BANN LION HUNTING??
I am not out to attack anybody, but to generalise and say Bann Male Lion Hunting is not the right thing to do Especially on a hunting forum such as AFRICA HUNTING.COM where Outfitters, Hunting Agents and PH’s advertise Lion Hunting. We now look like fools not knowing what we are doing. These words would be more appropriate on a green peace site where foolish comments are in the order of the day. But that is how I feel about it.
Yes Free Roaming Lions are in a decline, but I can assure you that it is not due the sport hunter that they are becoming less and less visible in the African bush. There are other issues, such as over population of Elephant destroying the habitat of the game that Lions feed on (Botswana), TB in the Kruger Park is another issue, the fact that Lions are been snared and poisoned for their clause for some kind of spiritual belief under the natives of Africa (Mozambique).
Any sports hunter that comes to Africa for a free roaming Lion is willing to pay up to 50000.00 US Dollars for such a Lion hunt (in prime areas such as Tanzania). Keep in mind that there are quotas for these hunts, it is not just thump sucking of how many Lions should or can be hunted, there for is CITIES to regulate these quotas and permits.
Free roaming Lion hunts are usually old, non breeding Lions. I have hunted a few free roaming Lions and not one has been taken out of a pride structure. It is a firm belief of mine, not to do so, mainly because of the reason that should you do so, to take a Lion out of a pride structure you are not killing one Lion but you are in fact killing cubs as well. Other males will come into this pride structure and kill all the cubs so that they can breed with the Lionesses. So will the Lion also fight with the pregnant Lionesses until they abort they’re unborn cubs, so that they get into season and he can mate with them as well. I hope my fellow Outfitters and PH’s feels and do the same.
The fee that the sports hunter pays for hunting in general goes back into conservation of these animals we hunt each year, be it on a fenced farm in South Africa or any other concession in the rest of Africa.
I have not seen one cent go into conservation from a green peace organisation.
If you feel that the free roaming Lion should not be hunted then take a bread Lion instead. You will note that I say BREAD LION and not CANNED LION. Because the way I see it, is that there is a substitute for hunting free roaming Lions and by doing so you will save a free roaming Lion, but that does not guarantee that this lion will not be killed by a snare, or poison.
I have not hunted bread Lions so I cannot say too much about these hunts, but what I can tell you for sure is that banning lion hunting will create a new black market and farmers that are not compensated for livestock that are lost due to lions, will gun them down or poison them and then burn the trophy. (That is what is happening with the Cheetah in South Africa just because there is no value to it.)
A good example was when the South African nature conservation came out with the new TOPS law (THREATENED OR PROTECTED SPECIES) a farmer in the Free State culled about 500 Black wildebeest because he could not have them legally hunted or sold on an auction at that time.
a Well known Outfitter in South Africa told me a very true thing and that is that, HUNTERS PAYS FOR CONSERVATION.
So to BANN LION HUNTING will not bring them back.
