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1 1 (August 7, 2015)

handle is hein.crs/govccxr0001 and id is 1 raw text is: FF. ' riE S-' $. h ,. , August 7, 2015 Status of the African Lion and Sport Hunting An American citizen was accused of illegally killing a popular lion named Cecil near the Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe in July 2015. The citizen reportedly paid some $50,000 to conduct the hunt. The hunt reportedly was illegal because the owner of the land on which the lion was killed did not have a quota to hunt a lion and the local hunting guide did not have an appropriate permit. Zimbabwean authorities are seeking to extradite the U.S. citizen to face charges associated with funding an illegal hunt and have confiscated the lion's severed head (i.e., the trophy). The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) is conducting an investigation into the incident. The incident has stimulated debate on sport hunting and raised questions about the relative importance of sport hunting versus other threats to the species. Further, it has raised questions about the status of the African lion under the Endangered Species Act (ESA; P.L. 93-205). Some in Congress cite this incident to contend that protections for the African lion should be enhanced in U.S. conservation laws. The incident also has highlighted ongoing federal and congressional efforts to address global wildlife trafficking in general. &&'au\ ofsJe Africa,- kior, {PCZ,*tivssC3 k~ The range and population of the African lion has declined in recent decades. Although it once ranged across most of the African continent, scientists estimate that the African lion now resides in 22% of its historical range. Recent estimates suggest that the wild lion population in Africa falls between 23,000 and 39,000, with most of the population living in 10 regional strongholds-primarily in protected and game management areas in Eastern and Southern Africa. Nearly 40% of all African lions are in Tanzania. FWS has stated that habitat loss and degradation, largely caused by the expansion of agriculture and ranching in Africa, are the main threats to the African lion. Associated with this expansion is an increase in human-lion conflicts. The most significant form of this conflict is the retaliatory killing of lions that prey on livestock and, to a lesser extent, that harm humans. FWS also concluded that sport hunting was not a primary threat to African lion populations. Reqg~k)-ks an'd U.S\, Thakws ~Addrs Sport hunting is addressed internationally through the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Under CITES, species are categorized into one of three appendixes corresponding to how threatened their population is due to trade; Appendix I consists of species most threatened with extinction. Although commercial trade in Appendix I species generally is prohibited under CITES, sport hunting is not considered a commercial activity. Sport-hunted trophies of Appendix I species require both an export permit from the country in which the animal was hunted and an import permit from the trophy's destination country. Some countries have quotas for sport-hunted trophies. For example, Tanzania has an annual quota is 50 lions per year and Zimbabwe has one of 70 lions per year. In the United States, laws related to international sport hunting are governed by ESA, which implements CITES and is administered by FWS. If a species is listed as endangered, import of a sport-hunted trophy is prohibited unless an enhancement ofsurvivalpermit is obtained and used. Enhancement of survival implies that the import of endangered animals or their parts or products will provide incentives for increasing the survival of the species in its native habitat. If a species is listed as threatened, the same rules apply unless there is a special rule, which may allow for a limited number of trophies to be imported. The illegal killing of a foreign species (according to U.S. or foreign law) also could be a violation of the Lacey Act. Under the Lacey Act, it is unlawful for any person to import, export, transport, sell, receive, acquire, or purchase in interstate or foreign commerce any wildlife taken, possessed, transported, or sold in violation of any law or regulation of any foreign law. The African lion is listed under CITES as an Appendix II species, the second-most-stringent category of trade controls on protected species. Range countries are required to issue export permits for the outbound transport of an Appendix II species. Depending on domestic laws, a destination country may require an import permit for an Appendix II species. The permitting process aims to regulate and monitor the conservation and management of the animals, including those killed for sport. In the United States, the African lion currently is not listed as a threatened or endangered species pursuant to ESA. However, FWS issued a proposal in October 2014 to list the African lion as threatened species under ESA. If listed, FWS could regulate the import of sport-hunted trophies of African lions into the United States. A listing under ESA would not prohibit the hunting or killing of lions in Africa; these activities are subject to the laws of the range country. FWS also is proposing a rule to accompany the listing, referred to as a Section 4(d) rule. This rule would create a permitting mechanism to regulate the import of sport- hunted African lion trophies into the United States. The proposed rule states that trophies may originate only from .O 'T p\w -- , gnom goo mppm qq\ M , q 'M I 11LIANJILiM,

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