Death of lion fans call to ban trophies

Protesters leave signs and stuffed animals in front of the Minnesota dental practice of Walter Palmer. Palmer has been under fire over the death of Cecil the lion (below). Photo / AP

People angered by the killing of Cecil the lion in Zimbabwe are being urged to donate to efforts to save Africa's dwindling population of the big cats, and some animal-rights activists are pushing for African countries to stop trophy hunting.

"This has obviously caused an enormous stir internationally with millions of people concerned about it," said Professor David Macdonald, founding director of the University of Oxford's Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, which had tracked Cecil since 2008.

"If all of those millions of people were to donate just a little bit of money to our project, then it would revolutionise our capacity to work for the conservation of lions."

The killing of 13-year-old Cecil, a beloved resident of Zimbabwe's Hwange National Park, has sparked an outpouring of anger at a wealthy American accused of paying US$50,000 ($75,440) for the hunt.

Dentist Walter Palmer, 55, an experienced trophy hunter from Minnesota, is accused of shooting Cecil with a bow and arrow. The animal was eventually shot dead 40 hours later.

Macdonald called for donations via the project's website to fund the training of local Zimbabwean conservationists, for anti-poaching patrols, and tracking devices for the lions which cost 1500 ($3532).

"In west Africa, lions have been disappearing at a catastrophic rate. In central and eastern Africa they appear to be declining fast."

Cecil's death could lead to the collapse of his "coalition" because of the social behaviour of lions, including Cecil's brother and his cubs, said Macdonald.

"To the extent that it was illegal it was completely reprehensible. But I hope that some good might come out of it in terms of raising the profile of lion conservation around the world."

British-based charities Four Paws and Lion Aid called for an immediate ban on lion exports from African countries that allow hunting.

Catherine Bearder, a member of the European Parliament, said the US and EU should follow Australia in placing a moratorium on importing lion parts.

"This was a heinous crime but hopefully it will open the dialogue about trophy hunting and help eliminate it," said Claire LaFrance, a spokeswoman for Four Paws. "A ban on transporting lion parts would restore dignity to this wild, majestic animal."

The industry in neighbouring South Africa, the region's biggest trophy-hunting destination, is worth about 6.2 billion rand ($742.5 million) a year, according to the Government's estimates. It has helped boost animal numbers to the highest since the 19th century, research by the University of Pretoria shows.

Politicians in some countries have been tightening rules on importing animal parts. In February, the EU changed import permits to verify that hunting trophies are legal, while Australia in March banned the transport of lion carcasses.

Emirates Airline and Deutsche Lufthansa said this year they would not permit customers to transport hunting trophies.

A ban on trophy hunting would hurt tourism and, contrary to animal-rights activists' claims, would damage conservation, claims the Professional Hunters' Association of South Africa.

"Any illegal incident, as is alleged in this case, obviously tarnishes the image of trophy hunting," Adri Kitshoff, the association's chief executive officer, said. "That doesn't change the value of legal, regulated trophy hunting."

South Africa now has 24 million large mammals, up from fewer than 600,000 in the early 1960s, says Wouter van Hoven, an emeritus professor at the University of Pretoria.

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature estimates trophy-hunting tourists legally kill 600 lions each year. Dr Jane Smart, the global director of the union's Biodiversity Conservation Group, said that figure was several years old and probably a bit light today.

Given that there are only at most 30,000 lions left in Africa, this represents an annual loss of roughly 2 per cent of the total lion population to legal hunting, and a considerably larger share of the population of healthy adult male lions, which hunters typically prize.

Smart said well-regulated trophy hunting could be a net benefit for lion populations.

"However unpleasant people find this, this can be a good conservation technique." She stressed that habitat destruction and illegal poaching were even bigger threats to the lion population.

American tourists account for the majority of lions killed for sport in Africa. A 2011 report by the International Fund for Animal Welfare found that between 1999 and 2008, Americans brought home lion "trophies" representing 64 per cent of all African lions killed for sport during that period.

Last year, the US Fish and Wildlife Service declined to list African lions as "endangered", which would have banned the importation of recreational lion trophies to the US. Instead it listed lions as "threatened", which allows the domestic trade in lion trophies to continue.

Bond star joins criticism

Roger Moore aiming his gun as 007 (though not at a 13-year-old lion). Photo / Supplied

Sir Roger Moore and other celebrities have joined tens of thousands who condemned the act on social media.

Moore, the former James Bond actor, echoed the demands from many when he called for Walter Palmer to be punished.

"Hunting is a coward's pastime, and no one has demonstrated that more clearly than Walter Palmer," the actor said.

"Cleary he's gunning his way through the animal kingdom, and who among us feels that we live in a civilised society while he's on the loose?

"He must be stopped and brought to justice. In a world with boundless opportunities for amusement, it's detestable that anyone would choose to get thrills from killing others who ask for nothing from life but the chance to remain alive."

Actress Mia Farrow joined other angry social media users by posting the business address of the dentist who killed a protected lion in Zimbabwe, but the post was later deleted.

Supporters of Palmer argued that the fee he paid to shoot in Zimbabwe would assist conservation of endangered species.

Lions are not endangered, and can be shot legally in Zimbabwe - although not in the national park. Hwange currently has a population of around 500.

"I personally wouldn't want to kill a lion, but don't have a problem with hunting those that form part of a sustainable population," said Emelie Mararv, who for the past eight years has run a hunting concession in the Central African Republic.

"Hunters are some of the most passionate conservationists I know." Yet an angry crowd gathered outside Palmer's surgery in the town of Eden Prairie.

Police maintained a discreet presence.

Cecil's fate has echoes in history

For most of history, humans have obsessed over lions, measured themselves against them and - more often than not - sought to kill them.

Perhaps no animal on Earth has generated more veneration and fear over the centuries. In myriad ancient cultures, lions were demigods and guardian spirits, symbols of nobility and righteousness.

From the Mediterranean to East Asia, statues of lions graced the gates of cities, the entrances of temples and the abodes of kings. The Bible is full of passages gesturing to the awesome power of these "bold" and "roaring" creatures. A lion's body forms the base of ancient Egypt's most famous single structure.

To this day, the lion's image is symbolic for dozens of countries. It is an icon for Cameroon's football team and Iranian dissidents in exile. It is the national emblem of the Indian republic, the dominant icon on Sri Lanka's flag and the logo of Thailand's most popular beer.

But that never has stopped humans from killing lions. According to National Geographic, "2000 years ago more than a million lions roamed the Earth." Now that figure may be as low as 20,000, with most in Africa and a few in India. The decline is largely the result of their loss of habitat, encroached upon by a booming human population.

The lion hunt is one of the world's oldest tropes: friezes adorned the palaces of Assyrian kings, while the hunt was a constant artistic theme in courts in India and farther west.

But, according to National Geographic's calculations, the real slaughter of lions occurred only in the past two centuries. In 1800, estimates of the overall population were about what they had been for most of history - one million or so. But by the 1940s only 450,000 were left, and 50,000 half a century later.

Walter Palmer was following a well-trodden path, one taken by numerous European royals and US grandees - including, famously, former President Theodore Roosevelt.
Palmer's hunt may be uniquely awful because Cecil belonged to a protected habitat, but there's nothing unique about this act of killing.

- AFP, Washington Post-Bloomberg, Telegraph Group Ltd, AP