Lion Heads Arrive in Record Numbers as U.S. Considers Crackdown
- U.S. wildlife officials may list African cat as threatened
- After Cecil uproar, hunters say killing is key to conservation
This article is for subscribers only.
Big-game hunters are killing African lions in record numbers as U.S. regulators threaten to curtail one of world’s most exclusive, expensive and controversial pursuits.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has an Oct. 29 deadline to make a final determination on the status of the African lion, which it has proposed to list as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. The agency has also recommended requiring a special permit to import lion trophies. Those findings could curtail the number of slain lions entering the U.S., while also driving up safari costs that are often more than $100,000.