JOHANNESBURG—It is, for some well-heeled foreign visitors, the ultimate African experience: the thrill of hunting a lion, one of the “Big Five” animals whose habitats are under increasing pressure from human encroachment. Now an American dentist’s killing of a celebrity lion in Zimbabwe has triggered global revulsion, highlighting what critics say is an industry of trophy hunting that threatens vulnerable species across sub-Saharan Africa.
Hunting is banned in Kenya and Botswana, which depend heavily on income from tourists who flock to see wildlife on tours that often combine a sense of adventure with luxury lodging in the bush. Many more countries, including South Africa, Namibia, and Tanzania, allow it, arguing that it benefits communities and funnels high-priced fees from hunters back into conservation. Opponents, however, warn that regulations are often poorly enforced or overlooked by unscrupulous operators.
