072 - Combatting the illegal trade in lion body parts and derivatives
072 - Combatting the illegal trade in lion body parts and derivatives
RECOGNISING that the global lion population has declined during the past decades;
RECALLING that the African lion (Panthera leo) has been classified as Vulnerable on the global IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, although in the majority of its range the species met the criteria for an Endangered classification;
RECOGNISING that at the joint CITES/CMS African Lion Range State Meeting held in Entebbe, Uganda in May 2016, range states identified the main threats for lions in Africa as (listed in no particular order): habitat degradation; reduction of prey base; human-lion conflict; unfavourable policies, practices and political factors (in some countries); ineffective lion population management; institutional weakness; adverse socio-economic factors; and increasing trade in lion bones;
CONSIDERING that the relative impact of these factors on wild lion populations is not well understood;
RECOGNISING that there are indications that the illegal killing of lions for the trade in lion body parts and derivatives is increasing, and that this is partly driven by the illegal pan-African and Asian trade in lion body parts and derivatives, including bones, claws and teeth for traditional medicine, decorative and status purposes across the continuum from subsistence to commercial use and trade, but that there is limited published evidence devoted to the subject;
CONSIDERING that while certain wild lion populations subject to legal trade have a positive conservation status, legal trade has the potential to act as either an incentive or a disincentive for illegal trade; that there is a paucity of conclusive evidence for the impact of legal trade in lion parts and derivatives for commercial purposes on levels of illegal activity (killing and trade) and consequent conservation impacts on wild lion and other felid populations; and that there is an urgent need to understand the impact of the legal bone trade on illegal trade in lions and other big cats; and
RECALLING the adoption of IUCN Resolution 013 Terminating the hunting of captive-bred lions (Panthera leo) and other predators and captive breeding for commercial, non-conservation purposes (Hawai‘i, 2016);
1. DECLARES the importance of deterring the illegal killing of lions and the illegal trade in lion body parts and derivatives;
2. REQUESTS the Director General to support an initiative for further robust, evidence-based research, that applies rigorous and replicable methodology, into the extent and drivers of the trade in African lion parts and derivatives in Africa and East/South-East Asia, and its impact on wild lion populations in Africa and on those of other big cats globally – information that is required to better inform decision-making and intervention measures; and
3. ENCOURAGES Members to combat illegal and unsustainable exploitation of wild lion populations by improving law enforcement, improving and enforcing wildlife crime legislation (including wildlife crime-related legislation), enhancing benefits to rural communities through maintaining and strengthening lion values and incentives for conservation, tackling governance and corruption issues, and engaging in efforts to reduce the consumer demand for lion bones and any other parts and derivatives from illegally killed lions.
