With an American president whose two oldest sons are big-game hunters, and whose administration recently eliminated a U.S. ban on imported elephant-parts trophies, now seems like a good time to talk about the value of hunting. Are there good reasons to do it? Is there something wrong with hunting as a sport? Should conservationists exploit certain animals economically in order to discourage poaching? These questions are addressed in filmmakers Shaul Schwarz and Christina Clusiau’s probing, sometimes disquieting documentary Trophy. Viewers meet diehard hunters, including a father accompanying his son on the latter’s first kill of a buck, and several wealthy elites willing to part with hundreds of thousands of dollars to bag big game. Also interviewed is a lion breeder whose captive animals are not part of a sanctuary, but instead are raised to be shot by weekend warriors. On the other side of the divide about hunting are seasoned protectors who sometimes take radical steps, such as sawing the horns off tranquilized rhinos to lessen incentives for their slaughter. Trophy doesn’t take an absolutist stand one way or another, proposing that there may be good reasons to hunt at times (predator control) and save animals at others (to avoid extinction). Some of what is seen here will be disturbing to animal lovers, although much else will be heartening. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (T. Keogh)
Trophy
(2017) 110 min. DVD: $59.95 ($350 w/PPR from edu.passionriver.com). Passion River (avail. from most distributors). Closed captioned. Volume 33, Issue 3
Trophy
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