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Does
Trophy Hunting of Lions Contribute to their Overall Conservation?
By
Dr. Pieter Kat, ALERT Consultant Ecologist
Last
updated 27 Feb 2010
Despite an acknowledged dramatic decline in numbers of African lions,
trophy hunters insist their activities contribute to the overall
conservation of the species. They justify this position from an
economic point of view – trophy fees are paid to governments
and hunting concession fees are paid to landholders including
communities. If lions are seen to be a source of income, the hunters
say, governments and communities might excuse loss of livestock due to
predation and tolerate lion presence outside national reserves and
protected areas. The additional lands available to lions in such
concessions would further contribute to their conservation. This mantra
is so often repeated it might even have gained some acceptance outside
the hunting community.
But
is it true?
One way to check is
with export numbers
published by the Convention on International Trade of Endangered
Species of
Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). This organization was established to
regulate the
worldwide trade in a great diversity of species, a global industry
worth over
one billion dollars per year. Since lions are presently classified as
“vulnerable” on the CITES list, all exports and
imports involving lions (live
animals, trophies, skins, bones, even scientific samples) need to be
issued
with permits and recorded. The system is not perfect and there
continues to be
illegal traffic in all CITES listed species, but it does provide a good
indication of the extent to which lion trophies flow from savannas to
trophy
rooms.
It
is estimated that there were over
200,000 lions in Africa in the 1960’s.
In
2004, Hans Bauer at Leiden University
in
the Netherlands and Sarel van der Merwe of the African Lion Working
Group of
the IUCN published a paper titled “Inventory of Free-Ranging
Lions Panthera
leo in Africa” (Oryx
38 (1) 26-31). As an independent attempt to establish
remaining wild lion populations in Africa, over 100 people were
interviewed in
2002. Researchers, wardens, “informed” individuals
– and the “conservative”
published estimate ended up with 16,500 to 30,000 lions on the
continent. Of
all ages – adult males, females, sub adults, cubs.
The
authors acknowledge that not all
areas
were covered, and that 70% of their information was based not on an
actual
count, but informed guesses as to numbers of lions present. They built
factors
of confidence into their data – hence the spread between
16,500 and 30,000
lions estimated. Their information remains the best independent
assessment to
date.
Another study,
conducted by
Philippe Chardonnet and supported by the Safari Club International, a
pro-hunting lobby, estimated a maximum of over 47,000 lions in 2002
using the
same methods, again of all ages and sexes. This study was not published
in a
scientific journal so therefore not reviewed by scientists for
assessment of
credibility of content, and has since received criticism from the IUCN.
www.ssn.org/Meetings/cop/cop13/Factsheets/SSNCOP13_lions_EN.pdf
Eight years after
these lion population
numbers were made available, it is generally accepted that there are
fewer than
20,000 lions left on the continent. No more than five populations
contain
sufficient individuals to be considered long-term viable. The causes
for the
continuing decline are considered due to conflict with expanding human
and
livestock populations, loss of natural prey base for lions, exposure to
domestic animal diseases like canine distemper and bovine tuberculosis
– but
there is no mention of trophy hunting pressure.
Between
2002, when those latest
surviving
wild lion numbers were estimated, and 2008, when best reliable data
from CITES
export data for the continent ends, a total of 4249
“wild” lion trophies were
exported. The category of “wild” lions is necessary
as in South Africa, hunters
who export trophies under CITES permits have the option of shooting
captive-bred lions, a practice known as “canned”
hunting.
Even
if one takes the greatly optimistic
total of 47,000 lions in Africa derived by Mr Chardonnet in 2002, an
export of
4249 lions since then is significant. Hunters are largely prohibited
from
shooting females, would be embarrassed to bring home a trophy of a cub,
and
largely aim for males. Few wild lion males born reach adulthood
– a difficult
journey involving confrontations with resident pride males during their
nomadic
phase for example. In Botswana, about 15% of lions in an area are adult
males –
the prize trophies.
That
means in 2002, according to Mr
Bauer
and Mr Van der Merwe’s maximum lion estimates, there were
4500 potential adult
male trophy lions in all Africa. By Mr Chardonnet’s
estimates, there might have
been 7000. Perhaps the hunters shot underage males, but still, 4249
exported
lions imply a significant depredation. Many additional lions were
probably
shot, as domestic trophy hunting numbers are not recorded by CITES.
Where
were these lions shot? From 2002
to
2007, 1112 trophies were exported from Tanzania, 935 from South Africa,
459
from Zimbabwe, 283 from Zambia, and 97 from Mozambique as the top five
exporting countries. According to the population numbers provided by Mr
Bauer
and Mr Van der Merwe, that would indicate that Tanzania exported 13% of
their
estimated 2002 population, South Africa 33%, Zimbabwe 32%, Zambia 14%,
and
Mozambique 11%. Lions simply cannot reproduce fast enough to maintain
this
level of offtake of adult males, meaning that the resource is being
mined
rather than sustainably utilized. No wonder that Mr Craig Packer of the
University of Minnesota found that lion populations in areas where they
were
hunted declined faster than in areas where they were not.
www.plosone.org/article/info:doi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0005941
Where
did the exported trophies go? Far
over 2000 to the United States, over 300 to Spain, almost 200 each to
France,
Germany and Mexico. The UK imported 49 wild lion trophies between 2002
and
2008. Other countries where the trophy hunters mounted their lions were
Sweden,
Norway, Russia, Denmark, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab
Emirates – the
list is long.
Clearly,
the CITES numbers tell a
different
story from the hunter’s spin. A species in freefall decline
should not be
subjected to additional mortality from trophy hunters. Lions have a
complex
social system in which males play a role to ensure survival of cubs.
With that
number of exports, significant reproductive difficulties can be
predicted from
disrupted prides.
To
ensure survival of lions in Africa,
much
needs to be done. Populations in existing protected areas need to be
carefully
monitored. Additional legislated protected areas need to be revived in
countries where past civil strife or current political instability has
rendered
those reserves defunct. Non-consumptive
photographic tourism, though it brings
along its own set of problems, remains an economic alternative to
destructive
hunting. And lions need a significantly increased level of range-state
and
international protection.
While
many factors surely add to the
overall
dramatic loss of lions in Africa, continued trophy hunting will not
contribute
to their long-term survival. The statistics about the number of
glass-eyed
lions adorning many walls tell the sad truth about hunting as a
proposed
conservation measure by vested interests.
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