The murder of a collar Leo, participating in a research project in Zimbabwe by a trophy hunter, was convicted by wildlife groups, voosing the scandalous case of a lion called Cecil, whose death by the hands of an American tourist in the same country was met with international outrage.
The last lion, known as Blondie, was part of a study by the University of Oxford and wore a research collar sponsored by Africa Geographic, Safari. Africa Geographic said Blondie was killed by a hunter in June near the country’s flagship Hwange National Park after being lured by a protected area and in a nearby hunting area using bait.
After Blondie’s murder became a new rally for those who opposed hunting, a spokesman for Zimbabwe’s national parks told the Associated Press on Thursday that the hunting was legal and the hunter had the necessary permits. Zimbabwe allows up to 100 lions to hunt a year. Trophy hunters, who are usually foreign tourists, pay tens of thousands of dollars to kill a lion and take their head or skin as a trophy.
Africa Simon Espley geographical executive said that Blondie’s murder made “mockery” that trophies hunters say they prescribe because he carried a clearly visible study collar and was bred in his prime. Hunters say they are focused only on aging, hassle -free lions.
“Blondie’s prominent collar did not prevent him from being offered to a hunting client confirms the great reality that no lion is safe from trophy hunting cannons,” said Esppi.
The hunting of the lions is cruelly divided, even among the environmentalists. Some say that if it is well managed, it raises money that can be returned to preservation. Others want to kill the wild to ban sports.
Some countries in Africa such as Kenya have bans on commercial hunting, others like Zimbabwe and South Africa allow it. Botswana canceled a ban on hunting six years ago.
Tinashe Farawo, a spokesman for the Zimbabwe Park Agency, said hunting money is crucial to supporting insufficient efforts to protect the southern African country. He defended the hunt and said they often happened at night, which means that Blondie’s collar may not have been visible.
He said there was no information that Blondie was lured by the park with a bait – which is usually a dead animal – but “there is nothing casual or illegal about anyone who knows how to hunt the lions. Here’s how people hunt.”
“Our rangers were present. All the documents were in order. The collars are for research purposes, but they do not make animal immunized against hunting,” Faravo said. He refused to name the hunter.
The murder of Cecil in 2015 unleashed a fierce anger against Walter Palmer, a dentist and trophy hunter in Minnesota, who lured a lion from the same National Park in Zimbabwe and shot him with a bow before he followed him for hours and finally kill him. Cecil, whose head and skin were cut off and taken for trophies, also participated in a research project from the University of Oxford.
Zimbabwe’s authorities initially said they would strive to extradite Palmer over hunting, although this did not happen while the hunting driver helped him was arrested just to dismiss the charges.
The National Parks Agency in Zimbabwe says the country earns about $ 20 million a year from trophies hunting, with an average hunter spending $ 100,000 in hunting – which includes accommodation and renting vehicles and local trackers.
Zimbabwe is home to approximately 1500 wild lions, with about one third of them living in the vast Hwange National Park. Throughout Africa, the population of the Wild Lion is estimated at about 20,000. However, their numbers are decreasing due to habitat loss and human conflict. The Lions, one of the most emblematic species in Africa, are currently listed as vulnerable by the International Union for Nature Protection.
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