The trend of using tranquilliser guns to dart-and-release trophy wildlife has drawn attention to the verifiable worth of Africa’s controversial hunting industry. Big-spending hunters come from Europe (particularly France and Spain), and the US, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Their time spent at a game ranch can be lucrative for owners. And with the negative publicity so often cast on canned hunting, "green" hunting may seem like a responsible alternative. Darting of trophy species ordinarily occurs under the strict supervision of wildlife vets, who designate for darting only those animals in need of veterinary care, or who are to be relocated. Green hunting is marketed as a thrill for hunters without the kill that usually comes with it. It has been under fire for the dangers of suffocation, drowning, heart attack, hypertension, heatstroke, or even predation that it can pose for targeted animals, which may run for up to four minutes before col...

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