The trophy hunters make the Orwellian argument that they must kill animals in order to save them, that they are sprinkling dollars on local economies with their “pay-to-slay” activities. But what is the value of living Cecils–whether they are lions, elephants, rhinos, leopards or any of the other animals sought by big-game hunters–as compared to the value of dead specimens? An American dentist paid $55,000 to shoot Cecil, but it’s estimated that a living Cecil would have generated nearly $1 million in tourism over his lifetime.

Wildlife-based eco-tourism, in fact, is a big industry in Africa and dwarfs trophy hunting in its economic impact. According to a report by the World Tourism Organization, wildlife-based eco-tourism generated an estimated $34.2 billion in tourist receipts in 2013. In Zimbabwe, tourism provides 6.4 percent of the Gross Domestic Product of the country.

Source: Eco-Tourism Worth More to African Economies than Trophy Hunting | Michael Markarian