It's only man (trophy hunters and poachers) who weakens the species by taking the prime animals. Leopards and other big cats are rapidly going extinct more because man has destroyed their breeding and hunting grounds than because of their competition for prey.
While that may be TOTALLY true where poachers (criminals) are concerned, trophy hunters are part of the selection process you've described where the focus is not on the prime vibrant member of the herd, but rather on the "grey-beard" past his prime reproductive years (with the trophy rack or big mane, etc.). When someone hunts at that level, the substantial fees paid go DIRECTLY into the same conservation effort which you support.
Your view on the impact of shrinking habitat due to man's cultural expansion is exactly on target, however, please keep in mind that habitat preservation and restoration is also one of the key areas that the hunting community has been very successful in funding and implementing.
