 |
| Etosha male, courtesy US Person |
US Fish & Wildlife Service has proposed listing the African lion
(Panthera leo leo) as threatened under the US Endangered Species Act. The petition for listing was filed by several animal protection organizations. Importation of lion trophies is adding to the lion's predicament on the African continent. Unabated lion hunting, mostly by wealthy foreign nationals, cannot be allowed to continue. Lion populations have plummeted by 50% in the last thirty years due to habitat and prey lost, and human persecution. There are an estimated 32,000 or fewer lions remaining in Africa. The West African subspecies is critically endangered. Only about 400 were found in the most recent census of four protected areas. The Service's director said lions face extinction by 2050 if nothing is done to help them survive. The IUCN lists lions as vulnerable to extinction. American hunters import about 400 lion carcasses a year as trophies. The proposed restriction, one level below endangered, would help conservation efforts in Africa and restrict the importation or sale of trophies or body parts into the US. The proposal is overdue as lion hunting has actually increased between 1999 and 2008 with the number of trophies imported doubling during the period. If the proposal becomes a rule, American hunters would need a permit to import the body. Permits would only be granted if the lion was taken from a proven sustainable hunting program.
US Person thinks all sport hunting of lions should be suspended until lion populations have recovered sufficiently to insure their survival in the wild.