Since the European colonization of East Africa, big game hunting, also known as "trophy hunting", has been a highly controversial topic. In the early days of trophy hunting, dwindling numbers of some of the world's most unique and valuable wildlife were not as much of an issue as they are today. When a Minnesota trophy-hunting dentist paid $55,000 to kill a prized African lion, he unintentionally reignited the heated debate over big game hunting. Conservationists and hunters debate the impact of hunting on the economy and the environment. Legal hunting can be controlled without government intervention, and the expensive sport of trophy hunting could generate large sums of money to support conservation efforts. Environmentalists continually work to oversee Africa's rivers, forests and other natural resources in order to preserve and protect them through prudent management. In Kenya, laws against trophy hunting have helped these conservationists maintain wildlife populations. However, park rangers face an uphill battle against illegal poaching of these rare trophy animals, such as lions and elephants. In Asia, demand for ivory continues to increase, despite a long-standing ban on its international trade. Demand is so high that the Tanzanian government has developed plans to build a trade highway through the Serengeti in order to more efficiently trade goods with Asia (“The Need for Serengeti Watch”). However, the highway will also provide a faster route to the coast for ivory smugglers. The controversies surrounding the highway and its positive or negative effects on the economy, Tanzania as a whole and the Serengeti are legion. Despite the debate over its benefits and… half of the paper… and, Brian. "A wartime alliance." White Hunters: The Golden Age of African Safaris. New York: H. Holt, 1999. 167-73. Print.Lindsey, P.A., R. Alexander, L.G. Frank, A. Mathieson, and S.S. Romanach. “The potential of trophy hunting can create incentives for wildlife conservation in Africa, where alternative wildlife-based land uses may not be viable.” Animal Conservation 9.3 (2006): 283-91. Print.Lowery, N. “Revisiting the African Elephant Ivory Ban.” ICE case studies. American University, December 2007. Web. July 31, 2015.."The need for the Serengeti clock." Serengeti clock. Network. July 31, 2015..Whitman, Karyl, Anthony M. Starfield, Henley S. Quadling, and Craig Packer. “Sustainable trophy hunting of African lions.” Nature 428.6979 (2004): 175-78. Press.