Hunt to conserve? What kind of argument would that be? Strangely, researchers find that trophy hunting of lions can help conserve the species, as it would help maintain the habitat. After all, lions thrive in large areas.
As land can be pretty expensive to maintain in the long run, it would be more sustainable if long-term management is handed over to companies. The corporate world can help fill this shortfall, according to researchers who made an investigation into lion population trends in the Selous Game Reserve in Tanzania.
The study was conducted by the University of Kent Durrell Institute of Conservation's Henry Brink and Bob Smith and the University of Cambridge's Nigel Leader-Williams.
"Companies who have secured long-term use rights to natural resources are more likely to manage them sustainably," said Brink, first author of the study.
"This is an important lesson for lion conservation, as loss of habitat means this species is increasingly restricted to protected areas."
Thus, hunting can really work if the corporate world steps in to take charge of the management.
In their study, the researchers found that existing protected areas in the Tanzanian faunal reserve have been divided into blocks. Each one was allocated to a different company, but those blocks that were under short-term management tended to be over-hunted.
On the other hand, the hunting levels tended to be more sustainable in blocks that were owned for a decade or more by the same company. This suggests that the important habitat for the species was conserved. Therefore, companies securing rights to long-term usage would be able to oversee them better and more sustainably.
With the loss of habitat, the species would be limited to protected areas. But long-term management translates to conservation. The study, which was published in the journal PLoS ONE on Sept. 20., says that lands that were earmarked for long-term tenure were much closer to the "recommended sustainable offtake of 0.92 lions per 1000 km2."
There is also a call to support Tanzania's fee system.
"At present, the government sells hunting block fees cheaply, and raises more by setting high quotas and high fees for each trophy animal shot, which encourages those who are only allocated blocks over the short-term to shoot more lions, at the expense of long-term sustainability and profits," said Leader-Williams, senior author of the study.
"Increasing block fees, reducing trophy fees and reducing the hunting quota could bring in the same tax revenue, while reducing the temptation of hunters to kill more lions."
What do you think of trophy hunting as a conservation method to protect lions? Let us know in the comments below!
Photo: Mario Micklisch | Flickr
