By Andrew Friedman
AFKI Original
Published: November 17, 2014
animals.nationalgeographic.com 30 years ago about 300,000 lions roamed the African continent. Today, LionAid, a UK based charity, estimates that this number has dwindled to less than 8%, or just 15,000. Some estimates double the number to 30 or 35,000, but even taking the more optimistic figures, this fall is astounding.
In addition to the decline across the continent, there are areas where the problem is more pronounced. In one example, in West and Central Africa, LionAid estimates there are as few as 645 of a rare species of West African lion now in existence. In Nigeria it is estimated that only 34 of the rare species remain, and the number is falling fast, down from 44 in 2009.
Conservation efforts for the big cats have run into significant problems, including a lack of political will for such efforts, an underdeveloped eco-tourism industry combined with extreme poverty in some areas, habitat loss, a lack of prey and increased conflict with an ever developing and expanding human population.
While most of these problems must be addressed locally, many with international assistance, the United States is considering addressing another factor in the depletion of the population of African lions, hunting.
The US Fish and Wildlife Service is considering adding African lions to its list of endangered animals under the Endangered Species Act. Inclusion on the list would carry additional regulations and prohibitions for those looking to travel to hunt the big cats or acquire lions that have already been killed.
According to the National Geographic, “If approved, the law would make it illegal to kill or hunt captive lions in the U.S. without a permit or for a U.S. citizen to sell lions or lion parts across state or international borders. The sale of lions or lion parts within a U.S. state will remain under state jurisdiction.”
American hunters who kill lions on the African continent would still be able to import their trophies, as long as they received a permit from the host country and said country uses a “scientifically sound” approach to conservation and hunt-licensing.
In addition to the added regulations, there is an important element of the inclusion of lions on the list that is often under-examined in economic and conservation analyses. That is the stigma that accompanies hunting animals deemed threatened or endangered.
According to a report by Carolyn Fischer, a Fellow at the Washington-Based organization Resources for the Future, the “stigma” or “outrage” factor stems from the idea that trophies or products are acquired through illegal or inhumane methods. This is particularly the case for “display” goods, which would include a trophy lion for hunters.
Under Fischer’s model, limited legal sales keep stigma high while biting into the illegal or black market sales of such animals without raising demand.
The Endangered Species Act model, then, would be ideal for keeping stigma high but not putting money into the pockets of poachers. Unfortunately, lion-hunting is not one of the more prominent factors for depletion of the big cats, a fact even acknowledged by the Fish and Wildlife Service in their official press release.
Depth Of Habitat Destruction
A recent study by Duke University detailed the depth of habitat destruction, using satellite imagery to determine that three quarters of the wide open savannah, on which lions thrive, has disappeared over the last half century. This remarkable destruction of the lions’ natural habitat is contributing considerably more to the decline of the animals than hunting.
Similarly, according to the National Geographic report, “as human development and agriculture have expanded into lion habitat, more livestock are put into the paths of lions—which leads to retaliatory killings by people. Humans are also hunting lion’s prey at ‘unsustainable levels’ to meet a growing demand for food, according to the [Fish and Wildlife Service]. The human population in sub-Saharan Africa is expected to double by 2050.”
This trend will thus be difficult to stop.
Any lion conservation effort must attack the problem on multiple fronts. Political will must be developed, there must be greater efforts to ensure that the unique ecosystem of a wide-open savannah is maintained and efforts must be made to make the conservation of such animals economically beneficial to sometimes impoverished and ever-expanding local populations.
Americans, who kill more lions (along with elephants and rhinoceroses) on the continent than anyone else, may become subject to an additional set of regulations when they attempt to kill the big cats, in addition to the stigma that comes from hunting an animal deemed “endangered.” Perhaps this will lead to some pause on killing the animals and a renewed sense of vigor for their protection.
Estimating the total number of lions still in existence is an immensely difficult process. This has led to the wide differences between estimates of surviving big cats. While large range may lead some to belittle or denigrate the problem, it is becoming increasingly evident that if nothing is done, lions will join the irreversible list of animals that are nothing but a distant memory.
Andrew Friedman is a human rights attorney and consultant who works and writes on legal reform and constitutional law with an emphasis on Africa. He can be reached via email at afriedm2@gmail.com or via twitter @AndrewBFriedman.
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