Hunting tourism generates hundreds of millions of dollars annually in Africa and other regions, with welfare implications that depend heavily on the method, species, and management standards of individual operations.
Hunting tourism welfare is contested along multiple dimensions simultaneously: the welfare of individual hunted animals, the welfare of wildlife populations that benefit or suffer from hunting revenue and management, and the welfare of non-target wildlife affected by hunting operations. At the individual level, poorly executed shots cause prolonged suffering, and wounding rates vary enormously by method, experience, and species. At the population level, well-managed sport hunting with genuine conservation revenue can support wildlife welfare by funding anti-poaching, habitat protection, and human-wildlife conflict mitigation. Canned hunting is an unambiguous welfare failure that should be distinguished clearly from well-managed trophy hunting.