Data from: Assessing the sustainability of African lion trophy hunting, with recommendations for policy

While trophy hunting provides revenue for conservation, it must be carefully managed to avoid negative population impacts, particularly for long-lived species with low natural mortality rates. Trophy hunting has had negative effects on lion populations throughout Africa, and the species serves as an important case study to consider the balance of costs and benefits, and to consider the effectiveness of alternative strategies to conserve exploited species. Age-restricted harvesting is widely recommended to mitigate negative effects of lion hunting, but this recommendation was based on a population model parameterized with data from a well-protected and growing lion population. Here, we used demographic data from lions subject to more typical conditions, including source-sink dynamics between a protected National Park and adjacent hunting areas in Zambia's Luangwa Valley, to develop a stochastic population projection model and evaluate alternative harvest scenarios. Hunting resulted in population declines over a 25-year period for all continuous harvest strategies, with large declines for quotas greater than 1 lion/concession (~0.5 lion/1000 km2) and hunting of males younger than 7 years. A strategy that combined periods of recovery, an age limit of ≥ 7 years and a maximum quota of ~0.5 lions shot per 1000 km2 yielded a risk of extirpation < 10%. Our analysis incorporated the effects of human encroachment, poaching and prey depletion on survival, but assumed that these problems will not increase, which is unlikely. These results suggest conservative management of lion trophy hunting with a combination of regulations. To implement sustainable trophy hunting while maintaining revenue for conservation of hunting areas, our results suggest that hunting fees must increase as a consequence of diminished supply. These findings are broadly applicable to hunted lion populations throughout Africa, and to inform global efforts to conserve exploited carnivore populations.

尽管战利品狩猎（trophy hunting）可为保护工作带来收益，但必须对其实施审慎管理，以规避对种群造成负面影响，尤其针对自然死亡率偏低的长寿物种。战利品狩猎已对整个非洲的狮子种群产生负面影响，该物种也成为权衡成本与收益、评估保护受开发物种的替代策略有效性的重要研究案例。年龄限制收获策略被广泛推荐用于缓解狮子狩猎的负面影响，但该建议的提出基于一组取自受严格保护且种群处于增长状态的狮子种群数据所构建的种群模型。本研究利用赞比亚卢安瓜河谷中受保护国家公园与周边狩猎区域间的源汇动态（source-sink dynamics）等更具典型性的狮子种群统计数据，构建了随机种群预测模型，并对多种狩猎收获方案开展评估。所有持续性狩猎策略均导致种群在25年周期内出现衰退，当狩猎配额超过1头/每处狩猎特许区域（约0.5头/1000平方千米），或狩猎对象为7龄以下雄性狮子时，种群会出现大幅下降。将恢复期设置、≥7龄年龄限制以及最高配额设定为约0.5头/1000平方千米的狩猎方案，可使局部灭绝（extirpation）风险低于10%。本分析纳入了人类侵占、盗猎以及猎物枯竭对种群存活率的影响，但假设上述问题不会加剧——而这一假设并不符合实际。研究结果表明，需结合多项监管措施对狮子战利品狩猎实施保守化管理。为在维持狩猎区域保护收入的同时实现可持续战利品狩猎，研究结果显示，由于狩猎供给减少，狩猎收费必须相应上调。上述研究结论可广泛适用于非洲各地受狩猎开发的狮子种群，也可为全球范围内保护受开发食肉动物种群的工作提供参考依据。