Western armchair animal lovers may rail against the ethics of trophy hunting in Africa but it brings considerable income to poor countries. A 2006 scientific paper estimated that “trophy hunting generates gross revenues of at least $201 million per year in sub-Saharan Africa: from a minimum of 18,500 clients”. It also found that “a minimum of 1,394,000 km2 is used for trophy hunting” and concluded that it creates “economic incentives for conservation over vast areas”.

Legalised, controlled hunting can be a lifeline for some of Africa’s most endangered species – and South Africa is leading the way. While most of Africa’s black rhino population is under assault from poaching, with a decline from some 500,000 animals at the turn of the 20th century to just over 5,000 today, the white rhino population has grown from 50 in the 1900s to over 20,000 today. And most of those are in South Africa, where you can legally hunt them.

Many hunters think other African countries should follow South Africa’s example and encourage well-organised, controlled culling of species, so giving them a value to those that live with them. They argue that a rhino, like anything else, will eventually die of old age, so why not allow an elderly beast to be shot and charge fees that can be used to fund effective anti-poaching measures?