The best thing the WWF could do to stop poaching is to support legal hunting and all the revenue that comes with it for everyone, including the locals, but that they will never do.
Bingo!
You are correct. Legal hunting would mean the animals would be valuable to the villagers, instead of pests that only destroy their crops.
Of course, that would mean the government would have to encourage the villagers to have a say in management, and share in the profits.