How Killing of Cecil the Lion Made Trophy Hunting Uglier

It’s almost a decade since Cecil the Lion was killed by Walter Palmer, an American dentist who is also a big game trophy hunter. The heartbreaking news of the hunt made international headlines and sparked a worldwide outcry among conservationists. 

The 13-year-old black-maned male lion was a major tourist attraction at Zimbabwe’s famous Hwange National Park. He was a protected cat fitted with a GPS satellite collar by researchers from Oxford’s Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU).

Cecil was closely monitored from 2009 when he was about six years old to the time he was killed. “His death was emotional and saddening for our research team but the global response surrounding his loss took us by surprise,” explains Dr Andrew Loveridge, a leading lion scientist.

How Cecil the Lion was killed

From various sources across the web, it was around 10 pm on 1 July 2015, when Cecil was lured out of the protected area with an elephant carcass, and wounded by an arrow shot by an American hunter named Walter Palmer. This first attempt did not kill the lion but it immobilized him.

About 12 hours later, the hunter tracked the lion which had moved barely 300 meters from the point of attack and he was delivered the second shot that instantly killed him. Palmer had reportedly paid $54,000 that secured him a hunting permit, so he was not charged with the crime.

The news about this killing broke out a few weeks later and went viral in both mainstream and social media. What devastated many is how the wounded lion suffered for so many hours before he got killed. The massive global outage strongly demonized trophy hunting and its perpetrators.

The trophy hunting menace

The death of Cecil the Lion was just the tip of the iceberg in the deep-rooted game hunting practice. According to World Animal Protection, more than 125,000 animals are killed each year for trophies. This includes the coveted Africa’s big 5 (Elephants, Rhinos, Buffalo, leopards, and lions). 

Trophy hunters pay big money to kill these animals not to get food but solely for entertainment purposes. They even extract some parts such as bones, teeth, skin, tusks, and claws for display. This is an unnecessary aggression against animals in their habits that can result in the extinction of some species.

Canned hunting is even the worst form of trophy hunting where game animals are kept in a confined area to increase the chances of a hunter getting a kill. It does not allow the animal to escape as would be in the wild. South Africa and several states in the U.S. support this atrocity. 

Threats to conservation

As some governments claim that money obtained from trophy hunting goes back into enhancing conservation programs, there is not enough evidence for this. In fact, the tourism value of the hunted animals highly surpasses what hunters pay to brutally kill them.

There have been allegations that animals targeted for hunting are old enough to go. This is a mere myth with no justification. Resorts have shown that elephants in particular become more productive when in their prime age. Killing them is a big blow to their younger dependents.

Cecil for example, was a leader of the pride before he got killed. He sired offspring and protected the rest of the family members from territorial inversions. Killing him left the young cubs in the pride vulnerable to any incoming males who always aim to kill them before taking over.

The government of Zimbabwe also faced a huge global backlash for allowing hunters to kill its most loved big cat. A significant decline was noted in tourism revenue as most visits to see the lion were canceled. Walter Palmer had to temporarily close his dental clinic after facing strong criticisms and negative reviews.

Hope that came with the killing of Cecil 

The death of Cecil the Lion resulted in major declarations that sharply focused on protecting the future of Africa’s iconic cats and other wildlife.

On 1st August the then Zimbabwe’s environment minister, Opa Muchinguri, partially suspended with immediate effect the hunting of lions, leopards, and elephants in areas outside of Hwange National Park. She said the hunter had violated the law and needed to be held accountable.

In the wake of the news, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service added lions in West and Central Africa to the endangered species list. This makes it more difficult for United States citizens to import trophies of lions legally killed on safaris, an initiative that has also been backed by more than 40 airlines.

The WildCRU’s lion program also received unprecedented support of more than £750,000 in donations. This has helped boost community projects and expand the research on lion ecology and behavior useful in promoting peaceful coexistence between humans and lions.

Final thought

Since the killing of Cecil the lion in Zimbabwe, the fight against trophy hunting has gained momentum that is seen to bear fruits. Many countries in the world have begun banning and imposing stringent measures for the involvement and importation of hunting trophies. 

According to Human Society International, the European Union, which is the world’s second-largest importer of hunting trophies after the United States, is calling on its citizens and politicians to take action that will stop this grotesque and unsustainable killing of animals.

Belgium is one of the countries that recently banned the import of hunting trophies, a move that is likely to be followed by other EU countries. The late January voting by Belgium’s parliament will see a total ban of imports from rare to threatened animals like lions, elephants, and rhinos among others.

Despite global efforts to stop this vice, several countries in Africa including Botswana, Tanzania, and South Africa are still in support of trophy hunting. It’s high time for everyone to come on board in protecting the future of wildlife for the benefit of our future generations.