Trophy Hunting is worsening the conservation crisis. Not only are trophy hunters killing large numbers of animals from dwindling populations: they are killing the largest animals, thus robbing populations of the best genes. These are needed now more than ever to sustain threatened populations as they try to adapt in the face of growing environmental threats including accelerating climate change.
In a new report, the Campaign to Ban Trophy Hunting reveals that lion populations are among those to have suffered the worst collapses. From an estimated 200,000 lions in Africa in the 1970s, today the figure is no higher than 20,000 – with some estimates below 10,000, a fall of 90-95% in just a few decades. Trophy hunting has been found to be the single biggest cause of lion mortality in some areas. Scientists now warn that shooting just 5% of the ‘best’ remaining adult males could trigger a process of irreversible extinction of the King of the Jungle…
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