DSC Executive Director Ben Carter offered his support for the auction to the Dallas Observer when he said, “People are talking about ‘Why don’t you do a photo safari?’ or whatever. Well, that’s great, but people don’t pay for that.” But the truth is that non-hunting ecotourism, such as the photo safaris that Carter scoffs at, provide much greater revenue to Africa, which is a real incentive to keep rhino populations plentiful. Indeed, ecotourism has become such an important part of some African countries’ economies that governments are taking steps against hunting in order to protect this flourishing industry. For example, last year, Botswana announced a ban on hunting permits, citing its booming ecotourism sector—which now makes up 12% of national GDP—as the primary factor. Compare this to trophy hunting, which as a portion of any national economy never accounts for more than 0.27 percent of the GDP. And while a one-time killing of a rare rhino will bring in instant cash, the result is that there is now one less rhino for all other future tourists to see, so the possible revenue generated by this animal ends right there with one vainglorious hunt for a single wealthy American. The truth isn’t complicated: People do pay to see wild animals, without feeling the need to hack off their body parts for a private viewing in their living rooms back in Texas. In fact, a recent Synovate poll found that 70.4 percent of Americans would pay to view another disappearing species—lions—on an African safari, while only 6.6 percent of Americans would pay to hunt them. The auction to kill one of the last wild black rhinos is just another example of the warped logic that’s exploiting our wildlife “for their own good.” It is pushing a species like the iconic black rhino closer to extinction by telling the world that rhinos are worth more to us rare and dead than healthy and flourishing in the wild where they belong.