FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Foundation warns proposed restrictions could harm conservation funding, rural economies and communities that depend on wildlife
The Origins Foundation has formally appealed to French President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu to reconsider France’s proposed prohibition on the importation of legally obtained hunting trophies, warning that the consequences extend far beyond hunters.
In a letter sent to French leadership, The Origins Foundation argues that the issue is not simply about protecting hunters’ rights. It is about protecting an economic model that, in many parts of the world, creates value for wildlife while funding conservation, employment and rural development.
“This debate is often reduced to whether someone personally supports or opposes hunting,” said Dr. Robert Kröger, founder and executive director of The Origins Foundation. “The larger question is what happens to wildlife, habitat and rural communities when the economic system supporting them disappears. Regulated hunting provides value and incentives for wildlife to exist. Without that value, wildlife has to compete with agriculture, livestock and other forms of land use.”
The Foundation points to conservation programs around the world where revenue associated with regulated hunting supports anti-poaching patrols, wildlife research, habitat protection, schools, clean water, employment and food security.
Through its 100 Proofs initiative, The Origins Foundation documents measurable examples of those outcomes, including the relocation of 16 cheetahs from South Africa to Mozambique, approximately 34,000 kilograms of game meat distributed annually to communities in Zimbabwe, school improvements in South Africa and the retraining of more than 2,200 former poachers in Zambia.
The Origins Foundation is not alone in raising concerns. Hunting, conservation and sustainable-use organizations around the world are engaging policymakers over the proposed restrictions. The Foundation stands in solidarity with those organizations and the rural communities, conservation practitioners, landowners and wildlife managers whose livelihoods and programs could be affected.
“This is bigger than hunters’ rights,” Kröger said. “It is about whether conservation policy recognizes the economic realities of keeping wildlife on the landscape.”
The Origins Foundation is urging France to retain a science-based, species-by-species approach to wildlife imports rather than imposing a blanket prohibition and has offered to make its staff and international field partners available to French officials.
About The Origins Foundation
The Origins Foundation is a global nonprofit organization dedicated to telling the truth about hunting, wildlife conservation and the sustainable use of natural resources through documentary filmmaking, journalism, education and on-the-ground conservation initiatives.
To read our letter to the French delegation, see below: