New US trophy crackdown means Cecil the lion’s death won’t be in vain
GOOD news for conservationists, and for lions, is that by January 22, the US Endangered Species Act will officially include lions across Africa as protected species.
The US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) move to classify lions in southern and eastern Africa as threatened and those in central and western region as endangered, means importing lion trophies into the US will be severely restricted.
The move comes six months after the global furore that followed the killing of Cecil the lion by US dentist Walter Palmer in July last year.
Cecil, with his distinctive dark mane, was a well-known lion in the Zimbabwean Hwange Game Reserve and was lured from the park and killed illegally by Palmer and his hunting party. His death sparked a fierce outcry against big game hunting.
According to the FWS, more than 5 600 lions have been killed and imported by US hunters over the past decade.
The FWS also believes the population of lions is down by at least 50 percent from three decades ago. Its data also shows that western and central populations of African lions are more genetically related to the Asiatic lion. This genetic links means African lions are considered the same subspecies.
There are an estimated 1 400 of these lions remaining in the wild: 900 in 14 African populations and 523 in India.
The FWS website states: “Considering the size and distribution of the populations, population trends and the severity of the threats, the service has found that this subspecies meets the definition of (endangerment).”
It said another sub-species, Pl melanochaita, found across southern and eastern Africa, likely numbers 17 000-19 000.
“The service deter mined this subspecies is less vulnerable. Although lion numbers in southern Africa are increasing overall, there are populations declining due to ... threats. The service finds the subspecies meets the definition of a threatened species.” – Ufrieda Ho