The main threats to Lions are indiscriminate killing (primarily as a result of retaliatory or pre-emptive killing to protect human life and livestock) and prey base depletion. Habitat loss and conversion has led to a number of subpopulations becoming small and isolated (Bauer et al. 2008). Furthermore, trophy hunting has a net positive impact in a some areas, but may have at times contributed to population declines in Botswana, Namibia, Tanzania, Zimbabwe (Packer et al. 2009, 2011, 2013), Cameroon (Croes et al. 2011) and Zambia (Rosenblatt et al. 2014).
Name
Emma Hemmerlé
Scientific Name
Panthera leo
Common Name(s)
Lion
Type of Use
Extractive (i.e., the entire organism or parts of the organism are removed from its environment)
If extractive, for the target species, is this use
National external (individual, groups. e.g., hunters, anglers, photographers, tourists)
International external (individual, groups. e.g., hunters, anglers, photographers, tourists)
National / local private sector
Is the use part of a strategy to generate conservation incentives, to finance conservation, or to improve tolerance/stewardship?
Unknown/not recorded
Is there evidence that the use is affecting the conservation status of the species? HIDE
Yes – use is negatively affecting the status (e.g., population is declining; extraction effort is increasing)
Is there evidence that the use is affecting natural selection?
Unknown/not recorded
Is there evidence that the use is affecting poaching of illegal wildlife trade?
Unknown/not reported
Is there any evidence that this use of the species is having a knock-on effect on the status of non-target species
Unknown/not recorded
Unknown/not recorded
Yes, considered unsustainable
Details of assessment carried out
To implement sustainable trophy hunting while maintaining revenue for conservation of hunting areas, our results suggest that hunting fees must increase as a consequence of diminished supply. Our results (Fig. 3) strongly support the prior inference that restricting harvest to males above a certain age increases the sustainability of lion hunting; However, our results do not support the suggestion that restriction of hunting to males of age six or older will reliably yield sustainable offtake in the absence of other restrictions, with the conditions typified by Luangwa Valley lions. the probability of extirpation was essentially certain if males as young as four years were allowed to be hunted (as has recently been the case in SLNP, where of 12 known individuals shot by hunters between 2008 and 2012 the median age was 4.86 yr; For trophy hunting to be sustainable under the condi- tions that most lions now experience, modifications to policy must reduce total mortality.
Has a valuation of financial flows from this use at the site/national/international level been recorded
Has any assessment of socio-economic sustainability been recorded
Yes, considered unsustainable
Details of assessment
A clear policy recommendation obtained from this study is that the fee for lion hunting should be increased comparably, if it is expected to yield ecologically and economically sustainable trophy hunting. staged fees could also be put into place, so that the full amount is only charged if a lion is shot. Our results strongly suggest that lion hunting fees have been too low to promote truly sustainable hunting.
Has the use of the species been recorded as resulting in changes to human health in this record?
Unknown/not recorded
Has the species in use been noted as being of particular disease risk to humans?
Unknown/not recorded
Has the use of the species resulted in changes to animal welfare in this record?
Unknown/not recorded
Are there particular practices which have increased the risk to human or animal health or welfare in the use of this species?
Unknown/not recorded
Does the use of this species increase susceptibility to pathogen spread?
Unknown/not recorded
Unknown/not recorded
Strong community governance/institutions/rights for wildlife management
Absent
Supportive policy and legislative framework
Absent
Adequate capacity to implement and enforce governance arrangements
Absent
Good alignment of legal protections with local cultural values and traditional
Absent
Support from NGOs
Absent
Support from Government
Absent
High financial returns from use
Absent
Abundant population of target species
Absent
Biological characteristics of target species
Absent
Capacity building of community
Absent
Establishment and implementation of species and/or area management plan
Absent
Effective private sector approach engagement through certification
Creel, S., M’soka, J., Dröge, E., Rosenblatt, E., Becker, M. S., Matandiko, W., & Simpamba, T. (2016). Assessing the sustainability of African lion trophy hunting, with recommendations for policy. Ecological Applications, 26(7), 2347–2357. http://www.jstor.org/stable/24818193
Hunting resulted in population declines over a 25-yr period for all continuous harvest strategies, with large declines for quotas >1 lion/concession (~0.5 lion/1,000 km2) and hunting of males younger than seven years. A strategy that combined periods of recovery, an age limit of ≥7 yr, and a maximum quota of ~0.5 lions shot/1,000 km2 yielded a risk of extirpation <10%. a clear decline over time in the number of harvestable males is apparent for most scenarios.
Threats/pressures impacting the species at the scale of this record