Beyond the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation

The North American Wildlife Conservation Model (NAM) is the driver of a strong anthropocentricstance, which has legalized an ongoing, annual exploitation ofhundredsofmillions of wild animals, who are killedin the United Statesthrough trapping, hunting and otherlethal practices. Increasingly, the American public opposes the killing of wild animalsfor recreation, trophies and profitbut has little-if any-knowledge of the Model. The purpose of this book is to empower thepublic with knowledge about the NAM's insufficiencies and tohelpexpedite the shift fromlethal to compassionate conservation, an endeavour urgently needed particularly under thethreats of climate change, human population growth and accelerating plant and animalspecies extinctions. With a focus on trapping, this book exposes theNAM's belief in humansupremacyand its consequences for wild animals and their ecosystems, the same value that is driving the ongoing global destruction of nature and accelerating species extinction.Motivated by a deep concern for wild animals who suffer and whose lives are extinguished each year by 'sportsmen and women', this book exposes the violent treatment of wild animals inherent in governmental-promoted hunting and trapping programs, while emphasizing the importance of empathy and compassion for other animals in conservation and in our lives.