Ill-Will Hunting

In the past, trophy hunting was a favorite pastime of wealthy people. Indeed, the earliest proponents of wildlife conservation, such as President Theodore Roosevelt, were themselves hunters and sought to establish wildlife preserves to protect game animals.
Today, of course, times have changed. Hunting these large, impressive animals is today considered to be in bad taste at best and illegal at worst. It is no surprise, then, that most environmentalists are opposed to the very idea of trophy hunting. However there are some who argue that a very limited form of trophy hunting could be beneficial. By creating a continuous demand for the animals as a resource, limited trophy hunting would ensure their long-term survival.
Such was almost certainly the thinking behind the decision made in Namibia to grant a select number of hunters permission to shoot endangered black rhinoceroses. Supposedly, the money from these hunts goes to fund rhinoceros protection, but many critics of this method of conservation have called foul. They claim that a similar amount of funding could be generated by other means, that it is unnecessary and cruel to "kill them to save them."
Needless to say, trophy hunters are enthusiastic for the opportunity to bring home the head of one of Africa's largest mammals, and unless it is officially banned for good, the hunting seems like it sill continue for a long time yet.

Three hunters pose with a rhinoceros that was killed legally in a trophy hunt. While environmental agencies debate the usefulness and ethics of these hunts, permits for them continue to be given out.