ABSTRACT
This conclusion presents some closing thoughts on the key concepts discussed in the preceding chapters of this book. The book considers the processes of justification, introducing material from study areas outside trophy hunting to see how these processes operated. It discusses issue of the beaming smiles of trophy hunters posing with animals they killed. Hunting served as a social signal of inclusive fitness to a social group. The book also considers the psychological evidence that certain personality characteristics, namely the Dark Triad of Machiavellianism, non-clinical narcissism and non-clinical psychopathy, are associated with animal cruelty. The book argues that the Duchenne smiles were not necessarily natural nonverbal signs of achievement but on occasion represented hyper-ritualised displays selected specifically for posting on social media. The images convey psychological and political messages about power and dominion over all living things and about the joy of exercising that power—doing what comes naturally to men.
