Editing Hunting (section)

===Species===
====Arabian oryx====
The [[Arabian oryx]], a species of large [[antelope]], once inhabited much of the desert areas of the Middle East.<ref name="Talbot, Lee Merriam 1960 pp. 84"/> Native [[Bedouin]] tribes had long hunted the oryx using camels and arrows. Oil exploration made the habitat increasingly accessible, and the species' striking appearance made it (along with the closely related scimitar-horned oryx and addax) a popular quarry for sport hunters, including foreign executives of oil companies.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Price |first=Mark R. Stanley |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yr7vofq7SPgC&pg=PR13 |title=Animal Reintroductions: The Arabian Oryx in Oman |date=1989-09-14 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-34411-1 |pages=39–40 |language=en}}</ref> The use of automobiles and high-powered rifles destroyed their only advantage: speed, and they became extinct in the wild exclusively due to sport hunting in 1972. The scimitar-horned oryx followed suit, while the addax became critically endangered.<ref>The Fundamentals of Conservation Biology, Malcolm L Hunter, Jr., James P. Gibbs</ref> However, the Arabian oryx has now made a comeback and been upgraded from "extinct in the wild" to "vulnerable" due to conservation efforts like captive breeding.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/extinction-countdown/2011/06/17/arabian-oryx-makes-history-as-first-species-to-be-upgraded-from-extinct-in-the-wild-to-vulnerable/|title=Arabian Oryx Makes History as First Species to Be Upgraded from "Extinct in the Wild" to "Vulnerable"|first=John|last=Platt|website=scientificamerican.com|access-date=13 July 2014|archive-date=14 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714213055/http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/extinction-countdown/2011/06/17/arabian-oryx-makes-history-as-first-species-to-be-upgraded-from-extinct-in-the-wild-to-vulnerable/|url-status=live}}</ref>

====Markhor====
The [[markhor]] is an endangered species of wild goat which inhabits the mountains of [[Central Asia]] and [[Pakistan]]. The [[colonization]] of these regions by [[British Empire|Britain]] gave British sport hunters access to the species, and they were hunted heavily, almost to the point of extinction. Only their willingness to breed in captivity and the inhospitability of their mountainous habitat prevented this. Despite these factors, the markhor is still endangered.<ref>Endangered Wildlife and Plants of the World, 2001</ref>

====American bison====
The [[American bison]] is a large [[bovid]] which inhabited much of western North America prior to the 1800s, living on the prairies in large herds. However, the vast herds of bison attracted market hunters, who killed dozens of bison for their hides only, leaving the rest to rot. Thousands of these hunters quickly eliminated the bison herds, bringing the population from several million in the early 1800s to a few hundred by the 1880s. Conservation efforts have allowed the population to increase, but the bison remains near-threatened due to lack of habitat.<ref>American Bison: A Natural History, By Dale F. Lott, Harry W. Greene, ebrary, Inc, Contributor Harry W. Greene, Edition: illustrated, Published by University of California Press, 2003  {{ISBN|978-0-520-24062-9}}</ref>

====White rhino====
The ''Journal of International Wildlife Law and Policy'' cites that the legalization of white rhinoceros hunting in South Africa motivated private landowners to reintroduce the species onto their lands. As a result, the country saw an increase in white rhinos from fewer than one hundred individuals to more than 11,000, even while a limited number were killed as trophies.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://conservationmagazine.org/2014/01/can-trophy-hunting-reconciled-conservation/|title=Can trophy hunting actually help conservation?|publisher=Conservation|date=15 January 2014|website=conservationmagazine.org|access-date=12 July 2014|archive-date=15 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140715000632/http://conservationmagazine.org/2014/01/can-trophy-hunting-reconciled-conservation/|url-status=live}}</ref>

However, the illegal hunting of rhinoceros for their horns is highly damaging to the population and is currently growing globally,<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8388606.stm 'Global surge' in rhino poaching ] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129140324/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8388606.stm |date=29 November 2014 }} [[BBC]]. 1 December 2009</ref> with 1004 being killed in South Africa alone according to the most recent estimate.<ref>{{cite news|title=946 rhino killed in 2013|url=http://ewn.co.za/2013/12/19/946-Rhino-poached-in-2013|access-date=25 December 2013|newspaper=Eyewitness News|date=19 December 2013|archive-date=22 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131222042921/http://ewn.co.za/2013/12/19/946-Rhino-poached-in-2013|url-status=live}}</ref> The White Rhino (along with the other 4 rhino species) are poached due to beliefs that the Rhinos horns can be used to cure Cancer, Arthritis and other diseases and illnesses, even though they are scientifically proven wrong.<ref>{{cite web |website=[[International Anti-Poaching Foundation]] (IAPF) |url=https://www.iapf.org/news/rhinos |title=Why Are Rhinos Poached? |date=4 February 2021 |access-date=5 January 2022 |archive-date=4 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220304190618/https://www.iapf.org/news/rhinos |url-status=live }}</ref>

====Other species====
According to [[Richard Conniff]], Namibia is home to 1,750 of the roughly 5,000 black rhinos surviving in the wild because it allows trophy hunting of various species. Namibia's mountain zebra population has increased to 27,000 from 1,000 in 1982. Elephants, which "are gunned down elsewhere for their ivory", have gone to 20,000 from 15,000 in 1995. Lions, which were on the brink of extinction "from Senegal to Kenya", are increasing in Namibia.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/21/opinion/a-trophy-hunt-thats-good-for-rhinos.html|title=Opinion – A Trophy Hunt That's Good for Rhinos|date=2014-01-20|newspaper=The New York Times|last1=Conniff|first1=Richard|access-date=27 February 2017|archive-date=9 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170709075518/https://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/21/opinion/a-trophy-hunt-thats-good-for-rhinos.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

In contrast, Botswana in 2012 banned trophy hunting following a precipitous wildlife decline.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-20544251|title=Botswana to ban wildlife hunting|date=29 November 2012|work=BBC News|access-date=21 July 2018|archive-date=19 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180919171716/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-20544251|url-status=live}}</ref> The numbers of antelope plummeted across Botswana, with a resultant decline in predator numbers, while elephant numbers remained stable and hippopotamus numbers rose. According to the government of Botswana, trophy hunting is at least partly to blame for this, but many other factors, such as poaching, drought and habitat loss are also to blame.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2011/jun/18/botswana-natural-wonder-brink-of-catastrophe|title=Drought and poachers take Botswana's natural wonder to brink of catastrophe|first=David|last=Smith|date=17 June 2011|website=The Guardian|access-date=27 January 2019|archive-date=27 February 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190227100649/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2011/jun/18/botswana-natural-wonder-brink-of-catastrophe|url-status=live}}</ref> Uganda recently did the same, arguing that "the share of benefits of sport hunting were lopsided and unlikely to deter poaching or improve [Uganda's] capacity to manage the wildlife reserves."<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2010/11/23/uganda_ends_sport_hunting/ |title=National Geographic Society Newsroom |access-date=16 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140313012029/http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2010/11/23/uganda_ends_sport_hunting/ |archive-date=13 March 2014 |url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2020, Botswana reopened trophy hunting on public lands.<ref>{{cite web|title=Botswana to Kickstart Elephant Hunting With Auction This Week|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-02-03/botswana-to-kickstart-elephant-hunting-with-auction-this-week|date=3 February 2020|publisher=Bloomberg|access-date=11 November 2020|archive-date=26 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201126210517/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-02-03/botswana-to-kickstart-elephant-hunting-with-auction-this-week|url-status=live}}</ref>