Religion is not the reason for banning balckbucck hunting in India.It is due to rapid decline in their population since 1900.Cheetas & balckbuck hunting was rampant in India by the royal families & thanks to them Cheetas have totally vanished in India & blackbuck population has drastically reduced
I also saw that blackbuck hunting has become a trophy hunting in US with each costing 2000 $.This high price seems to deter hunting & hope it stays that way(refer
https://biologydictionary.net/blackbuck/ )
By the way India does not allow any trophy hunting.Pakistan does & does attract lot of trophy hunting tourists.
Please also see report on
https://www.bornfree.org.uk/articles/bth-conservation as to why trophy hunting does not lead to conservation
Firstly, I respect your opinion, but the realities are not as you make them out to be. You are correct that Blackbuck can be hunted in Texas for an average fee of around $1,500 - $2,500. They are a very popular game animal here and one of the most affordable in Texas, due to their abundant numbers. The price of $2,000 you referred to is actually on the lower-end of what guided hunting costs in Texas. Even whitetail deer hunts can easily cost $5,000-$8,000. I honestly do not understand why India's Blackbuck population is in decline, unless it is because of human encroachment. Blackbuck reproduce very quickly, and can easily become overpopulated. If hunting Blackbuck was detrimental to their population, then why has their population in Texas increased from only a few dozen animals in the 1960's (when they were first introduced) to well over 30,000 animals today? No additional animals were brought here from overseas during that time.....and they were propagated by ranchers specifically for hunting, along with many other species (all of which have large healthy populations).
Second, Born Free is absolutely not a reputable source of information. They are a radical animal rights organization that is notorious for ignoring actual science and data, in exchange for emotion-based drivel. The term "trophy hunting" has been made up by anti-hunters in an attempt to make hunters look like blood-thirsty villains who shoot endangered species, chop off their heads, and leave the bodies to rot. The truth is.....I have been an avid hunter my entire life, I do not act this way, nor have I ever met another hunter that acts this way. Virtually all hunters around the globe are responsible, ethical people who harvest the meat from their kills and also take "keepsakes" from the hunt (such as antlers, horns, hides, etc....) This is not because they are barbarians, it is a way of commemorating the hunt, and showing respect to the animal by placing a part of it on display to serve as a memory (much like a photograph).
Hunting, when done responsibly and regulated properly, is absolutely an effective means of conservation. In the United States, hunters directly contribute approximately $1.6 Billion every year through license fees, permits, and taxes on hunting supplies (look up the Pittman-Robertson Act). Wildlife is a renewable resource that needs to be carefully managed, particularly with human populations growing in many parts of our world. Part of this management often times involves hunting as a tool. The sustainable-use conservation model has been used successfully on every continent with large mammals.
If you would like a reliable, credible source about why hunting is a valuable conservation tool, I recommend researching the topic more. One of the best sources for information is the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature)....their web link is here:
https://www.iucn.org/
Another good source is the USFWS (U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service).....their web link is here:
https://www.fws.gov/
Two other reputable organizations that support hunting as a conservation tool (as supported by scientific data) are CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) and the WWF (World Wildlife Fund).
Like I said in the beginning, I respect everyone's opinion. Hunting is certainly not an activity that everyone wants to participate in.....but it is very important that people understand the facts about hunting and its contribution to conservation, not just the emotional advertisements put out by animal rights activists.
