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I have been trying to keep a balanced conversation going for the last couple of years on a facebook group called LionAid. This is an english charity that has turned increasingly anti-hunter. In any event the following was recently asked of me by a Dr. Peiter Kat. He has done some research in country on lions and appears to be successfully having some influence within the EU on lion hunting and imports. Any help in answering some of this would be appreciated. Even better join the group and contribute. Warning though if you are too bent they will kick you. http://www.facebook.com/Lionaid?sk=wall Thanks, John Hunt John, you should read a book called "Prides - the Lions of Moremi". In the last chapter I was ambivalent about the contribution of sport hunting to lion conservation. Since then, the more I learned, the less I see of any convincing argument to support the hunting of lions. I'm really very open to being convinced, as my first priority is to arrive at a positive solution for the declining lion populations in Africa. Especially western and central Africa, where lions are down to critically low numbers, genetically different from other lions in Africa, and still being hunted in Cameroon and Burkina Faso. You will say LionAid is unfairly targeting sport hunters, but I see no benefit to lions or African communities as to the supposed benefits sport hunting is providing. The profits are not translated into conservation or tolerance by communities. You say sport hunting must remain, otherwise lions will not. My point is that, as currently practiced, lions will not remain because sport hunting does not contribute to their conservation. You perhaps seek too simple answers to complicated questions (Kenya) as a knee-jerk reaction. You are actually too intelligent to believe that Kenya is a negative model for anti-hunting, as wildlife populations have declined there. But so have they in Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Tanzania, Cameroon, Nigeria, Congo, Chad, Central African Republic - and that is only half the list. Those are countries that have supported sport hunting of lions and other species for a long time now. We have always said that lion sport hunting is an additive mortality that cannot be tolerated given the many other sources of mortality. But it is a factor that can easily be removed, given that it is largely motivated by entertainment value and not conservation value. Safari Club International and Conservation Force, as pro-hunting lobbies, always refer to the great benefit sport hunting has had financially. Past SCI president Larry Rudolph mentioned that $200 million is pumped into rural communities by trophy hunting. He is a fool to believe that, but perhaps wants to believe such drivel. He might actually be surprised what the actual figures are. The Safari Club International Foundation and Conservation Force are not conserving lions. What they are conserving is the right to shoot lions by supporting quasi-scientists (paid by them) to come up with rosy reports about the status of lion populations. One recent report mentioned that lions occur in 92.4% of Tanzania. Give me a break. You might see LionAid as being a bunch of airhead anti-hunting bunny hugging terrorist extremist activists. But I do believe there are ways through this. I have asked SCI to evaluate carefully their promotion of lion hunting given current practices. If SCI said no more for pending a careful and considered evaluation, this would do good. Perhaps you could suggest it to them | ||
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ J. Lane Easter, DVM A born Texan has instilled in his system a mind-set of no retreat or no surrender. I wish everyone the world over had the dominating spirit that motivates Texans.– Billy Clayton, Speaker of the Texas House No state commands such fierce pride and loyalty. Lesser mortals are pitied for their misfortune in not being born in Texas.— Queen Elizabeth II on her visit to Texas in May, 1991. | |||
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John - I'm sure if you search all of my previous posts on the subject, you can definitely find some helpful info. Check Bwanamich's too, he'll have some good info to consider for use as well. I'm not on Facebook, sorry! But if you really need something specific, you can email me directly at globalhunts@aol.com | |||
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Yes I am pretty well versed in this. The arguements have really progressed to a level of specificity that may simply not exist. Would there be any interest in a virtual symposium on this with various groups interested in the long term survival of wild lions? Cheers, John | |||
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BTW: this was my ultimate response to them. Thank you for this. I have added a comment for each paragraph above. >And I also have an open mind about various conservation strategies for lion. I prefer pragmatic solutions that are inclusive of all the stakeholders. >I see just the opposite. The work that I see outfitters do in the Save to facilitate healthy animals populations is pretty remarkable. >Funny thing is this may be true. But don’t break the system rather work to make adjustments. >You list many countries that have significant social unrest. In the end no conservation program will survive when people are starving. Most people would feed the last unicorn to a starving child. And obviously the issues on maintaining habitat are complex in an area that has a booming human population. But Kenya is absolutely a valid case study that should be taken very seriously as other nations are following their lead population wise. When old hunting blocks are converted to farms… well that is a clear cut case of loss of habitat isn’t it? If hunting was not outlawed would the outcome have been different? Who knows… but maybe even likely. But you know, in my professional experience sometimes the simple answer is the right one. >Except that it brings something to the table to offset the mortality. You remove this you remove much of what has protected lion habitat. The money will go away, the infrastructure gone, the political will to save habitat gone. >And your research has found that the actual number is? When you look at the numbers and infrastructure that is required for a “photo” lodge vs. a hunting lodge you will see for the similar revenue the hunters have a far smaller “footprint”. So what is better for the wildlife overall, a swarm of people taking photos and habituating them, or a few people and the loss of some animals? >Yes they do support research and you are free to support research yourself. I would be careful about denigrating other scientists who are dedicating there life to this however. That type of sniping is not really productive… especially if you are in a glass house. That said I have always put forward that the best plan for conserving lions is when people making selfish decisions contribute to their survival. Think about it. >I have never said that sport trophy hunting of any species can exist without proper regulation and rules. Rather what I have said is that the rules should be adjusted as the science improves for the best conservation of lions. What you advocate for is a complete cessation of activities while everyone steps back and reevaluates what to do. The hunting community cannot support this approach because it would unnecessarily destroy the livelihoods of many of them (and I suspect that this would be an ulterior motive?). So instead of building bridges and working to create a consensus that brings all the parties together you immediately alienate some. A better approach (and likely one that could be faster) is to bring the various stakeholders together to devise a strategy, who plays what role, what are rules, how can you have margin for error, how can they be enforced effectively. Again your approach being adversarial is pitting the two groups that are actually motivated for lion conservation against each other… all the while the primary threats go unchecked. Perhaps you could suggest it to them? >Perhaps it is time to engage Conservation force , SCI and hunters in general in a productive way that best benefits lions. | |||
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