The killing of Cecil the Lion as an impetus for policy change

Abstract

The killing of Cecil the Lion in July 2015 generated considerable media attention worldwide. We measured public interest in Cecil's death to examine the degree to which this high-profile incident represented the type of focusing event that public policy scholars often emphasize as being important for triggering policy change. Finding that public interest in lion conservation spiked in the weeks immediately following the incident, we then analysed whether this focusing event led to policy changes to restrict trophy hunting in eight countries (USA, Spain, France, Russia, Canada, South Africa, Germany and Mexico) that most frequently import lion Panthera leo trophies. The surge in public attention seems to have had only a limited impact on the adoption of significant new policy, although it may have hastened changes in some countries.

Asiatic Lion: Ecology, Economics, and Politics of Conservation

“…Lions have dominated our association with large carnivores particularly because they represent an elemental survival strategy which is very akin to ours-"living in groups". From pre-historic war emblems satisfying royal egos to motion pictures catering to young minds like the Lion King, from the notoriously vicious man-eaters of Tsavo to the famed controversy surrounding Cecil getting shot that kindled empathy across the world; lions have seesawed between the notions of charismatic and loved to being hated and persecuted (Macdonell, 1897;Patterson, 1907;Macdonald et al, 2016;Carpenter and Konisky, 2017;Kostuch, 2017).…”

The impact of the “World’s 25 Most Endangered Primates” list on scientific publications and media

“…pollen and spread of invasive species, and the relationship with public interest. Furthermore, online tools have been used to measure public interest (Nekaris et al 2013) and potential changes in opinion following key media events including ‘climate gate’ and the death of Cecil the Lion (Anderegg & Goldsmith 2014, Cha & Stow 2015, Carpenter & Konisky 2017). The potential for digital data to assist with understanding support, or a lack thereof, for conservation initiatives has not been yet fully explored (Ladle et al 2016, Soriano-Redondo et al 2017)…”

Killing nature to save it? : an analysis of two sport hunting policy arrangements in Uganda

“…As such, Regan (1983), the proclaimed father of animal rights, campaigned against the disregarding of the rights of individual animals in conservation efforts concerning species or ecosystems (Perry & Perry, 2008 Union recently adopted an animal welfare strategy that recognises animals (including wild animals, farm animals and animals used in research) as sentient beings (AU, 2017) following, among others, EU countries. Moreover, there have been (and still are) campaigns against linking sport hunting and conservation in Africa (see Batavia et al, 2018;Carpenter & Konisky, 2017;Lindsey et al, 2016). The intensity of these campaigns is exemplified by the international attention following one incident in July 2015 of the killing of a radio-collared Lion, named Cecil, by Dr. Walter Palmer, a trophy hunter in Zimbabwe Carpenter & Konisky, 2017;Lindsey et al, 2016).…”

“…Moreover, there have been (and still are) campaigns against linking sport hunting and conservation in Africa (see Batavia et al, 2018;Carpenter & Konisky, 2017;Lindsey et al, 2016). The intensity of these campaigns is exemplified by the international attention following one incident in July 2015 of the killing of a radio-collared Lion, named Cecil, by Dr. Walter Palmer, a trophy hunter in Zimbabwe Carpenter & Konisky, 2017;Lindsey et al, 2016). Related, Namibia's minister of environment and tourism issued a public memo as of 3 July 2018 banning the posting or sharing of photographs of hunters posing with dead animals on pubic platforms, as the government considers such actions as unethical (MET, 2018).…”

“…Especially following the incident in July 2015, when a trophy hunter killed a radio-collared lion named Cecil in Zimbabwe, the anti-hunting movement intensified its campaigns against killing of animals (Lindsey et al, 2016), or linking sport hunting to conservation. These campaignsso faronly had a limited impact in terms of policy changes (Carpenter & Konisky, 2017). Related, the Africa Union recently adopted an animal welfare strategy recognizing animals as sentient beings, including wild animals, farm animals and animals used in research (AU, 2017).…”