US protection for lion species

A US agency has listed two lion subspecies under the Endangered Species Act‚ offering them legal protection that will make it harder for hunters to import trophies into the country.

The US Fish & Wildlife Service listed lions found mostly in west and central Africa as “endangered” and lions in eastern and southern Africa as “threatened”, and said it would withhold permits from violators.

The measures‚ enacted under the world’s most powerful animal protection law‚ take effect in January 2016. This follows an extension of protection to African elephants and cheetahs.

The two groups of lions covered by the listing once roamed the continent in the tens of thousands but populations have been decimated by loss of prey and habitat‚ and killings by hunters‚ including many from local communities.

Several African countries such as Zimbabwe and Burkina Faso still allow tourists to hunt their lions‚ saying it provides an important source of revenue and helps support conservation.

But many condemn trophy hunting and contest its benefits.

American dentist Walter Palmer sparked intense global controversy in July when he killed a rare black-maned lion named Cecil in Zimbabwe. Hunters like Palmer regularly import salt-packed skulls and skins of lions into the US.

The US Fish & Wildlife Service said at the time it was deeply concerned about the killing‚ which prompted a group of Democrats to press the agency for the listing‚ initially proposed by petition in 2011.

A spokesperson for the agency denied that the new measures were linked to Cecil’s killing‚ which is being investigated separately.

Conservationists said the listing was significant since Americans make up about two-thirds of trophy hunters.

“The hunting industry says all the time that trophy hunting helps conservation. Now they are being asked to prove it‚” said Luke Hunter‚ president of Panthera‚ the global wildcat conservation organisation.

Under the new measures‚ imports of a rare subspecies found in west and central Africa and in smaller numbers in India will “generally be prohibited”, the agency said‚ except where licensees can show they enhance the survival of the species.

Only around 1 400 of this type of lion remain and conservationists have warned that they are threatened with extinction.

Permits are required for lions found elsewhere on the continent and only from countries “with established conservation programmes and well-managed lion populations”‚ the agency said.

France also said last month that no more permits to import trophy lions would be issued. Australia has passed similar measures. — Reuters