Season 3: Episode 12: The Truth About Regulated Hunting in Africa, Conservation & the Cecil Effect

In this episode of Connecting with Conservation, hosts Jon Gassett of the Wildlife Management Institute and Jim Curcuruto of the Outdoor Stewards of Conservation Foundation welcome Sue Tidwell, award-winning author of Cries of the Savanna. Sue came to Africa not as a hunter but as a skeptic — a Western Pennsylvania deer hunting family background gave her an understanding of the North American model, but hunting lions, leopards, and zebras felt entirely different. What she discovered on the ground in Tanzania changed everything. Through her friendship with Lillian, a female government-assigned game scout, and her immersion in the daily realities of remote African communities living alongside dangerous wildlife, Sue came to understand that regulated hunting is not just compatible with conservation — in many areas it is the only thing making conservation economically viable. Her debut book, honored with a Reader's Favorite Gold Medal, the Professional Outdoor Media Association's Pinnacle Award, and The Wildlife Society's Conservation Education Award, tells that story through adventure, humor, and hard-won perspective.   The conversation tackles some of the most contentious issues surrounding African hunting head-on including the photo tourism versus hunting debate, the bastardization of the phrase 'regulated hunting' following the Cecil the Lion controversy of 2015, and the devastating consequences that hunting bans have had on lion habitat, anti-poaching capacity, and local communities across Tanzania and beyond. Sue shares a deeply troubling case study involving the International Fund for Animal Welfare's elephant relocation project in Kasanga, which resulted in human deaths, destroyed crops, and shattered livelihoods, while the organization declared it a success and continued fundraising on it. Jon and Sue agree that well-meaning donors need to research conservation organizations carefully, comparing mission spending ratios before writing checks to groups that may be using donations to fund lawsuits against the very wildlife agencies that manage the animals they claim to protect. The episode closes with a practical discussion of how regulated hunting keeps money, meat, and anti-poaching presence in remote African communities — and why removing hunters from the equation exposes those landscapes to the exact threats conservation donors say they oppose.   For more information: Wildlife Management Institute: https://wildlifemanagement.institute Outdoor Stewards of Conservation: https://conservationstewards.org Sue Tidwell — Author of Cries of the Savanna: https://www.suetidwell.com Cries of the Savanna is available on Amazon, Spotify, and Carbon TV (free audio by chapter).   #wildlifeconservation #AfricanWildlife #RegulatedHunting #CriesOfTheSavanna #SueTidwell #HuntingInAfrica #ConservationAfrica #antipoaching #NorthAmericanConservationModel #huntersforconservation #wildlifemanagement #SustainableUse #PhotoTourism #africasafari #humanwildlifeconflict #outdoorpodcast #conservationstorytelling #huntingcommunity #WildlifeAdvocacy #CecilTheLion #ethicalhunting #conservationfunding #wildlifemanagementinstitute #ConservationStewards #AfricaConservation