This was a time when buffalo, elk…and other species were nearly lost.… The true conservationists (hunters) stepped up to the plate. Jon Wemple, president of Safari Club International’s Western Montana Chapter, clearly subscribes to this narrative of hunting and wildlife conservation in the United States: “I am reminded of the importance of preserving our hunting heritage…my grandfathers’ generation left it better for my father than he had inherited at the turn of the century. In the United States, trophy hunting organizations, such as Safari Club International and Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife, claim to promote and defend two allegedly deeply rooted Western traditions: The popular practice of “common people” hunting, and the role that hunters and hunting organizations have played in protecting wilderness and wildlife.

My focus here will be on some of the organizations that promote this latter practice, trophy hunting. 2 Still another motive for killing wildlife is to enhance one’s status by appropriating the body parts of dead animals for display as trophies, ostensible evidence of hunting skills. 1 Others consider directly harvesting animal products from wildlife a means of rejecting factory farming and consumerist values. Alexander Simon is an associate professor of sociology at Utah Valley University.Ĭontemporary North Americans hunt wildlife for a variety of reasons, whether to attain game meat, spend time with family and friends, or take part in a form of outdoor recreation.

Rocky mountain trophy hunter 2003