From David Carter
William Travers, in advocating an end to the wildlife trophy hunting industry, continues the tradition of overbearing Westerners forcing their religions and morals on the people of Africa (8 August, p 22).
I am embarrassed that the Australian government has the same attitude regarding lions. This year it clamped down on trade in lion trophies – a position at odds with that of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.
We should respect the governments of African nations as the rightful managers of their wildlife. And we should support, rather than undermine, CITES, the treaty that for decades has effectively regulated world trade in wildlife according to objective ecological principles.
Evatt, ACT, Australia
