The Wildlife Game
Thismethodofpoliticalandsocialactivity
is ubiquitous.It is bestsummedupas follows:
“Propaganda is the deliberate, systematic
attempt to shape perceptions, manipulate
cognitions,and direct behaviourto achieve
a responsethatfurthersthedesiredintentof
thepropagandist.”
Therearemanyestablishedtechniquesused
inpropaganda thatareparticularlyrelevant
to trophy hunting and conservation. They
were identified by the American Institute
for Propaganda Analysis (IPA) in the late
1930s in response to theglobal growth in
theuseofpropagandaintherun-uptothe
SecondWorldWar,includingNazipolitical
andhatepropaganda,andSpanishcivilwar
propagandafromallsides.
A key method described by the IPA is
Card-Stacking, whichinvolvestheselection
anduseoffactsorfalsehoods,illustrationsor
distractions,andlogicalorillogicalstatements
togivethebestortheworstpossiblecasefor
anidea,programme,person,orproduct.
- Factsorfalsehoods:inpropaganda,the
useoftruthorlieis governedonlybyits
credibility.If youarenotfamiliarwiththe
subject,youmightnotbeabletodetect
a lie; - Illustrationsordistractions;and
- Logicalorillogicalstatements.
AnothertechniqueisCherry-Picking. The
propagandistsuseonlythosefactsanddetails
that support their argument. The selected
reasonsareused tosupport theconclusion.
Youwillgetmisledif youdonotnoticethat
importantdetailsaremissing.Theworstpart
ofcard-stackingis thatit canbeverydifficult
todetectif youarenot really knowledgeable
aboutthesubject.
PropagandaandConservation
The broad area of conservation and the
competing approaches toit – especially the
roleofconsumptive,sustainable-usestrategies
that benefit local communities - have for
decadesbeen passionatelyand often bitterly
fought over. Conservation policy trench
warfare developed particularly during the
debatesofthelate1970sand1980s(notably
betweenEastAfrica-basedconservationistslike
IainDouglas-HamiltonandsouthernAfrican
oneslikeRowanMartin,butwiththesupport
oftheveteranEastAfricangamewardenIan
Parkerfor the pro-trade side)over elephant
numbers and whether a legal ivory trade
helpedorhinderedconservation.
Intherun-upto theCITES(Conventionon
InternationalTradeinEndangeredSpeciesof
WildFaunaandFlora)conferencein1989,a
bitterpropagandabattlewasfoughtto influence
public opinion in CITES member states to get
ROYAL KAROO SAFARIS
REFINED ADVENTURE
F AIR CHASE HUN TIN G
theirgovernmentstovoteina particularway.
Atthismeetingtheinternationaltradeinivory
was banned, against the wishes ofsouthern
African elephant range states and of many
conservationistswhobelievedregulated,legal,
sustainableuseof ivorywasa meansof funding
elephantconservationandgivinglocalpeople
incentivestotoleratedangerouswildlife,
The American-based African Wildlife
Foundation (AWF) had been in favour of
sustainable-usestrategiesanddidnotoppose
a legal ivory trade. But by 1989, AWF
(followed soon by the WorldwideFund for
Nature,WWF)had movedto a positionof
total oppositionto the ivorytrade andwas
seekingtoinfluenceAmerican,British,other
Europeanandkey African statestovote for
a ban. A hard-hitting ivory-ban campaign
wasmoreeffectiveatraisingdonationsthana
nuancedone.Luridpostersofelephantswith
theirfaceshackedoffwereused,alongwiththe
sloganAfricanChainsawMassacre.
Thissetthetoneforfuturedebates,advocacy
campaignsandpropaganda,usingallthemeans
availableanddeployingmethodslikecherry-
picking, card-stacking and name-calling to
create sensation, emotionand influence the
opinions of a public not well-versed inthe
serious and complex issues of conservation.Thecurrentdebateovertrophyhunting-
gaining paceas another CITES conference
loomsand alsoin thelong-lasting wakeof
theoverblownpressfeedingfrenzyoverthe
killing ofa lion called Cecilnear Hwange
NationalParkinZimbabwein 2015 - is again
infullspate,withattemptstogettheBritish
governmenttobanimportsoftrophiesfrom
huntingandtogettheBritishpublictoadopt
a stronganti-trophyhuntingposition.Such
blanketbansareseenasineffectiveandeven
counter-productive by a diverse group of
conservationscientists(mostofwhomcould
notbe calledkeenadvocatesofhunting by
anystretchoftheimagination).Anti-huntingPropaganda– extremecard-
stackinginoperation
The old male lion, named ‘Cecil’ by
researchers from the Wildlife Conservation
Research Unit of Oxford University
(WildCRU)waskilledin a huntingconcession
(whichlackeda lionpermitforthatyear)on
theboundaryofHwange.Theincidentled
toanextremecampaignofvilificationofthe
hunterandthehuntingindustryingeneral,
leadingtoanimalrightsadvocacygroupssuch
as Born Free, Lion Aid and Conservation
Action Trust pushing for the United States,