The United States listed African lions as endangered and imposed stricter rules on lion trophy hunting, following the killing of Cecil the lion in Zimbabwe. Hunters dispute the new rules, claiming their efforts aid conservation of wildlife.
The US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) listed the African lion (Panthera leo) under the Endangered Species Act, reported The New York Times. Lions in the West and Central Africa are now declared endangered, while those in the East and South Africa are considered threatened.
FWS imposed stricter rules on lion trophy hunting to support conservation. Before hunters can import trophies into the US, they need to obtain permit requirements issued by the agency. Hunters have to meet the criteria imposed under the new policy, making sure that the animals were legally killed, before they could be issued the permit.
Hunters can still import trophies from African countries like Zimbabwe, South Africa, and Tanzania, as long as hunts were committed sustainably. FWS director Daniel Ashe said that the agency has the right to withhold permits from individuals who have previously violated wildlife policies.
The new regulation was triggered by the killing of Cecil the lion in Zimbabwe. However, Ashe said that the rule is "not reacting to Cecil specifically or any other incident specific, but rather an overwhelming body of science that says that lions are threatened."
According to Time Inc., FWS put forward the policy based on numerous scientific studies on the decline of African lions. It was reported that 50% of the African lion population will decline in the next two decades.
Panthera, an organization committed to preserving large cats, are pleased with the new rules set by FWS to protect African Lions. "I am pleased," said Panthera president Luke Hunter, "I think they have used, clearly, a fair amount of science in the decision, and as I understand it, it is a significant improvement on their first proposal."
There are many factors that threaten African lions such as loss of habitat, retaliatory attacks by farmers to protect livestock, and reduction of prey. The inclusion of African lions in the endangered species category addresses another threat in the form of trophy hunting, said Scientific American.
Hunting organizations were not delighted with the new FWS policy for trophy hunting. Hunting safari coordinator and adviser Dave Duncan said that "hunters are the true conservationists".
Duncan said that hunters follow strict guidelines when killing game and the fees they pay help fund the government's wildlife preservation efforts. "The loss of one is better for the group," said Duncan. "You take a single animal out and all that money goes right back into saving the rest of them."
Jeffrey Flocken, regional director of the North American International Fund for Animal Welfare, said that Duncan's viewpoint contradicts conservation ethics. "This philosophy-that you have to kill an animal to save it-does not make sense morally, economically, biologically, or from a conservation-incentive point of view," wrote Flocken.
