Shane has a couple of good articles about Trophy Hunters and how the term hurts us and should be dropped to HUNTERS only.

What is Trophy Hunting? By Shane Mahoney


http://conservationvisions.com/sites...hy_hunting.pdf

“Can we really define trophy hunting in such distinct terms that it truly stands apart from other forms of hunting, or are all of us, to one extent or another, pursuing the same thing when we hunt (or fish)? Indeed, has our use of the term “trophy” simply served to confuse both hunters and non-hunters alike about this issue?

Anyone who has hunted knows that hunting is more than lethal shopping. It is the pursuit of something that can only be gained in the wild chase, something far less tangible than the muscle and blood of the animal. Even for indigenous peoples, hunting has always meant more than the procurement of food, regardless of how critical this was to their survival.

Regardless of whether food is the primary or secondary motivation, hunting will always be about more than meat.

Hunters are not playing a sport and they only compete with themselves. These so-called trophies are really tokens of remembrance: the mount or horns or tusks are the touchstones by which the hunter returns to the experience of the hunt and through which they can communicate their experience to others. In this regard, they are no more “trophies” than a wedding picture or the bronzed boots of a child.

It is because of this desire for remembrance that so many hunters collect some tangible evidence of their days afield and particularly of hunts that end with the death of an animal. Just like hunters who keep some turkey feathers, or the rack of a spike bull, or the tooth or pelt of an animal they have killed, or for that matter, those who take photographs of their hunts- so many of us are collectors of trophies from our hunts.”


Trophy Hunting- Part 2 By: Shane Mahoney


http://conservationvisions.com/sites..._fall_2013.pdf

“The term TROPHY is only a convenience, its widespread use serves to undermine support for hunting by encouraging misconceptions about what motivates the hunter and by appearing to differentiate various forms of hunting, and therefore inevitably leading to the notion that some forms are more, or less, acceptable. We see clear evidence for this in every poll taken: trophy hunting is the least supported, behind so-called sport/recreational and meat hunting. Those opposed to hunting know this very well and exploit it. Those who do not understand hunting are easy converts to this position because such hunting is viewed as frivolous, wasteful and self-aggrandizing.

So let’s not suggest the terminology does not matter. It does, and we should drop it from our vocabulary. Why give the opponents of hunting an easy target that is merely a term of convenience? By focusing on one aspect of the hunting experience- taking of a memento or remembrance of the hunt- we fail to recognize that all hunters have always celebrated their success and wished to remember the experience.

Hunting has many gradations and varieties and, in the end, is a highly personal experience. What today must always separate the true from the false in hunting is fair chase and legality- not whether the tusks of a fallen elephant are taken home, or whether we hunt in a foreign country, pay a lot to do so, hunt relatively rare or unique beasts, or personally consume the meat.

There is not one of the true among us who does not hunt for the experience, and not one among these who does not wish to remember it. In this, there is no distinction among hunters. We should not dare to create one.”