Such protection would ban the importation of dead trophy lions into the US.The proposed move, supported by a coalition of wildlife groups that includes my own, the International Fund for Animal Welfare, raises an obvious question: Why on Earth are we still allowing this animal to be killed for 'fun' when it's in danger of disappearing from the wild in our lifetimes?The most recent study, led by a scientist from Duke University, shows that as few as 32,000 lions are left in the wild. Many experts say there could be far fewer.
While habitat loss and human-wildlife conflict (often in the form of retaliatory killings after lions kill livestock and sometimes even humans) are the primary causes of the lions' disappearance from Africa's forests and savannahs, trophy hunting adds to the problem. Approximately 600 lions are killed every year on trophy hunts, including lions in populations that are already declining from other threats. These hunts are unsustainable and put more pressure on the species.Unfortunately, Americans are primarily to blame. Approximately 60 percent of all lions killed for sport in Africa are shipped to the US as trophies.There are several reasons why trophy hunting is so bad for lions, beyond the obvious one that it kills healthy members of an imperiled species.The adult male lion is the most sought-after trophy by wealthy foreign hunters.
