By Helen Briggs BBC News
29 November 2017
Hunting animals that stand out from the crowd
because of their impressive horns or lustrous manes could lead to extinction,
according to a study.
Research predicts that removing even 5% of
high-quality males risks wiping out the entire population, for species under
stress in a changing world.
Animals prized by trophy hunters for their
horns, antlers or tusks usually have the best genes, say UK scientists.
Removing these could push a species over the
edge, they warn.
There is intense global debate over trophy
hunting. Some argue that it should be banned or restricted, while others say it
can provide valuable revenue for conservation.
Dr Rob Knell of Queen Mary, University of
London, who led the research, said the assumption that so-called selective
harvesting is not especially threatening to a population of animals does not
take into account recent work.
''Because these high-quality males with large
secondary sexual traits tend to father a high proportion of the offspring,
their 'good genes' can spread rapidly, so populations of strongly sexually
selected animals can adapt quickly to new environments,'' he said.
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