Xanda was wearing a GPS tracking collar, fitted by scientists led by Andrew Loveridge at Oxford University, who have studied the Hwange lions for many years. “You have handled them so you feel a personal engagement with the animal.” But Loveridge does not condemn trophy hunting outright: “Trophy hunting protects an area about the size of France and Spain combined in Africa. “He was shot 2km from the park boundary, which is a hop and a skip for a lion,” Loveridge said. He is not one of the fly-by-night guys.” Cooke has killed several collared lions in the past, Loveridge said. “Of course I understand if people say there are simply no circumstances under which [trophy hunting] will be acceptable to me,” he said.

Source: The Guardian July 20, 2017 14:50 UTC