South Africa's lion hunting industry to be hit by new US protections which may reduce clients

[Calista241]

Source: US News & World Report

South Africa's lion hunting industry faces new restrictions as a result of the decision this week by the U.S. government to protect African lions under the Endangered Species Act, according to conservationists.

Under the new provisions, American hunters bringing home lion trophies will need a permit, which will only be issued if the hunt is part of a science-based conservation strategy that enhances the species in the wild, the Fish and Wildlife Service said.

The new restrictions will discourage American hunters from sport hunting lions in South Africa, Humane Society International said in a statement. The organization said 620 of the 719 hunted lion trophies brought into the U.S. in 2014 came from South Africa. More than half of those were from lions bred in captivity, it said.

Trophy hunters pay between $18,000 and $24,000 to kill a five-year-old male. An eight-year-old male with an impressive mane may cost up to $75,000, according to hunting professionals.

Read more: http://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2015-12-24/south-africas-lion-hunting-industry-to-be-hit-by-us-rules

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Fucking finally.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. About damn time.

They should call it "Cecil's Law."

[trillion]

21. +10000

And we need to protect all endangered species being hunted by Americans. Look at the Trump sons endangered species hunting spree earlier this year. Those two sociopaths should be in jail for animal murder. Among their victims - an elephant and a leopard.

[TheMastersNemesis]

2. Actually Should Ban Importation Of ALL Trophy Animals Except For Scientific Or Conservation.

Banning entry of animal trophies with penalties for illegally bringing in trophies would help. Also only zoos or conservation groups should be allowed live animals. No foreign exotic pets should be allowed to be owned as well. Having a dangerous animal as a like a lion or tiger as a pet should be prohibited. Visas for trophy hunts should also be restricted.

[navarth]

3. Killing for recreation is an abomination. EOM

[BlueJazz]

4. I'd be happy dressing up in a bullet proof Lion suit. I could take my trophy heads home and...

...display them for my liberal friends.

[Aristus]

5. Even as a little kid, I understood and respected the idea of "shooting"

endangered animals only with a camera.

Is it possible that photography tourism will increase because of this? Benefitting everyone, including the animals, excepting only the kill-happy freaks?

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

6. 700 lions at $20,000, that's $14M not going to Africa

Guides, porters, etc, laid off. Hunting lands not maintained as habitat. There will be consequences as well as benefits.

[LanternWaste]

12. hunting companies contribute only 3 percent of their revenue to communities living in hunting areas

South Africa is already the second largest economy on the continent, and accounts for 24% of the continents GDP. Trophy hunting accounts for a fraction of that tourism contributed to South Africa’s GDP in 2013. About 8,500 trophy hunters visit South Africa each year, compared to around 9.5 million tourists.

A resource economist who worked across Southern Africa and established a national environmental economics program in Namibia, Dr Jon Barnes, wrote in a 2001 paper: “Consumptive wildlife uses [such as hunting] are relatively unimportant in terms of economic contribution..."

That being said, the theory that money from trophy hunting goes directly into communities and conservation is questionable at best. Research published by the pro-hunting International Council for Game and Wildlife Conservation and the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization found that that hunting companies contribute only 3 percent of their revenue to communities living in hunting areas. And according to a 2013 report by the International Fund for Animal Welfare, trophy hunting accounts for 0.27 percent or less of the GDP of each African country in which it’s conducted.

(Why Are We Still Hunting Lions?" National Geographic Magazine)

"There will be consequences as well as benefits." Fewer lion deaths, your allegations notwithstanding...

[NickB79]

13. Yet nations that allow controlled hunting have the largest lion populations left in Africa

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/27/science/african-lion-population-is-dwindling-study-finds.html?_r=0

Lion experts attributed the stability in southern countries to a lower density of humans, the establishment of fenced wildlife preserves that protect both lions and humans, and national policies that have given ownership of wildlife — and the profits from tourism or legal hunting — to landowners and communities.

In contrast, the largest declines have come from nations where hunting has been banned for quite some time now.

[LanternWaste]

14. Interesting editorial.

From the article...

The spread of subsistence farming has encroached on the woodlands, open plains and thick bush where lions hunt and breed. With human settlements and large predators living in proximity, lions are often killed in retaliation for attacks on livestock or humans. And a robust trade in bush meat has depleted the prey that the big cats depend on for survival.




"In contrast, the largest declines have come from nations where hunting has been banned for quite some time now."
There is of course, peer-reviewed, objective sources (i.e., not an editorial) for that allegation, yes...

[NickB79]

15. The original study was peer-reviewed and published in PNAS this year

http://www.pnas.org/content/112/48/14894

African lion populations are declining everywhere, except in four southern countries (Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe). Population models indicate a 67% chance that lions in West and Central Africa decline by one-half, while estimating a 37% chance that lions in East Africa also decline by one-half over two decades. We recommend separate regional assessments of the lion in the World Conservation Union (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species: already recognized as critically endangered in West Africa, our analysis supports listing as regionally endangered in Central and East Africa and least concern in southern Africa. Almost all lion populations that historically exceeded ?500 individuals are declining, but lion conservation is successful in southern Africa, in part because of the proliferation of reintroduced lions in small, fenced, intensively managed, and funded reserves. If management budgets for wild lands cannot keep pace with mounting levels of threat, the species may rely increasingly on these southern African areas and may no longer be a flagship species of the once vast natural ecosystems across the rest of the continent.

Note the portion I put in bold above. Those intensively managed reserves they're discussing include many game reserves where hunting is conducted. On the other hand, Central and East African nations have the most restrictive laws regarding trophy hunting: Kenya and Botswana both outlawed trophy hunting decades ago, and other nations in the region have some of the strictest hunting laws on the continent.

[FarrenH]

16. I'm South African

Last edited Mon Dec 28, 2015, 11:51 PM - Edit history (1)

Raw population counts are extremely deceptive. Our lion population is large because a lot of lions are bred in captivity and captive bred lions are often used for the abomination that is canned hunting. The point of conservation is to conserve these animals in their natural habitat. Re-introducing captive-bred and -raised lions into the wild is a costly process, Lions breed readily in captivity, unlike pandas, and lions are not going to go extinct as long as many zoos still have them around the world.

What we're trying to conserve is wild lions. Holding up numbers significantly bolstered by captive bred populations bred specifically for hunting as a plus is a thoroughly disingenuous tactic used by hunting lobbyists over here. Those captive populations aren't serving a legitimate conservation interest.

Aside from that, South Africa also has more resources to provide sanctuaries for animals like lions that don't bring them into conflict with rural populations and to deal with poachers et al than other African countries (another post points out we're the second largest economy in Africa, but per capita we're far and away the richest). Our wild population in national wildlife reserves like Kruger National Park are stable, and they don't rely on the hunting industry.

[wickerwoman]

17. Many of those people will still go to Africa,

they just won't kill anything while they're there.

And when we're talking about industries $14M is a pittance. As Nick says below, 97% of that doesn't go to the local economy.

And I don't think you can argue for maintaining a fundamentally immoral industry on the basis that people would lose their jobs. I'm sure the crews of slave ships had to find other work when slavery was abolished in Britain. It doesn't mean abolishing slavery was wrong.

[Judi Lynn]

7. Greatest fear of all for these freaks is any law making it harder to harm or destroy others.

What will these pieces of filth do for the rest of their lives?

How will they find other ways to intimidate and terrorize animals, and flaunt it for human beings who'd like to see them drop dead as soon as possible?

They are rotting piles of flesh in our human world, and need to be removed. There's no place in a sunlit world for parasites like trophy hunters.

[farleftlib]

8. Lion "trophies?"

Who are the beasts here? Hint: Not the ones with four legs.

I can't for the life of me imagine shooting a beautiful, endangered animal for sport. These people are twisted.

[SunSeeker]

9. +1

[Judi Lynn]

10. They have gone irredeemably sick, deteriorated inside. Wildly sub-human.

Their "pleasure" has a pure evil component.

[Herman4747]

11. LION HUNTING INDUSTRY??!?

What's up with that??

[happyslug]

18. This was discussed last week.. From a New York Times article

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10141293684

Here is the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) actual listing for African Lions:

https://s3.amazonaws.com/public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2015-31958.pdf

From that listing, as to Southern Africa Lions (P. l. melanochaita):

Management programs for P. l. melanochaita would be expected to address, but are not limited to, evaluating population levels and trends; the biological needs of the species; quotas; management practices; legal protection; local community involvement; and use of hunting fees for conservation. In evaluating these factors, we will work closely with the range countries and interested parties to obtain the information. By allowing entry into the United States of P. l. melanochaita trophies from range countries that have science-based management programs, we anticipate that other range countries would be encouraged to adopt and financially support the sustainable management of lions that benefits both the species and local communities. In addition to addressing the biological needs of the subspecies, a scientifically based management program would provide economic incentives for local communities to protect and expand P. l. melanochaita habitat.

As stated, under this 4(d) rule any person wishing to conduct an otherwise prohibited activity, including all imports of P. l. melanochaita specimens, must first obtain a permit under 50 CFR 17.32. As with all permit applications submitted under 50 CFR 17.32, the individual requesting authorization to import a sport-hunted trophy of P. l. melanochaita bears the burden of providing information in their application showing that the activity meets the requirements for issuance criteria under 50 CFR 17.32. In some cases for imports, such as sport-hunted trophies, it is not always possible for the applicant to provide all of the necessary information needed by the Service to make a positive determination under the Act to authorize the activity. For the import of sport-hunted trophies of P. l. melanochaita, the Service will typically consult with the range country to the extent practicable and other interested parties to obtain necessary information. The Service has the discretion to make the required findings on sport-hunted trophy imports of P. l. melanochaita on a country-wide basis, although individual import permits will be evaluated and issued or denied for each applicant. While the Service may make enhancement findings for sport-hunted trophy imports of P. l. melanochaita on a country-wide basis, the Service encourages the submission of information from individual applicants. We would rely on the information available to the Service and may rely on information from sources other than the applicant when making a permitting decision.

The difference is important, see 50 CFR § 17.32:

§ 17.32 Permits—general.
Upon receipt of a complete application the Director may issue a permit for any activity otherwise prohibited with regard to threatened wildlife.

https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/50/17.32

Now the regulations go on and mention "scientific purposes, or the enhancement of propagation or survival, or economic hardship, or zoological exhibition, or educational purposes, or special purposes consistent with the purposes of the Act." but that is vague enough for any hunter to get a permit to import an "Threatened Species" except those under special rules 17.40 through 17.48 (Which includes the "Special Rules" for Elephants, Grizzly bears and some other "Threatened" Species but NOT lions).

Special Rules 50 CFR § 17.40:

https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/50/17.40

[Sunlei]

19. Breeders will produce thousands more to meet the the 'bred in captivity' exception.

[Taitertots]

20. The irony of it is that this will probably hurt conservation efforts

Because there is no offsetting funds to replace the millions that hunters spend on conservation.

[Calista241]

22. There are always unintended consequences when decisions like this are made

But perhaps the money can be made up in other types of tourism. 800 lions a year were being killed, and i find it hard to believe the lion population can support that number of deaths for decades on end.