It is consumptive use which attracts vocal and passionate opposition. There seem to be two main concerns about consumptive use as a conservation tool. The first is that it commonly involves the killing of animals which many find morally repulsive. This is an entirely legitimate view, though one that finds little resonance or relevance in rural Africa. The second concern is that the commercial harvesting of wild species has often proved a disaster and in view of this, the argument goes, it is clearly not possible for the commercial use of wildlife to be controlled.
Markets inevitably lead to over-exploitation and international markets are the worst of all.
To add credence to this claim, a favourite example is the ivory trade which is said to have led to the decimation of elephant herds before it was banned in 1989. Much of the ivory that entered trade was from the rape of elephant herds, but by the same token the only countries which did not see their elephants decimated were the ones with well controlled, legal ivory trade and good elephant management. In other words, those that practised consumptive use. The truth is complex and it is unhelpful to condemn trade as inevitably evil. Where the real threat to conservation is the loss of habitat, the degradation of land and burgeoning human populations, the solution hinges on the sustainable, consumptive use of wildlife.