UPDATE – Target: Big Game Hunting

January, 2016

Late last year, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) added the African lion to the endangered species list, a move that is likely to reduce the number of Americans hunting big game trophies in Africa.  The move was cheered by activists still outraged by the death of Cecil, the research lion killed last summer in Zimbabwe. If you completed the “Target:  Big Game Hunting” hot topic last fall, you should be wondering if the listing is really anything to cheer about.

For an update on the likely effect of the FWS decision on both trophy hunting and conservation, see “After Cecil Uproar, the US Lists Lions as Endangered – But Will It Help the King of Beasts?” a commentary in National Review by Shawn Reagan at PERC, the Property and Environment Research Center, in Bozeman, MT.

October, 2015

What’s best isn’t immediately apparent. Part of the problem, it turns out (as it so often does), is that what seems a clear and straightforward story is really a complex web of many stories.  That makes figuring out the appropriate response to Cecil’s death harder than just acting out our feelings. The issues range from the practical questions of determining the facts and applying the law, to the higher order questions about ethics and goals, and how to craft policies that will promote the outcomes we desire.

	Target: Big Game Hunting (Students)  http://bit.ly/1OjdD6K Students click the “Study” button.  Narration at the top of each screen guides them with thought questions and reminders. For direct access to the collection, give students the url above or embed it in your teacher website.
	Target:  Big Game Hunting  (Teacher Guide)    http://bit.ly/1OWxFFQ Narration in this collection is teacher-focused. Includes answer guides and supplemental resources.

The FTE thanks Dianna Miller, Lead Teacher – AP Social Studies,  Florida Virtual School in Orlando, Florida, for the idea, design, and original draft of this Hot Topic.  Ms. Miller’s lesson was edited, with permission, by FTE staff and any errors are theirs, not hers.  (Questions, please contact kratte@fte.org.)