Recreational hunting has long been a controversial issue. Is it a threat to biodiversity or can it be a tool for conservation, giving value to species and habitats that might otherwise be lost? Are the moral objections to hunting for pleasure well founded? Does recreational hunting support rural livelihoods in developing countries, or are these benefits exaggerated by proponents?

For the first time, this book addresses many of the issues that are fundamental to an understanding of the real role of recreational hunting in conservation and rural development. It examines the key issues, asks the difficult questions, and seeks to present the answers to guide policy. Where the answers are not available, it highlights gaps in our knowledge and lays out the research agenda for the next decade.

Barney Dickson has recently taken up a post with UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre. Before that he was Head of International Policy at Fauna & Flora International where he worked on a range of international conservation policy issues, including conservation and poverty reduction, sustainable use and the trade in wild species.

Jon Hutton is Director of the UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre based in Cambridge, UK. He is on the Steering Committee of IUCN’s Species Survival Commission, Chair of its Sustainable Use Specialist Group and Honorary Professor of Sustainable Resource Use with the Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology.

Bill Adams is Moran Professor of Conservation and Development. He is based in the Department of Geography at the University of Cambridge, where he has taught since 1984. His research focuses on the social dimensions of conservation in Africa and the UK. He is a Trustee of Fauna & Flora International.