Outcomes of Trophy Hunting for People and Nature in Sub‐Saharan Africa

ABSTRACT Trophy hunting is one of the most contested conservation activities. There is mounting pressure in the Global North for policy changes that would dramatically curtail the activity across Africa. We synthesized research from 89 peer‐reviewed papers that assessed the impact of trophy hunting on nature and local people across 13 sub‐Saharan African countries. Almost two‐thirds of hunting outcomes were positive, 26% were negative, and 9% were ambiguous. Conservation outcomes for hunted species abundance were more often positive than negative, while impacts on species demographics and vital rates were more variable. Looking beyond hunted species to their habitats, hunting predominantly increased the extent of land conserved. We now need to understand the ecological integrity of these landscapes. Human well‐being outcomes were predominantly positive for income, employment, and food security, while non‐economic dimensions of well‐being were insufficiently studied. Importantly, outcomes were more often positive where land and wildlife use rights, responsibilities and benefits accrued to local landholders or communities. While we cannot assume causality, these insights are aligned with theory that devolving wildlife use rights and revenue control to local people promotes equitable conservation. Policymakers should consider the variation in hunting outcomes across contexts, rather than defaulting to blanket trophy hunting bans.