The Duke of Cambridge and heir to the throne Prince William has argued that commercial trophy hunting is justifiable in some cases.
Prince William, who is president of United for Wildlife and patron of the Tusk Trust, said in an interview with ITV News:
There is a place for commercial hunting in Africa as there is around the world.
It’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but the arguments for regulated, properly controlled commercial hunting is that the money that goes from shooting a very old infirm animal goes back into the protection of the other species.
The UK-based charity Lion Aid expressed sadness at the Prince's remarks.
Director, Dr Pieter Kat, told the Independent the charity was:
Very sad to hear Prince William state that 'there is a place for commercial hunting in Africa as there is around the world'.
With likely less than 15,000 wild lions left in Africa there is NO place for commercial hunting of lions. With an estimated 1,500 wild male lions in existence and with current offtake for trophy hunting of 300 per annum, continued trophy hunting cannot be deemed as sustainable.
A lion of six years of age is not 'post reproduction' in fact it is just coming into his maturity, yet it is at this age most African Countries offer these prime males as trophy.
In a 2014 trip he took with his brother to Spain, the Duke shot wild boar and stags.
The same year, a picture emerged from 2004 of Harry crouched over this water buffalo in Argentina, less than a week after he pledged to do all he could to save Africa’s critically endangered wildlife.
Watch the full video, below: