Hunter kills lion near Cecil slaughter area
Big game trophy outrage on national park’s border
A TROPHY hunter has shot dead a high-profile lion in Zimbabwe after it was apparently lured away from the safety of a reserve.
The unnamed American slaughtered 12-year-old Mopane yards from the spot where beloved lion Cecil was killed by American dentist Walter Palmer in 2015.
That caused fury and Mopane’s killing could do the same, especially as Mopane endured 24 hours of agony after being shot by a bow and arrow just like Cecil.
Black-maned Mopane, dominant over two prides, is understood to have been targeted in Hwange National Park, Gwaai, last week. Again like Cecil, it appears he was enticed from his pride. A post by Big Game Safaris in December advertised a sickening trip to slaughter the lion.
It read: “The mighty Mopane. He is one of the oldest and definitely the most aggressive in our hunting block.
“We border Hwange game reserve and Mopane travels between the areas. Do you want the chance to take a big free roaming lion? Book a hunt with us.”
Trophy hunting is legal in Zimbabwe but not in national parks. Over 12 years, hunters have killed more than 20 named lions in the region.
Tinashe Farawo, of Zimbabwe’s Parks and Wildlife Management Authority, said: “The hunt was legal, so why this noise?”
But Eduardo Goncalves, who is working with the Mirror to stop the import of animal parts to the UK, said: “There was uproar at the killing of Cecil. Mopane was lured to the same spot.
“He was a magnificent breeding male and left in agony for 24 hours before being put out of his misery. Cecil was left to drown in his blood for 11 hours before Palmer shot him again.
“Trophy hunters are slaughtering some of the world’s rarest wildlife. There used to be over one million lions in Africa. There are fewer than 20,000 left.
“The US government predicts if things carry on, lions will be extinct in the wild by 2050. There must never be another Cecil or Mopane. The Government can help make this happen.”
Arthur Thomas, of Humane Society International, added: “Boris Johnson must bring forward a rigorous ban on trophy imports and exports now.”
Mopane was lured to the same spot where Cecil was killed
EDUARDO GONCALVES WILDLIFE CAMPAIGNER