hunted individuals into genetic monitoring as a component of wildlife monitoring for sustainable biodiversity management.