tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/cecil-19053/articlesCecil – The Conversation2016-03-23T12:41:32Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/566382016-03-23T12:41:32Z2016-03-23T12:41:32ZHow people can live next to lions without killing them – new study<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/115887/original/image-20160321-30912-ukglb5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The mane event</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/s/lion/search.html?page=2&thumb_size=mosaic&inline=330832193">Varun Aditya</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>There is a sense of haunting to the roar of a lion veiled in darkness. The emphatic “ooooaa!” demands attention as it starts in the abdomen and reverberates through the night air. Its direction and distance are secondary to one’s primordial reaction – a sudden dilation of the pupils and a flare of prickles on the neck. The call unmistakably announces a large carnivore, yet as each roar fades into solitary grunts it feels less like an act of aggression than the lonely imploring of a lost soul in the darkness.</p>
<p>The plight of Africa’s lions is lamentable. Since the 1960s, the world <a href="http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10531-012-0381-4">has lost</a> at least 70% of these magnificent cats, which until a few thousand years ago inhabited most of Europe, Asia and the Americas. Now we’re <a href="https://www.panthera.org/cat/lion">down to</a> around 20,000, all of them in Africa apart from <a href="http://www.asiaticlion.org">one sub-species</a> in India. Habitat loss and the encroachment of people are largely responsible – lions in Kenya and Tanzania are shot by wildlife officials if they consistently kill livestock, for instance. And trophy hunters <a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/07/150729-lion-trophy-hunting-conservation-animals-cecil/">still shoot</a> lions in the wild every year in countries where it is permitted, including Tanzania and Zimbabwe. </p>
<p>But if you were expecting a fable in which cunning Human steals from noble Lion, this story is not so clear-cut. Living with these predators <a href="http://www.livingwithlions.org">is not</a> easy. For many people in rural Africa, livestock pay for school fees and hospital bills, and insure against misfortune. Imagine finding half your nest egg has been taken overnight and, worse, worrying your family might <a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2011/07/man-eating-lions-attack-dark-moon">be next</a>. Unsurprisingly, many lions that live near people end up shot or poisoned. Yet it doesn’t have to be this way. A new five-year study that I have been involved in <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1365-2664.12632/suppinfo">shows that</a> when people directly benefit from lions, they become more tolerant of their faults. </p>
<h2>Conservancies</h2>
<p>We focused on an area surrounding the Mara National Reserve in Kenya, a protected zone at the northern extent of the Serengeti ecosystem. These fertile grasslands are the home of the Maasai, semi-nomadic pastoralists who share them with the great <a href="http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/wildebeest_migration">annual migration</a> of over a million wildebeest and their predators, including lions. </p>
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<span class="caption">Maasai tribeswoman.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-234545698/stock-photo-portrait-of-senior-african-woman-masai-mara.html?src=Aqbxf1k7Zo73ZFt1zu9VyA-1-6">Avatar_023</a></span>
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<p>Maasai have always speared any rogue that dares interfere with their livestock; and today there are far more people and livestock and much less space for lions. Yet many on the northern edge of the Mara have wisely noted the premiums that tourists are prepared to pay for the Serengeti experience. </p>
<p>Lions <a href="http://www.nbs.go.tz/nbs/takwimu/trade/The2013_International%20_Visitors'_Exit_Survey_Report.pdf">help attract</a> over 350,000 visitors to the area every year, generating $90 million (£63 million) in entrance fees alone. Beyond the national reserve, many families have combined landholdings into community conservancies which welcome visitors for a fee. They attract wildlife by managing and protecting resources such as livestock, water and unique habitats; and they distribute income fairly around the community to avoid feuds. Other families have declined this opportunity, relying purely on their livestock for income.</p>
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<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Grant Hopcraft</span></span>
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<p>Hence there is a 1,500sqkm patchwork of conservancies and other privately owned pastureland to the north of the Mara National Reserve. Together with the reserve itself, where no one lives and lions can roam freely, it amounts to a perfect three-way natural experiment to investigate the effects of conservancies on lions. Lead author Sara Blackburn and Laurence Frank, a veteran predator biologist, spent five years <a href="http://livingwithlions.org/mara/browse/all/all/">observing the</a> lifespan of 382 lions in the area. This is the first time anyone has looked at the survival rates of individual lions in relation to conservancies, rather than just counting them. </p>
<p>The natural <a href="https://www.panthera.org/cat/lion">life expectancy</a> of a lion living in the wild rarely exceeds 13 years. When we compared the survival of lions living outside national parks, our results consistently showed that survival is not determined by how many prey are available or the quality of the habitat – there are enough of both to sustain this population. The number of livestock in a lion’s territory makes no difference either. </p>
<p>The only factor that consistently cuts short a lion’s life, sometimes lowering the chances of survival by as much as 40%, is the number of homesteads in its territory that are <em>not</em> part of a community conservancy. Homesteads that are members of a conservancy, on the other hand, have no negative effect on lions’ survival chances. This suggests that when people receive income from lions via ecotourism, they become tolerant and lions survive. There is a good chance that the same would also be true for other animals that are <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/13573912">declining</a> across the region, such as giraffe and impala.</p>
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<h2>Next steps</h2>
<p><a href="http://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/what-we-mourned-when-we-mourned-cecil">Cecil, the lion</a> shot by an American hunter last year, drew a line in the sand regarding the public’s opinion on conservation of this remarkable predator. These events have sparked heated debates about the role of <a href="http://conservationmagazine.org/2015/10/what-if-we-banned-trophy-hunting-in-africa/">trophy hunting</a> and <a href="http://www.nature.com/news/fences-divide-lion-conservationists-1.14207">using fences</a> to protect lions in the wild, even while recent footage of an agitated lion walking the streets of Nairobi highlights the continued struggle for space. </p>
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<p>In this worrying context, our research points to how this story can end more happily. Community conservancies are a viable and working alternative to protecting wildlife. Although they exist in many parts of Kenya and Tanzania, we must continue encouraging governments to develop similar opportunities for local communities to benefit from wildlife through ecotourism. Evidence such as ours gives reason to be optimistic that community conservancies will continue to expand and benefit human and lion alike.</p>
<p><em>Sara Blackburn, an MSc student in biodiversity and conservation, assisted in the writing of the piece</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/56638/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Grant Hopcraft receives funding from the British Ecological Society, the EU's Horizon2020 research and innovation programme (AfricanBioServices grant agreement No 641918), and the Paul Tudor Jones Family Foundation. He is also affiliated with the Frankfurt Zoological Society, the Tanzanian Wildlife Research Institute, and Tanzania National Parks, and collaborates extensively with the Kenya Wildlife Service.
</span></em></p>Forget fences and international agreements. This five-year study in the Serengeti has found the way forward.Grant Hopcraft, Research Fellow, University of GlasgowLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/528542016-01-08T00:32:44Z2016-01-08T00:32:44ZBig game: banning trophy hunting could do more harm than good<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/107606/original/image-20160107-13986-8bubab.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Trophy hunting could keep conservation in business. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Trophy image from www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Furious debate around the role of trophy hunting in conservation raged in 2015, after the killing of Cecil the lion in Zimbabwe, and a critically endangered black rhino in Namibia. Together, these two incidents triggered vocal appeals to <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-34116488">ban trophy hunting</a> throughout Africa.</p>
<p>While to most people (including us) this might seem like an abhorrent way to generate money, <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2015.12.006">we argue in a new paper</a> that trophy hunting, if done sustainably, can be an important tool in the conservationist’s toolbox.</p>
<h2>Widespread condemnation</h2>
<p>In July 2015 American dentist Walter James Palmer shot and killed a male lion called Cecil with a hunting bow and arrow, sparking <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-33694075">a storm of outrage</a>. Cecil was a favourite of tourists visiting <a href="http://zimparks.org/index.php/parks-overview/national/hwange">Hwange National Park</a> in Zimbabwe.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/dec/25/cecil-the-lion-zimbabwe-conservation-johnny-rodrigues">Allegations</a> that aspects of the hunt were done illegally added considerable fuel to the flames, although Palmer was <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/oct/12/zimbabwe-will-not-charge-us-dentist-killing-cecil-lion">not charged</a> by the Zimbabwean government. </p>
<p>Likewise in May 2015, <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2015/05/21/the-texas-hunter-who-paid-350000-to-kill-an-endangered-black-rhino-has-bagged-his-prey/">a Texan legally shot</a> a critically endangered black rhino in Namibia, which also generated considerable online ire. The backlash ensued even though the male rhino was considered “surplus” to Namibia’s black rhino populations, and the US$350,000 generated from the managed hunt was to be re-invested in conservation. The US government has endorsed hunting of black rhinos by allowing a <a href="http://www.fws.gov/international/permits/black-rhino-import-permit.html">limited import</a> of rhino trophies.</p>
<p>These highly politicised events are but a small component of a large industry in Africa <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2015.12.006">worth more than US$215 million per year</a>, “selling” iconic animals to (mainly foreign) hunters as a means of generating otherwise scarce funds.</p>
<h2>It’s mostly about the money</h2>
<p>Conserving biodiversity <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/blog/2012/oct/12/extinction-species-save-cost-biodiversity">can be expensive</a>. Generating money has become a central preoccupation of many environmental charities, conservation-minded individuals, government agencies and scientists. Making money for conservation in Africa is even more challenging, so we argue that trophy hunting should and could fill some of that gap.</p>
<p>The question of whether trophy hunting is ethically justifiable is a separate issue. While animal suffering can be minimised with good practice, the moral case for or against trophy hunting is a choice we must make as a society. </p>
<p>Beyond the ethical or moral issues, there are still many concerns about trophy hunting that currently limit its use as a conservation tool. One of the biggest problems is that the revenue it generates often goes to the private sector rather than distributing benefits to conservation and local communities.</p>
<p>It can also be difficult (but not impossible) to determine just how many animals can be sustainably killed. Some forms of trophy hunting have debatable value for conservation. For instance, “<a href="http://observer.com/2015/10/the-dark-world-of-canned-lion-trophy-hunting/">canned lion hunting</a>”, where lions are bred and raised in captivity only to be shot in specially made enclosures, provides no incentive for conserving lions in the wild.</p>
<p>At the same time, opposing sustainable trophy hunting could end up being worse for species conservation. While revenue from wildlife sightseeing is good, in most cases effective conservation requires much more. Without more funding creating incentives to conserve wildlife, many natural habitats will be converted to farmland, which is generally much worse for native wildlife and the entire ecosystem.</p>
<p>Trophy hunting can also have a smaller carbon and infrastructure footprint than ecotourism because it requires fewer paying customers for the same amount of revenue. Trophy hunting can even generate <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006320706003831">higher revenue</a> than the most successful ecotourism enterprises. </p>
<p>Hunting can lead to larger wildlife populations because they are specifically managed to keep numbers higher. <a href="http://conservationbytes.com/2014/01/28/were-sorry-but-50500-is-still-too-few/">Larger animal populations are more resilient to extinction</a>, and hunters have an interest in their protection. This contrasts with ecotourism where the presence of only a few individual animals is sufficient to ensure that the expectations of many paying tourists are met.</p>
<h2>Making trophy hunting work</h2>
<p>To address some of the concerns about trophy hunting and to enhance its contribution to biodiversity conservation and the benefit to local people, we propose twelve minimum standards:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Mandatory levies should be imposed on trophy hunting operators by governments. These can be invested directly into trust funds for conservation and management.</p></li>
<li><p>Trophies from areas that help conservation and respect animal welfare should be certified and labelled.</p></li>
<li><p><a href="http://conservationbytes.com/2009/08/27/not-so-scary-maths-and-extinction-risk/">Populations must be analysed</a> to ensure that killing wildlife does not cause their numbers to fall.</p></li>
<li><p>Post-hunt sales of any part of the animals should be banned to minimise illegal wildlife trade.</p></li>
<li><p>Priority should be given to trophy hunting enterprises run (or leased) by local communities.</p></li>
<li><p>Trusts should be created to share benefits with local communities and promote long-term economic sustainability.</p></li>
<li><p>Mandatory scientific sampling of animals killed, including tissue for genetic analyses and teeth for age analysis, should be enforced.</p></li>
<li><p>Mandatory five-year (or more frequent) reviews of all animals hunted and detailed conservation plans should be submitted to government legislators before permits are extended.</p></li>
<li><p>There should be full public disclosure of all data collected.</p></li>
<li><p>Independent government observers should be placed randomly and without forewarning on trophy hunts as they happen.</p></li>
<li><p>Trophies must be confiscated and permits revoked when illegal practices are discovered.</p></li>
<li><p>Backup professional shooters and trackers should be present for all hunts to minimise welfare concerns.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Can developing nations implement these strategies? </p>
<p>Yes, they can, but only if the funding model is transparent and includes direct support from national governments, as well as mechanisms for oversight and regulation as we have outlined. Some form of regional and international cooperation might also be necessary to minimise the chance of corruption.</p>
<p>Without greater oversight, better governance, and management based on scientific evidence, we fear that the furore over trophy hunting will continue - to the detriment of biodiversity, hunters and local communities. Adopting our ideas could help avoid this.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/52854/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Corey Bradshaw receives funding from the Australian Research Council. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Enrico Di Minin receives funding from the European Research Council and the Academy of Finland </span></em></p>The death of Cecil the lion ignited furious debate over trophy hunting in 2015. But conservationists argue that it’s a necessary evil.Corey J. A. Bradshaw, Sir Hubert Wilkins Chair of Climate Change, University of AdelaideEnrico Di Minin, Researcher in Conservation Science, University of HelsinkiLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/456892015-08-07T17:17:49Z2015-08-07T17:17:49ZThe shaming of Walter Palmer for killing Cecil the Lion<p>US trophy hunter Walter Palmer must be the world’s most hated dentist. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-33695872">News</a> that Palmer had killed Cecil, a handsome and well-known lion in Zimbabwe, sparked outrage both online and off. </p>
<p>Palmer quickly became the latest case study in 21st-century shaming, where opprobrium can be expressed in limitless quantities and travel at unprecedented speeds. There were <a href="http://digiday.com/brands/outrage-backlash-cecilthelion-racks-670k-tweets-24-hours/">670,000 tweets</a> in the first 24 hours following Palmer’s admission to the kill. </p>
<p>One of the more incendiary tweets from animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) was favorited by more than 400 people. </p>
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<p>Yelp scrubbed thousands of angry comments from the page for Palmer’s dentist office. </p>
<p>A video of Jimmy Kimmel getting choked up about Cecil’s death has more than eight million views and counting.</p>
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<p>Palmer has been publicly shamed to a degree that only became possible in a world connected by social media. But is all of this righteous finger-pointing just an excessive expression of anger – or could it lead to something deeper?</p>
<h2>Changing behavior</h2>
<p>My book, <a href="http://isshamenecessary.com">Is Shame Necessary?</a>, published earlier this year, focuses on how shaming can make individuals and institutions change their behavior for the better – while acknowledging the fact that it can also be a highly dangerous tool.</p>
<p>As with so many other cases of <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/26/fashion/26shaming.html">shaming online</a>, the problem in the Palmer case quickly became the disproportionate nature of the punishment. (Think of the infamous cases of <a href="http://gawker.com/justine-sacco-is-good-at-her-job-and-how-i-came-to-pea-1653022326">Justine Sacco</a> and <a href="http://www.ted.com/talks/monica_lewinsky_the_price_of_shame?language=en">Monica Lewinsky</a>.)</p>
<p>A bloodthirsty and often anonymous crowd bypassed the legal system and carried out retribution themselves, besmirching Palmer’s reputation online, carrying out protests outside his dentist office, calling for his extradition and even vandalizing his house. </p>
<p>The treatment of Palmer should leave us all feeling uneasy.</p>
<p>But a more positive side of the shaming was that it moved past turning Palmer into a pariah and got political. </p>
<h2>Political outcomes</h2>
<p>Rather than simply ruining the life of one dentist, some arguably good things have come from this case. </p>
<p>UK Prime Minister David Cameron vowed to step up government efforts to <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/jul/30/david-cameron-promises-protect-wildlife-cecil-the-lion-killing">protect wildlife</a>. </p>
<p>Nearly 400,000 people signed a Change.org petition asking for Delta airlines to stop allowing hunting trophies as cargo. Delta announced that “effective immediately,” <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-33767771">they would stop</a>. </p>
<p>US Senator Bob Menendez announced he would <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/jul/31/cecil-the-lion-legislation-trophy-hunting-bob-menendez">introduce legislation</a> to discourage trophy hunting. </p>
<h2>Hiding behind the law</h2>
<p>Many, including Palmer himself, have emphasized the legal nature of the hunt. Although there were aspects of Cecil’s death that don’t appear to pass that test, let’s assume for a moment that Palmer didn’t break the law. </p>
<p>Even that would not buy him much cover. </p>
<p>Shaming is often used to establish standards of behavior before the laws are written. After the 2008 financial crisis, the legal system did not find that the banks had acted outside of the law, but shaming was nevertheless used against banks to keep the issue alive. In 2009, President Obama called the bankers’ bonuses “<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/30/business/30obama.html?_r=0">shameful</a>.”</p>
<p>According to the US secretary of the treasury at that time, “President Obama asked Congress to pass tough reforms quickly, before <a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970203986604577253272042239982">the memory of the crisis faded</a>.” </p>
<p>The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which tightened some regulations on the financial industry, was then signed into law in 2010, although bank-shaming would continue the next year with the Occupy Wall Street movement.</p>
<p>Cecil’s death has also started a public debate about trophy hunting’s relationship
to <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-debate-over-cecil-the-lion-should-be-about-conservation-not-hunting-45445">conservation</a>, and who really makes money off <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/world/2015/08/03/3687425/trophy-hunting/">the practice</a>. It brought up issues about the role of elites and land reform in <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-cecil-the-lion-offers-lessons-for-land-reform-and-the-role-of-elites-45625">Zimbabwe</a>. It made people ask why Cecil’s death seemed to get more attention than <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/cecil-black-lives_55b9482ce4b095423d0dc4d5">other important issues</a>.</p>
<p>Cecil’s death was pointless, but the shaming of Walter Palmer need not have been if it leads to lasting improvements in the lives of animals.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/45689/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jennifer Jacquet does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Palmer was publicly shamed to a degree that’s only possible in a world connected by social media. Could any good come from it?Jennifer Jacquet, Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies, New York UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/447932015-08-07T04:40:23Z2015-08-07T04:40:23ZWhy a ban on hunting in Botswana isn’t the answer to challenges facing the country<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/91073/original/image-20150806-5209-1r31990.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Banning hunting can have negative impacts on the conservation of animals.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Siphiwe Sibeko/Reuters</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>When Botswana’s government announced a <a href="http://www.bdlive.co.za/africa/africannews/2013/08/27/outcry-over-ban-on-hunting-in-botswanas-parks">ban</a> on hunting about two years ago, the news was welcomed by anti-hunting organisations. </p>
<p>But communities, hunting operators and game farmers were not happy at all. Hunting, and especially trophy hunting, generates millions - particularly in rural areas where there are high levels of unemployment and <a href="http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTAFRSUMAFTPS/Resources/2049902-1327506860777/FinalSSATourismRpt1118.pdf">poverty</a>. </p>
<h2>Where the money goes</h2>
<p>It is also important to understand where and how hunters spend money when they take a hunting trip. Firstly, there’s transport: travel costs, including flights and moving to the location. Then they need accommodation, food and drinks. Finally, it costs money to book the species they are hunting, the professional hunters who ensure permits are obtained, trackers, skinners and taxidermists. </p>
<p>Aside from employment opportunities, communities also <a href="http://conservationmagazine.org/2014/01/can-trophy-hunting-reconciled-conservation/">benefit</a>. In most cases the carcasses are donated or sold at a cheap rate to communities, since the trophy hunters cannot transport the meat so only take the <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/US/cecil-lion-trophy-hunting-industry-africa-explained/story?id=32785057">horns and skin</a>. These hunters are big spenders, investing on average more than US$10 000 per trip, which is considerably higher than the average spending by any other type of tourist. </p>
<p>The ban therefore implies a loss in taxes, foreign exchange and jobs. But Botswana’s story does not end here.</p>
<h2>Poverty persists</h2>
<p>Another major threat facing wildlife in Botswana is an increase in <a href="http://www.loc.gov/law/help/wildlife-poaching/botswana.php">poaching</a>. Media reports, specifically referring to elephants, as well as personal contacts, confirm that they are experiencing a <a href="http://www.botswana.co.za/Echoes_of_Eden-travel/ivory-trade.html">rise</a> in incidents. Poaching is fuelled by two sources, <a href="http://africanindaba.com/2014/04/poaching-in-africa-facts-causes-and-solutions-april-2014-volume-12-3/">poverty and greed</a>. </p>
<p>This applies for communities and hunting operators alike. A very good example is the killing of Cecil the lion, which was shot in Zimbabwe for approximately <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/zimbabwe/11771011/What-we-know-about-Walter-Palmer-Cecil-the-lions-killer.html">US$50 000</a>. The higher the levels of poverty the more one is going to see this happening and a total ban will not alleviate the problem. </p>
<p>The latest report on species numbers in southern Africa shows that South Africa and Namibia are two of the few countries where wildlife is on the <a href="http://www.iol.co.za/scitech/science/environment/hunting-for-a-way-to-save-wildlife-1.1697440#.VcM7b_mqqko">increase</a>. The rest of the countries are all experiencing high levels of poaching and a decrease in the number of wild animals. </p>
<p>This implies that from a conservation point of view wildlife is not doing well and one of the reasons for this is because hunting creates huge value. People protect what is valuable to them. And if hunting helps them get money and other goods from the animal, it is certainly in their best interests to look after the animals. </p>
<p>Anti-hunting organisations believe that photographic safaris are a natural and better replacement. The reality is that it is not easy to replace hunters with photographic tourists since they:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>On average they spend less than hunters. </p></li>
<li><p>Photographic safaris can be done almost anywhere in the world and they are not limited to game farms or concession areas where hunting is limited to specific destination or areas.</p></li>
<li><p>Finally, you do not require as many skills to do photographic safaris compared with hunting safaris.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>From a South African perspective, the ban in Botswana could lead to an increase in hunting <a href="http://www.nwu.ac.za/content/nwu-expert-says-botswana%E2%80%99s-ban-hunting-can-impact-south-africa-potchefstroom-campus-news-201">demand</a>. South Africa and other African countries that allow hunting will benefit from the ban since those who hunt legally will seek another <a href="http://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2015/07/30/for-some-hunting-lions-in-africa-is-the-ultimate-experience">destination</a>.</p>
<p>In addition, Botswana is experiencing problems with high numbers of specific species such as elephants that are causing serious damage to the <a href="http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=1708">environment</a>. This raises the question: who really benefits here and what good can come out of it? </p>
<p>Kenya is a good example of where a hunting ban <a href="http://mobile.nation.co.ke/lifestyle/Hunting-ban-fails-to-end-bloodbath/-/1950774/1968130/-/format/xhtml/item/1/-/whyu6g/-/index.html">failed</a>. In the 1970s Kenya banned elephant hunting as their numbers had dwindled. This did not make a difference as wealthy and politically connected people were major players in the ivory trade game. The ban did not apply to them. The ivory was in such high demand that officials needed a small bribe and were able to hunt ivory. Three times the number of elephants were <a href="http://www.rexano.org/ConservationPages/Kenya_Frame.htm">hunted</a> after the ban was put in place.</p>
<p>A hunting ban is not the answer to solve the issues raised by both the anti-hunting proponents and the conservationists. There are many examples in South Africa that prove that a well managed hunting operation generates economic benefits for the broader community, creates jobs and contributes significantly to conservation. </p>
<p>It is better to exclude specific species that are endangered from the hunting list. South Africa has done this successfully in the past and it is currently being done with rhino. Issuing limited permits for species under threat, as is currently done for leopard, is a better option. The answer clearly lies in the effective management of our resources.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/44793/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Melville Saayman receives funding from National Research Foundation.</span></em></p>Botswanan communities, hunting operators and game farmers reacted badly to the country’s hunting ban. This is because it generates income, particularly in poor rural areas.Melville Saayman, Professor of Tourism Management and Economics, North-West UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/454642015-08-06T04:33:46Z2015-08-06T04:33:46Z‘Blood lions’ sheds a harsh light on the canned hunting industry<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/90441/original/image-20150731-17158-3s7t43.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Canned lion hunting is the focus of the 2015 film 'Blood Lions', which calls for the end of being 'bred for the bullet'.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Since the first public documentation in 2004, <a href="http://www.cannedlion.org/faqs.html">canned lion hunting</a> has, in recent times, become more controversial and the film <a href="http://www.bloodlions.org/"><em>Blood Lions</em></a> further stimulates that debate. </p>
<p><em>Blood Lions</em> is a sensationalised yet comprehensive true story of the canned lion hunting industry in <a href="https://www.environment.gov.za/">South Africa</a>. By definition, the term “canned hunting” is not considered as <a href="http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/hunt">hunting</a>, which is defined as the “chase or search for something (game, wild animals) for the purpose of catching or killing.” Another definition is “the act of conducting a search for something”. By all definitions hunting involves a search. There is none involved in canned hunting. <a href="http://www.bloodlions.org/phasa-president-calls-for-a-review-of-lion-hunting/">Sport hunters</a> of free-roaming animals have condemned the activity of canned hunting as slander. </p>
<p><em>Blood Lions</em> not only clearly demonstrates that canned lion hunting is unjustifiable in terms of <a href="http://www.nspca.co.za/clientdata/10072/uploads/pdfs/lions_in_captivity_hunting_sa.pdf">ethics</a> but also <a href="https://dlc.dlib.indiana.edu/dlc/bitstream/handle/10535/6027/the%20challenge.pdf?sequence=1">conservation</a>. The conditions under which the animals are kept are not reflective of their natural habitat nor do they conform to <a href="http://nagonline.net/761/zoo-guidelines-keeping-large-felids-captivity/">zoo</a> or <a href="http://www.capenature.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Policy-on-Fencing-and-Enclosure-of-Game-February-2014-Draft.pdf">camp</a> standards of enclosure size or quality. And little is known about what happens to lions bred in captivity that are not suitable for hunting. </p>
<h2>Hunting for conservation?</h2>
<p>Canned lion hunters justify the practice by arguing that for every canned lion hunted a wild lion has been saved. <em>Blood Lions</em> reveals otherwise. The film also clarifies that canned hunting makes a limited contribution to the conservation of the species or genetics. </p>
<p>The revenue generated returns to the owner and is plugged back into the owner’s business. Operating costs include the cost of building and maintaining the camps as well as <a href="http://sapredators.co.za/">purchasing</a> and <a href="http://www.zutrition.com/lion-nutrition-guide/">feeding</a> the lions. Each lion can eat approximately <a href="http://www.researchgate.net/publication/200009861_Feeding_behaviour_of_lions_Panthera_leo_on_a_small_reserve">US$16,000</a> worth of meat per year in the wild. However, captive bred lions tend to be fed more to <a href="http://www.wildlifeauctions.co.za/services.php?act=download&cid=ODg=">fast-track growth</a>, which pushes the feeding cost higher. Setting up a lion camp depends on the fencing material used, the camp design, water provision, electrifying components and installation. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.environment.gov.za/sites/default/files/legislations/nemba_threatenedspecies_regulations_g29657rg8638gon152.pdf">Standard regulations</a> stipulate that four lions can be kept in a 2 000m² electrified camp. As confirmed in <em>Blood Lions</em> the cost of a lion can be quickly recouped by being put up for auction to a large market of enthused ‘hunters’ and the <a href="https://cites.org/sites/default/files/eng/com/ac/27/E-AC27-24-03-03.pdf">lion bone trade</a>. Although the profitable returns from the hunt make the activity economically justifiable, this only applies to the owner. </p>
<p>The size of the land where the hunting takes place is small and often does not meet the requirements or standards of captive lion facilities. This means that canned lion hunting gives the land owner high returns on a small piece of land. </p>
<h2>More lions in captivity</h2>
<p>According to the International Union for Conservation of <a href="http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/15951/0">Nature</a> and Endangered Wildlife <a href="https://www.ewt.org.za/CCP/Captive%20Carnivores.pdf">Trust</a>, there are more lions in captivity in South Africa than in the wild - approximately 7 000 in captivity and 3 500 in the wild. </p>
<p>Captive raised lions are raised for <a href="http://www.lion-park.com/">petting</a> and handling by tourists and volunteers who desire a close encounter with charismatic wildlife. <em>Blood Lions</em> explains how this type of tourism feeds into canned hunting. </p>
<p>Hand-raised lions are notoriously difficult to rehabilitate into the wild - not only behaviourally but also because of limited available land in which to relocate them. Large predators such as lions require large expanses of free roaming land and ample food resources. Although <a href="http://www.panthera.org/sites/default/files/Reproductive%20biology%20of%20a%20pride%20of%20lions%20on%20Karongwe%20game%20reserve,%20Sout%20Africa.pdf">small reserves</a> can sustain lions, this requires management and financial resources. </p>
<p>Although the future of captive lions may seem bleak, there are opportunities to ‘rescue’ a handful. <a href="http://www.lionwhisperer.co.za/">Lion sanctuaries</a> have become a popular means of adopting captive bred lions. However, like those in captivity, the maintenance cost of these lions is high. On their own lion sanctuaries generate very little revenue or enough profit to be considered a sustainable option. </p>
<p>Furthermore, lion sanctuaries require intensive individual action to be driven forward and there is limited monetary incentive. Unless new <a href="http://www.researchgate.net/profile/Melanie_Orros/publication/222419381_Keeping_fit_on_the_ark_assessing_the_suitability_of_captive-bred_animals_for_release/links/0912f50acfc9041b90000000.pdf">release strategies</a> are developed, lion sanctuaries and release programs have limited sustainability. </p>
<h2>Profit verses ethics</h2>
<p>Canned hunting and sport hunting differ in their ethics, execution and overall contributions. Canned hunting primarily focuses on the return of investment and profit from the raising of the animal. Although canned hunting does create employment, trophy hunting contributes to conservation efforts as well.</p>
<p>Thinking outside the box towards alternative land uses and business endeavours has become a necessity. Everyone has equal rights to make a living - but at what cost? The revealing nature of <em>Blood Lions</em> gets the viewer thinking about the negative use of <a href="https://www.boundless.com/economics/textbooks/boundless-economics-textbook/natural-resource-economics-36/introduction-to-natural-resource-economics-136/types-of-natural-resources-536-12633/">natural resources</a>. </p>
<p>Although there is a legitimate push and drive to have it banned and abolished, history and human nature has proven that canned lion hunting is likely to continue – unwanted but too profitable to exclude as a business opportunity and as the fulfilment of an addiction.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/45464/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nkabeng Maruping-Mzileni does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The film ‘Blood Lions’ is contributing to the debate over canned hunting by delving into a sensationalised yet comprehensive true story.Nkabeng Maruping-Mzileni, Lecturer in Wildlife Management and Nature Conservation, Tshwane University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/456252015-08-05T04:48:29Z2015-08-05T04:48:29ZWhy Cecil the lion offers lessons for land reform and the role of elites<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/90618/original/image-20150803-5972-1iv0wt7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The killing of Cecil the lion which generated a huge uproar globally presents Zimbabwean an opportune moment to look harder at who benefits from wildlife.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Reuters/Eric Miller</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The huge <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/jul/28/killer-of-cecil-the-lion-was-american-zimbabwe-officials-claim">uproar</a> generated by the shooting of Cecil the lion provides a fascinating lens into Zimbabwe’s new elite land politics and the relationship between humans and “wild” nature. </p>
<p>The country’s extensive game ranches and conservancies were mostly subject to land reform in the early 2000s. Many of the former owners were evicted, along with their safari operations. But this land, unlike most of the agricultural areas elsewhere in the country, was not handed over to land-hungry peasants or unemployed urbanites, but to elites.</p>
<h2>How politics trumped conservation</h2>
<p>For a time there was an argument that conservation areas were not to be part of the <a href="https://zimbabweland.wordpress.com/2012/01/10/elephants-and-people/">land reform</a>, and that a separate wildlife-based land reform would be instituted. This was to be under the control of the Ministry of Environment, and not the Ministry of Lands, and so would guarantee the sanctity of the wildlife estate as a good source of revenue – from hunting, but more especially tourism.</p>
<p>But this soon got over-ridden by politics and many of the conservancy lands and other game farms were allocated as part of A2 (medium- to large-scale) land reform. And, as with a lot of A2 allocations – and particularly in the conservancies that many assumed to be very lucrative businesses – to well-connected elites.</p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/90617/original/image-20150803-5972-10mls8q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/90617/original/image-20150803-5972-10mls8q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=383&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/90617/original/image-20150803-5972-10mls8q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=383&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/90617/original/image-20150803-5972-10mls8q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=383&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/90617/original/image-20150803-5972-10mls8q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=482&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/90617/original/image-20150803-5972-10mls8q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=482&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/90617/original/image-20150803-5972-10mls8q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=482&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Elite beneficiaries of land reform in Zimbabwe such as Honest Ndlovu have hooked up with white safari owners as they search for sources of income from their land.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Reuters/Philimon Bulawayo</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The list of beneficiaries of some of these areas reads like a who’s who of the ZANU-PF political-military elite. Honest Trymore Ndlovu, the owner of the land where Cecil was shot, was one such beneficiary. The new land owners in search of income from their land have hooked up with white safari operators, some of whom formerly operated in the same areas.</p>
<h2>Colonial patterns persist</h2>
<p>Conservation – and hunting – has been long associated with white privilege and colonial expansion, and a European construction of landscape as wilderness. Cecil (and the name – same as <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2015/apr/20/rhodes-of-africa-slightly-less-offensive-than-the-man-himself">Cecil Rhodes</a> – becomes more appropriate with this lens) is also about issues of race, colonialism and the control over land.</p>
<p>Wildlife is once again perpetuating a new elite land politics, excluding wider populations from the benefits. This time it’s with new (black) faces. But many of the same unsavoury connections of the past remain, with links between politicians, poachers and hunting business entrepreneurs never far from the surface.</p>
<p>The Cecil story also exposes some of the racial dimensions of the relationships between wildlife, land and hunting in Zimbabwe. The hunting business has a long pedigree going back to the establishment of hunting blocks in various parts of the country in colonial times. Hunting was always seen as central to the colonial conquest involving taming wild Africa.</p>
<p>Many white farmers turned their properties over to private game hunting reserves in the 1980s and 1990s, sometimes as part of large blocks of land where the fences were removed. These were called “conservancies” – such as Gwaai in the west, as well as many others, notably the well-known Save Valley conservancy in the southeast. </p>
<p>These blocks and conservancies became the playgrounds of a rich, white elite, some local but many international, with Americans and Europeans being regular customers. Unlike the <a href="http://archives.cerium.ca/IMG/pdf/CampfireArticle.pdf">CAMPFIRE</a> arrangements, the benefits from conservancies to surrounding populations were minimal, beyond a few concessionary ‘outreach’ efforts.</p>
<h2>Who benefits from wildlife is the real question</h2>
<p>The Cecil case raises pertinent questions about how hunting revenues can contribute to development. </p>
<p>From the 1980s, <a href="https://books.google.co.za/books?id=U_zsjiw1XDkC&dq=Zimbabwe,+history+of+conservation,+sustainable+use&source=gbs_navlinks_s">Zimbabwe</a> was at the forefront of an international movement away from a preservationist position on conservation to one that emphasised conservation for development through “sustainable utilisation”. Hunting, it was argued, could be seen as a form of management, as long as careful cull quotas were adhered to.</p>
<p>Alongside Cecil, many lions (presumably without names) have been killed in the past years as part of regulated quotas. According to Peter Lindsay and colleagues in a 2013 PLOS One <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0073808">article</a>, the annual lion quota for Zimbabwe is 101 across 38,000 square kilometres of hunting area on a mix of land-use types. </p>
<p>On average, 42.5 lions – less than half the quota – were killed each year between 2008 and 2011, presumably due to the drop in hunting visits to Zimbabwe in recent years.</p>
<p>Along with other southern African countries, Zimbabwe pioneered an approach linking game hunting with development, and the famous CAMPFIRE programme from the late 1980s became a flagship, with hunting concessions offered on communal lands that are near parks and safari areas. </p>
<p>The revenues raised were quite considerable, especially for the big five. Around 90% of CAMPFIRE revenues were from sport hunting, not other forms of tourism. Funds were ploughed back into development projects with dividends going to both the local community and Rural District Councils.</p>
<p>CAMPFIRE did not always work as planned, and there have been many critiques. But the principle of making use of local resources for local development has been widely acknowledged in the region – if not in East Africa where a more preservationist strand of conservation persists.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/90759/original/image-20150804-12028-1qig255.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/90759/original/image-20150804-12028-1qig255.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=392&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/90759/original/image-20150804-12028-1qig255.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=392&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/90759/original/image-20150804-12028-1qig255.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=392&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/90759/original/image-20150804-12028-1qig255.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=492&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/90759/original/image-20150804-12028-1qig255.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=492&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/90759/original/image-20150804-12028-1qig255.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=492&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Banning hunting or trophy imports won’t solve anything.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Reuters/Siphiwe Sibeko</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>So what should we make of the sad demise of Cecil? Knee-jerk reactions resulting in bans on hunting or trophy imports will not solve anything. Past <a href="http://www.iied.org/rip-cecil-lion-what-will-be-his-legacy-who-should-decide">bans</a> elsewhere have made things worse, with a rise in poaching, and decline in conservation protection.</p>
<p>While the posturing rhetoric about extraditing an American dentist dominates now, Zimbabweans should look harder at who benefits from wildlife. If revenues are to be generated from hunting quotas (and I am a great supporter of this route to conservation), they should not just benefit a narrow elite, involving a new pact between white hunters and their safari companies and the new politically connected black elite.</p>
<p>If Cecil and his other 100 odd fellow lions are to be part of a regulated hunting quota, so creating a resource for development, then the conservancies and game ranches need to be opened up for wider use to generate broader benefit.</p>
<p>Only then will the wildlife assets of the nation be properly shared and the habitats preserved for Cecil and his relatives. Perhaps the outcry over Cecil can result in a proper wildlife based land reform, so such wildlife can benefit everyone, not just elites – black or white.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>This article on based the author’s latest <a href="https://zimbabweland.wordpress.com/2015/08/03/cecil-the-lion-a-lens-on-land-wildlife-and-elite-politics-in-zimbabwe/">Zimbabweland blog</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/45625/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ian Scoones does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The shooting of Cecil shines light on Zimbabwe’s new elite land politics which excludes the wider population and exposes the racial dimensions of the relationship between wildlife, land and hunting.Ian Scoones, Professorial Fellow, Institute of Development Studies, University of SussexLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/454452015-07-30T13:31:05Z2015-07-30T13:31:05ZThe debate over Cecil the lion should be about conservation, not hunting<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/90320/original/image-20150730-25773-gdng27.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">There are a number of potentially valuable lessons to be learned from Cecil the lion's death.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">From www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Much of the attention generated by the demise of <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/29/cecil-the-lion-calls-for-prosecution-us-dentist-walter-palmer">Cecil the lion</a> appears related to the fact that he was a member of a charismatic species, that his species is threatened and the nature of his death. But now that Cecil, a resident of Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe, is gone how do we ensure that such events are not repeated? It is not as simple as banning hunting.</p>
<p>Trophy hunting, or the selective removal of animals from a population based on a desirable trait, is a deeply polarising issue. Ethical standpoints against the deliberate killing of animals for sport are what drive the public response that we now see. </p>
<p>Biologists have concerns about undesirable evolutionary outcomes that may arise from the killing of “prime” individual <a href="http://www.pnas.org/content/106/Supplement_1/9987.abstract">animals</a>. These animals are typically males that exhibit a desirable trait, like a large mane. Conservationists, have concerns that hunting may cause inbreeding, or drive rare species’ populations in isolated protected areas to the brink of <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1469-1795.2011.00476.x/abstract">extinction</a>.</p>
<h2>Hunting brings in money</h2>
<p>Despite the controversy, trophy hunting remains a legally sanctioned activity in most African countries. That is because hunting generates income. Sportsmen and women visiting Africa contribute as much as USD 201 million a year directly through <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1523-1739.2006.00594.x/abstract">hunting</a>. This is excluding economic multipliers. And safari operators are custodians of at least 1.4 million km2 of land in sub-Saharan Africa, exceeding the area encompassed by national parks in those countries where hunting is permitted by over <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1523-1739.2006.00594.x/abstract">20%</a>.</p>
<p>Conservationists recognise that trophy hunting contributes to the protection of land, where ecotourism may be unviable. Bans on trophy hunting in Kenya (1977 onward), Tanzania (1973-78) and Zambia (2000-03) have been associated with an accelerated loss of wildlife, not the other way <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1523-1739.2006.00594.x/abstract">around</a>. </p>
<p>The halving of Africa’s lion population over the past 20 years is not the result of trophy hunting. African lions have declined through the classic drivers of extinction, namely habitat loss, human-wildlife conflict and <a href="http://www.defenders.org/african-lion/threats">disease</a>.</p>
<h2>What’s different about Cecil</h2>
<p>Cecil was no ordinary lion. Reportedly aged 13 years old, he was well past the normal breeding age for males of his species, what we term <a href="http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/senescent">senescent</a>. Male lions only gain opportunities to mate after taking over pride ownership after at least five years of age. They may hold tenure for between two and four years before being displaced by younger males. Cecil should thus have completed the genetic contribution that he could be expected to make before he was shot, and could not have been expected to live much past <a href="http://www.nature.com/news/2004/040216/full/news040216-22.html">15 years</a>.</p>
<p>Why then had Cecil remained a breeding pride male for so long? One reason may be that the younger males that would have contested pride ownership, had been removed by hunters operating in lands neighbouring the Hwange National Park. Indeed, the Oxford University researchers who had been following Cecil’s life performance reported that 72% of the males they collared within the national park had been killed by trophy hunters, and 30% of those males shot were under four years <a href="http://www.researchgate.net/publication/223621516_The_impact_of_sport-hunting_on_the_population_dynamics_of_an_African_lion_population_in_a_protected_area">old</a>. </p>
<p>In this way, hunting taking place legitimately on land outside the formally protected area is prejudicing not only scientific research, but also the role of a flagship national park in protecting viable populations of large carnivores.</p>
<h2>How should this conflict be resolved?</h2>
<p>If the professional hunter and his client broke the law, then let the Zimbabwean legal system take care of that. More generally, how do conservationists trade off the money generated by trophy hunters against the huge costs of maintaining protected areas? What restrictions should be placed on where hunting takes place so that opportunities to draw candidates for hunting out of protected areas using baits placed outside their borders are prevented?</p>
<p>The traditional boundaries drawn on maps from parks and zones where these animals are need to be re-assessed. They need softening and buffer regions where hunting is not allowed. Alternatively, areas effectively protected within the park should have non-poaching activities that people can enjoy. Perhaps the activities in the buffer zone could be foot safaris, providing the excitement of encounters with wild animals without the destructive outcome associated with hunting. </p>
<p>The worldwide emotional response to the killing of this eminent animal could potentially lead to more effective reconciliation between the legitimate contributions that hunting can make to conservation, and the efforts to set aside sufficient land in protected areas to ensure the long-term persistence of the species these areas are supposed to protect. </p>
<p>Whatever the outcome following the death of Cecil, an emotive, uncompromising standpoint around the ethics of trophy hunting alone will not assist the conservation effort in Africa. In fact, it may well have the unintended consequence of undermining it.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/45445/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Norman Owen-Smith receives funding from South African National Research Foundation</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lochran Traill does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Now that Cecil the Lion is gone, what lessons can be taken from the controversial manner of his death?Lochran Traill, Research Fellow, Centre for African Ecology , University of the WitwatersrandNorman Owen-Smith, Emeritus Research Professor of African Ecology, University of the WitwatersrandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/454162015-07-29T19:15:44Z2015-07-29T19:15:44ZCecil the lion was a victim of deep-rooted and persistent arrogance towards wildlife<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/90198/original/image-20150729-30851-1cvbla3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Stuffed animals left by protesters block the doorway of River Bluff Dental clinic in Bloomington, Minnesota. Dentist Walter James Palmer, an American hunter, has been accused of killing the lion without a permit after paying $50,000 to two people who lured it out of Hwange National Park.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Reuters/David Bailey</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The killing of <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/29/cecil-the-lion-calls-for-prosecution-us-dentist-walter-palmer">Cecil the lion</a> in Zimbabwe has brought fresh attention to an entrenched, ongoing crisis in wildlife conservation.</p>
<p>As unsustainable global consumption and population growth continue to roll back the space for wild animals around the world, many species are on the edge of <a href="http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/species/problems/habitat_loss_degradation/">extinction</a>. This crisis has deep roots in Western societies, although the effects are often felt most acutely in developing nations.</p>
<p>The fact that in 2015 people are still travelling thousands of miles to kill exotic animals and bring back trophies shows deeply rooted cultural problems in Western societies, where such behaviour should be unthinkable.</p>
<h2>What’s being done</h2>
<p>There are global efforts underway, for example through the UN Decade of <a href="https://www.cbd.int/2011-2020/">Biodiversity</a>, to promote pro-conservation social change in the protection of plant and animal species. This programme’s first goal is to affect the way people view the diversity of plant and animal species. This has certainly not yet been met, as the level of understanding about biodiversity varies substantially around the <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/cobi.12383/abstract">world</a>.</p>
<p>Appreciating the intrinsic value of biodiversity is important. But the case of Cecil the lion shows that a great deal more needs to be done to promote changes in attitudes, while also ensuring there are effective legal sanctions in place. Making a difference for wildlife conservation requires addressing the way wildlife are represented in media, the structures of wildlife tourism that support sport killing of animals, and changing attitudes about the consumption of animal products from poached animals.</p>
<h2>Change needed in the way humans view animals</h2>
<p>The fact that there is any interest in killing these animals among wealthy visitors also suggests that there needs to be a major change in how animals are viewed. Animals are widely understood simply as objects to be used by humans as they see fit. This way of relating to animals is unsustainable. </p>
<p>Beyond the sustainability concern, basic respect for other living creatures is needed. As long as animals are viewed as instruments to serve human purposes, with no intrinsic value as living creatures, it is not a great leap to think it is fine to kill a lion if it makes you feel masculine or powerful.</p>
<p>The important point here is that there are systemic problems with the way animals are used merely as resources to be consumed by humans. Non-human animals are often viewed as just another consumer good to be used up and discarded with no concern for the present or future consequences. </p>
<p>Animals in danger of extinction are obviously the most urgent concern, but large-scale social change is required to make a real difference. Moreover, as with many problems in poor countries around the world, the origins are in wealthier, developed nations such as the US, where a market for poached products continues to operate.</p>
<p>Enhanced public engagement with biodiversity, conservation and related issues is fundamental to the struggle to curtail the loss of plant and animal life already well underway around the world. But an occasional public outcry is not sufficient. This issue, like many others, requires sustained attention and systemic change to make a real difference for wildlife.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/45416/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Eric A. Jensen does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The fact that people are still travelling thousands of miles to kill exotic animals and bring back trophies shows deeply rooted cultural problems in Western societies.Eric A. Jensen, Associate Professor in Sociology, University of WarwickLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/454002015-07-29T16:59:19Z2015-07-29T16:59:19ZWhy killing lions like Cecil may actually be good for conservation<p>The death of a celebrity often makes the headlines, but it is less common that the death of wild animal has the same effect. However, it appears that the entire world has mourned the loss of <a href="http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/world/africa/article4510925.ece">Cecil the lion</a>, killed on a private game reserve bordering a national park in Zimbabwe. But is the recent barrage of attacks on trophy hunting, and the <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/zimbabwe/11767119/Cecil-the-lions-killer-revealed-as-American-dentist.html">US dentist who killed Cecil</a>, justified?</p>
<p>Let’s be clear: Cecil was killed illegally, which we don’t condone. The landowner who allowed the hunt on his reserve without the necessary permit should face the justice system. But this one bad apple should not tarnish an entire industry.</p>
<p>Legally hunting lions in Zimbabwe is highly regulated: it requires various permits and licenses from the client, professional hunter and hunting reserve owner. National quotas aim to ensure sustainable off-take of the species and, in western Zimbabwe, lions are only killed once they have reached <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0073808">a certain age</a> to make sure they’ve had the chance to pass their genes on. As a result, lion populations in Zimbabwe <a href="http://ec.europa.eu/environment/cites/pdf/reports/SRG%2068_6%20Review%20of%20trophy%20hunting%20in%20selected%20species%20_public_.pdf">are either stable or increasing</a>. </p>
<p>So if hunts are conducted following these rules, can trophy hunting really help conserve lions? Some argue that even if this were the case, the practice still shouldn’t be allowed because it involves killing a charismatic and threatened <a href="https://www.thedodo.com/killing-for-fun-how-trophy-hun-611573902.html">animal for fun</a>. <a href="http://www.ifaw.org/sites/default/files/Ecolarge-2013-200m-question.pdf">Opponents</a> suggest that non-lethal alternatives such as photographic tourism should be the main way in which conservation is funded. But there are a number of problems with this argument.</p>
<h2>Tourism isn’t the answer</h2>
<p>Hunters are willing to go to <a href="http://www.africanwildlifeconservationfund.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Potential-of-trophy-hunting.pdf">remote and unstable areas</a> into which most photographic tourists are unwilling to venture. Far more photographic tourists than hunters would have to travel to Africa to make up the same level of revenue, so the carbon footprint from all that air travel would surely have a <a href="http://www.glerl.noaa.gov/seagrant/ClimateChangeWhiteboard/Resources/Mac2/ee%20eco%20efficiency%20tourism.pdf">significant environmental impact</a>. It should also be noted that the potential for nature tourism is not equally distributed, with the industry often focused only around a few locations. This leaves other regions without access to tourism revenue. Oh, and let’s not forget that wildlife reserves can also <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/southafrica/1505784/Lions-culled-at-South-African-park.html">kill lions</a>.</p>
<p>If the goal is to preserve populations and species (as opposed to the welfare of individual animals), countries with healthy wildlife populations should be able to use their natural resources to cover the costs of management. This is particularly the case in countries such as Zimbabwe, <a href="http://hdr.undp.org/en/content/human-development-index-hdi">one of the poorest places in the world.</a></p>
<h2>How hunting helps</h2>
<p>Zimbabwe has a tradition of using trophy hunting to promote wildlife conservation. Through the CAMPFIRE programme, which ran from 1989 to 2001, more than US$20m was given to participating communities, <a href="http://www.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/files/Ecological%20Economics%202008.pdf">89% of which came from sports hunting</a>. In more recent times, populations of <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/11777738_Elephant_hunting_and_conservation">elephants</a> and <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/acv.12144/abstract">other large herbivores</a> have been shown to benefit from trophy hunting.</p>
<p>Zimbabwean trophy hunting generates <a href="http://www.wildlife-baldus.com/download/8_.pdf">roughly US$16m of revenue annually</a>. While it has been rightly pointed out that only 3% of this goes towards local communities, the ethical implications of removing this money without a clear alternative need to be examined. </p>
<p>The economic impact of trophy hunting in comparison to tourism as a whole may not be huge, but what is the alternative if it is made illegal? Zambia <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/10/uk-zambia-hunting-ban-idUSLNE90900T20130110">banned</a> trophy hunting of big cats in 2013, only to <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-32815508">reverse</a> it earlier this year because the government needed the money to fund conservation. </p>
<p>Conservation costs money – so does the damage done by lions killing livestock. It is not clear whether photographic tourism alone could cover these financial burdens.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/90174/original/image-20150729-30851-127c4gs.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/90174/original/image-20150729-30851-127c4gs.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=441&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/90174/original/image-20150729-30851-127c4gs.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=441&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/90174/original/image-20150729-30851-127c4gs.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=441&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/90174/original/image-20150729-30851-127c4gs.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=554&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/90174/original/image-20150729-30851-127c4gs.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=554&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/90174/original/image-20150729-30851-127c4gs.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=554&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Lions can cause dramatic financial burdens to local communities.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Niki Rust</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Improving the situation</h2>
<p>If trophy hunting is to continue, how can we make it more sustainable? <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0073808">One study</a> suggested we need to enforce age restrictions on trophy animals throughout the entire country, improve monitoring, change quotas over time depending on environmental conditions and ensure that lion hunts are at least 21 days long. </p>
<p><a href="http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=9016211&fileId=S003060531200035X">Another study</a> found that trophy hunting can be beneficial to lion conservation when the income is shared with locals who live with this species (and have to deal with the <a href="https://www.newsday.co.zw/2014/04/07/blame-lion-attack/">negative consequences</a> of their presence). </p>
<p>While it is sad that we sometimes have to resort to killing animals for conservation, let’s not allow <a href="https://theconversation.com/whatever-our-emotions-tell-us-not-all-whaling-is-the-same-28700">emotions to overtake our arguments</a>. Conservation is a complex, difficult industry and needs all the financial help it can get: we are after all living through the <a href="https://theconversation.com/earths-sixth-mass-extinction-has-begun-new-study-confirms-43432">sixth mass extinction</a>. How much money will that take to fix?</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/45400/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Countries with healthy populations of big game should allow tourists to hunt them.Niki Rust, PhD candidate in Carnivore Conservation, University of KentDiogo Veríssimo, David H. Smith Conservation Research Fellow, Georgia State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.