Assessing the impacts of trophy-hunting restrictions on wildlife conservation in private land conservation areas: a bioeconomic analysis

This study investigates how bans/restrictions on trophy hunting affect wildlife conservation in private land conservation areas (PLCAs). We develop a bioeconomic model to examine wildlife and land utilization in a fixed-size PLCA with a land manager. We calibrate the model for the lion-hunting industry in PLCAs in South Africa. The model simulates the impact of trophy-hunting restrictions on the lion population under different management scenarios. We demonstrate that restrictions on trophy hunting would be effective if wildlife-based tourism is an alternative land use to trophy hunting. However, the restrictions on trophy hunting will negatively affect the wildlife (lion) population if alternative land use is not wildlife-based. Although wildlife-based tourism is considered a positive alternative to trophy hunting, it is more vulnerable to external shocks than trophy hunting. Our results suggest that international bans/restrictions on trophy hunting should be cautiously imposed, particularly in the context of the global pandemic, which has had a devastating effect on wildlife-based tourism.