Cecil saga: To kill or not kill the lion?

The hunting of Cecil the Lion in Zimbabwe last month has put trophy hunting back on the agenda.

Worldwide governments, animal right organisations, airlines, hunters and activists have expressed their opinion about the legal but often debated leisure sport.

Trophy hunting in Africa has been dubbed 'new colonialism' by activists while African countries have called the cargo ban on hunting trophies on several flights a slap to their economy. 

How it all started

Two weeks ago, a wealthy American dentist killed a semi-domesticated lion which was part of a University of Oxford research programme.

Although the lion inhabited Hwange National Park, it was lured outside the reserve's boundaries by bait and killed.

The hunter claimed he was unaware that the lion was part of a conservation programme and therefore illegal prey.

However, the killing sparked outrage over the world. 

Airline bans

A wave of cargo bans occurred after the killing of Cecil the Lion.

In a response to the incident, American airline Delta Air Lines announced it had banned the transportation of all lion, leopard, elephant, rhinoceros, and buffalo trophies on its flights.

Two other US carriers – United Airlines and American Airlines – followed suit. In the days after, similar bans were announced by Air Canada, Air France and Qantas.

Flights to the UAE are likely to have a similar ban on board, as most of the carriers travel between the African continent and the UAE.

Further, the two biggest UAE carriers – Etihad Airways and Emirates airline – already had a ban in place.

Emirates airline announced a ban of hunting trophies of elephant, rhinoceros, lion and tiger in May this year. In June, Etihad Airways joined the list of carriers banning the cargo.

Most recently, Qatar Airways announced a similar ban. The airline’s existing ban on carrying CITES I hunting trophies, which covers endangered species, was extended to include all species included in CITES II and III, which include species protected in at least one country and also species which come under trade controls.

The debate

The response of various airlines to ban trophy cargo has been applauded by many people over the world, and is said to be the beginning of a shift towards a more restricted hunting policy.

However, the bans have been criticised by some African governments.

South Africa’s environment ministry said it was disappointed at Delta Air Lines’ announcement this week that it will no longer accept lion, leopard, elephant, rhino and buffalo trophies.

“The decision by Delta Air Lines to enforce a blanket ban fails to distinguish between the trade in and transportation of legally acquired wildlife specimens, and the illegal exploitation and trade in wildlife specimens,” South Africa’s environment ministry was quoted as saying in the Guardian.

The government of Namibia pointed to the fact that such bans would hurt its economy and conservation efforts that rely on revenue from hunters.

“This will be the end of conservation in Namibia,” Pohamba Shifeta, the environment and tourism minister, was quoted as saying in the same newspaper.

Elsayed Mohamed, Middle East Regional Director of the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) counters such arguments.

"First, the hunting industry in African countries is paired with corruption. The money that is paid for hunting permits or transportation does not always go to the right person.

"Second, the value of a life animal is still more than the value of a dead animal."

These conclusion was drawn from an evaluation comparing the revenue streams resulting from trophy hunting on the one hand, and wildlife tourism on the other, he continued.

"The income raised through wildlife tourism is in many countries also used for conservation efforts," he said.

In addition to these arguments, trophy hunting practices have a colonialistic tendency, and are by some people named the 'new colonialism' in Africa, Mohamed explained.

In many countries the local population is banned from hunting big animals such as the lion, buffalo, giraffe, or elephant.

"However, permits are granted to wealthy white people who pay a lot of money to hunt and taxidermy parts of these animals such as the head or shoulders."

According to Mohamed the airline bans are a good step that could help in fighting the practice of trophy hunting.

Further, there are talks going on to uplist the African Lion from an Appendix II species to an Appendix I species according to the CITES agreement, which would include the lion species as an endangered species.

According to the CITES agreement trade in specimens of these species is permitted only in exceptional circumstances.

Appendix II includes species not necessarily threatened with extinction, but in which trade must be controlled in order to avoid utilisation incompatible with their survival.

Appendix III contains species that are protected in at least one country, which has asked other CITES Parties for assistance in controlling the trade.

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