Conservation Strategy: Trophy Hunting-the African 1

Lion
Trophy hunting for big game is a controversial blood sport. Parts of an animal such as
the skin, horns or head are kept as a trophy, with the rest often used as bush meat.
Trophy hunting is being used to control predator populations (wolves in the US and lions
in Africa). Many African countries permit trophy hunting as a means of limiting lion
populations near farms while also generating funds for community development. In fact,
much of the money collected gets lost to corruption. That is why countries like Kenya
banned trophy hunting in 1977 (Smithsonian). They recognize it as a source of corruption
species eradication. Trophy hunting is a failed conservation strategy, the African lion
should be listed on the Endangered Species Act, local governments need to reserve
territories for lions, and farmers should find alternative means of protecting their
livelihood.
The African Lion population has declined by two-thirds since the 1980s. in 1980 about
76,000 lions roamed the African savannahs; today about 35,000 are still present
(Panthera). The population decline is not a direct result of trophy hunting. Habitat loss,
lack of prey and increased conflict with humans are also to blame. As humans push for
development of land and agriculture expanded into lion habitats, farmers livestock is put
in the path of lions who will always hunt the easiest prey. The result is retaliation killings
by the people who depend on livestock for their livelihood.
In response to unregulated poaching, several governments have instituted trophy
hunting as a way to control lion-human conflict. In fact, Trophy hunting has become the
favorable means for conservation. Trophy hunting is regulated by The Convention on
International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). This body is in charge of issuing
permits to governments based on the population size of a species (IFAW). In countries
that cannot afford to allocate funds for wildlife conservation, trophy hunting has been one

way to tap into those funds while also cutting costs by enticing community members to
help conserve the land areas where target animals reside. Seven of the eleven countries
Namibia, Tanzania, Botswana, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Burkina Faso and
Beninclaim that trophy hunting employs people in the communities and has created
10,000 permanent and part-time jobs (IFAW). Thus trophy hunting provides not only jobs
for the individuals in the community but also incentives to conserve animal populations
for hunting.
Although trophy hunting provides around ten thousand jobs, the countries that
permit trophy hunting have a total population of more than 100 million, more than half of
whom live in poverty also while governments claim to use money from selling permits
for community development, most is lost to corruption. Another reason why trophy
hunting is problematic is that Trophy hunting is elitist. Those who participate in the hunt
tends to be rich and do it for the thrill of killing a dangerous animal- 60% of African Lion
hunters are American (Smithsonian). For example, in 2010, the Trump brothers-one of
the richest families in America-went to Zimbabwe collected Leopard, Cape buffalo,
Elephants and other trophies under the guise of doing something for conservation. They
could have invested the money in the people of Zimbabwe in other ways. Trophy hunting
the African lion is problematic because CITES has put in place age regulations to at least
six years of age (IFAW). That is the prime age of a lion, the age at which lions are most
verily and the to have reproduced and its charismatic mane is fully-grown. Hunting
guides can identify the age of a lion by the darkened brown pigment of the nose; but this
regulation has not been strictly enforced. Killing an African lion pride leader is very
harmful to the system in which it lives. The social structure of lions is well defined.
When the pride leader dies, a new challenger arises and must fight prove dominance.

Conservation Strategy: Trophy Hunting-the African 3

Lion
Once victorious, the new pride leader kills the offspring of the old leader to assert his
authority and guarantee the continuation of his bloodline. When dominant males are
killed, often-premature lions become leaders of the pride, and this is bad because they
have not yet acquired the skills needed for the pride to prosper. Thus the taking of trophy
can affect the future of an entire pride.
An alternative method would be to encourage sponsoring of wild animals. One
could sponsor an elephant, a rhino, or a lion. They could be given naming rights and the
ability to follow the animal throughout it life. Take for example Jane Goodal. Her
conservation staff no doubt are trained professionals who know how to track animals. So
lets say you pay thirty thousand dollars to have a black rhino taken care of for as long as
the animal lives. The person who sponsors the animal will receive quarterly newsletters
informing them of their living trophy. They could go visit the animal in the wild
whenever they want. Conservation specialist would be in charge of going out and
tracking the animal to make sure it is okay and protecting its habitat. This program would
potentially create more jobs and the money from sponsors could be used for security and
habitat conservation strategies. A friend mentioned to me when she was young, the
Oregon Zoo had a similar program where people can name a penguin and visit at
anytime. The zoo regularly sent postcards updating her-the sponsor on how her penguin
was doing. Imagine how exciting it would be to have such a friend roaming freely in the
African savannah.
Works Cited

IFAW. "New Report: Economics of Trophy Hunting in Africa Are Overrated and
Overstated." Home. International Fund for Animal Welfare, 18 June 2013.
Web. 23 Oct. 2014.
Panthera. "Hunting Lions: Unpalatable but Necessary for Conservation?" Panthera:
Leaders in Wild Cat Conservation. Panthera, 9 Mar. 2011. Web. 23 Oct. 2014.
Smithsonian. "Should Trophy Hunting of Lions Be Banned?" Smithsonian. Smithsonian
Magazine, 7 Dec. 2012. Web. 23 Oct. 2014.
Times Live. "Breeding Factory for Trophy Hunters." Times Live. Times Media Group, 9
Sept. 2014. Web. 23 Oct. 2014.