Man is part of nature. Within nature man plays an important role as the only species capable of ethically motivated responsibility. Hunters have accepted that responsibility and subjected themselves to a framework of laws and informal guidelines. Reflective and experienced hunters will go beyond by applying self-imposed limitations. That does not rule out unethical and illegal behaviour of certain individuals, but it seems necessary to point out that people who knowingly act against written and unwritten laws occur in every group of society.

The culture of trophy hunting requires the hunter to be conscious of animal welfare and the well-being of the biosphere. Animal welfare does not only include effective and humane killing, but also the commitment to the maintenance of healthy animal populations within vibrant eco-systems. The later is impossible without adaptive management of animal populations within their finite habitats. Sustainability regarding the off-take and sustainability regarding the genetic vibrancy are of basic importance. Preservation – bringing endangered species back from the brink, and conservation – understood as adaptive management of biodiversity, are two fields, which are inseparably connected with hunting. The commitment of hunters to preservation and conservation of soil, plants and animals actually determines the role of hunting. Another aspect is the economic contribution of safari hunting to the development of African communities, national economies and the financing of conservation. Everything else, like tasty venison, hunting traditions and customs down the line to the open pleasure in hunting, etc. is secondary in importance for the non-hunting public, albeit of varying significance for the individual hunter.

The future of hunting in society is determined by obtaining the trust of the non-hunting citizens. They must be able to recognize that the hunters – as co-guardians of the world’s natural heritage - act within the common objectives of biodiversity conservation. Transparency is a key word. The core competence of the hunter-conservationist, namely the skilful and ethical pursuit of game and his conservation knowledge should be clearly visible. Hunting means and must mean far more than killing of animals. The hunter needs to have the self understanding of an all-encompassing ecological approach, whether in black rhino preservation, ivory trade, protection of Indian tigers and the wild sheep of Asia or combating the threats of desertification and soil erosion, etc.

Scientists from the many branches exploring nature’s web of life have a professional interest, deep knowledge and a wide exposure in biodiversity conservation. The grand majority of society may also show an interest, but this rarely expands beyond the horizon of coffee-table books, nature television series, and occasional letters to media editors complaining about "insensitive" hunters. It actually has become fashionable to be "green", "vegan" or otherwise profess sensitivity for the environment. Many of these self-styled environmentalists, especially those residing in the urban centres, are simply nature-lovers, since an occasional walk through the bush, a membership in a conservation or animal rights organisation, a visit to a luxury game lodge, or the viewing of TV documentaries does neither constitute what makes a true environmentalist, nor does it give the essential knowledge to form an opinion! Instead, emotions based on half-truths and sensationalist reports are allowed to take over.

Most Africans are anyhow too occupied to scramble for daily survival. For those living in poverty, biodiversity conservation is far from the minds – unless biodiversity conservation produces tangible benefits, or infringes on their lifestyles, respectively damages their assets.

The hunters certainly have what one could call "selfish objectives" – the perpetuation of game to hunt! This statement is indeed true. "Selfishness" however is a genetic condition of all life on earth! The hunters’ selfish objectives led to their core competence in conservation matters, although hunters are usually not professionally involved in wildlife conservation. They do it, because they love to hunt! Their knowledge and actions serve the human community and the entire biosphere. It follows that a hunter - in order to be able to pursue his quarry - has to ensure healthy eco-systems; only within vibrant habitats will there be game to hunt since "habitat can exist without animals, but animals cannot exist without habitat!"