Tourism and trophy hunting ethics 2.0: The role of cyberactivism (2017-2020)

In the aftermath of the 2015 shooting of Cecil the Zimbabwean lion, which drew widespread condemnation, trophy hunting tourism and its ethical ambiguities have re-entered the public consciousness, in Australia and globally. Indeed, Australian tourists have been implicated in the controversial practice, and Australia has recently had to reconsider its laws in this respect. At the same time, anti-trophy hunting cyberactivist movements have gained momentum in social media, taking a stance against the killing of animals by tourists for trophies. What remains in doubt, however, is whether these movements have any impact on relevant tourism policies/practices at hunting destinations. This is the fundamental question which this project tackles.