Deep Uncertainty, Public Reason, the Conservation of Biodiversity and the Regulation of Markets for Lion Skeletons
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Analysis
2.1. Arguments Pertaining to Lion Farming
2.2. Evaluation of Claims
3. Discussion
3.1. Entangled Empiricism and Deep Uncertainty
- (i)
- how the economics of lion skeletons affect lion conservation;
- (ii)
- whether the boundaries of the system should include factors such as links to organized crime, a global perspective on links between biodiversity and farming large animals, and links to concerns over the appropriateness of trophy hunting; and
- (iii)
- how efforts to regulate the trade in lion skeletons would affect lion conservation.
3.2. CITES and South Africa
3.3. Conclusion: Pertaining to Lion Farming
3.4. Conclusion: Decisions Informed by Public Reason
Author Contributions
Funding
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
Appendix A. Lion Farms and Land Areas in South Africa
Appendix B. CITES’ Relationship to Human Wellbeing
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Topic | The Argument |
---|---|
1. Lion farming disfavours conservation of wild lions | *P1. Lion farming leads to unsustainable exploitation of wild lions. P2. We ought not unsustainably exploit wild lions. C1. Lion farming is inappropriate. |
2. Lion farming disfavours felid conservation | *P3. Lion farming stimulates a demand for skeletons from wild sources of endangered felids—especially lions, tigers, leopards, and jaguars—that threatens the conservation of such felids. P4. We ought not threaten the conservation of endangered felids. C2. Lion farming is inappropriate. |
3. Lion farming is good for jobs and economic growth. | *P5. Lion farming generates income and maintains jobs and other benefits to the economy. P6. We should promote benefits to the economy. C3. Therefore, we ought to promote lion farming. |
4. Lions possess intrinsic value. | P7. Individual lions possess intrinsic value. P8. Possessors of intrinsic value should be treated fairly and with concern for their interests. P9. Farming is not a fair way to treat lions. C4. Lions should not be subjected to farming. |
5. Lions are not a kind of creature that should be farmed. | P10. Farming that entails premature death of an animal is appropriate if: (1) primary reason for farming is meat production for humans, (2) the farmed animal represents an efficient means of producing meat, and (3) the animals’ wellbeing while alive is adequate. P11. Lion farming is not characterised by those properties. C5. Lion farming is not appropriate. |
Claim | Evaluated Truth-Value | Of Concern to… | |
---|---|---|---|
CITES | RSA 2 | ||
1. Legal trade in lion skeletons is substantively detrimental to the conservation of wild lions by leading to unsustainable exploitation, which may occur in response to increased demand for lion products. | Deep uncertainty | Yes | Yes |
2. Legal trade in lion skeletons is substantively detrimental to the conservation of other wild populations of Panthera spp. by leading to unsustainable exploitation, which may occur in response to increased demand for lion products. | Deep uncertainty | Yes | Yes |
3. Restricting or banning legal trade in lion bones would be substantively detrimental to the economic wellbeing of humans (producers or consumers). | Deep uncertainty, insomuch as scope of claim is arguable. | No | Yes |
4. Lion farming uses resources (land, water, etc.) in way that is substantively detrimental to conservation of biodiversity. | Deep uncertainty, insomuch as scope of claim is arguable. | Yes 1 | Yes |
5. Farmed lions are a substantive resource for augmenting the demographic and genetic health of wild populations of Panthera leo. | Unlikely 3 | Yes 1 | Yes |
Narrower claims about the lion farming industry | The wholesale value of a lion skeleton has more than doubled since 2012 [25]. |
The lion farming industry has experienced a downturn since 2016 perhaps in response to USA restriction on trophy imports from captive-bred lions [25]. More precisely, in a survey of 21 facilities, the average annual loss has been 5.6 million South African rand [25]. | |
That downturn causes farm owners to lay-off an average of 9 ± 8 staff per facility across 27 farms (243 workers) [25]. | |
South African lion farms support approximately 550 jobs and the broader industry in lion farming supports another approximately 600 jobs [80]. | |
The lion skeleton market may be funneled through as few as approximately six traders [27]. | |
Broader claims about the South African economy | Official unemployment in South Africa is ~27% [81]. |
Per capita GDP, has been declining because the population of South Africa is growing faster than the economy [82]. | |
Some experts believe that the economy of South Africa would have to grow at 5–6% per year for two decades to reduce unemployment to ~10% [82]. | |
The lion farming industry represents a very small segment of the RSA economy, employing about 0.002% of the total population [81]. |
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Share and Cite
Coals, P.; Burnham, D.; Johnson, P.J.; Loveridge, A.; Macdonald, D.W.; Williams, V.L.; Vucetich, J.A. Deep Uncertainty, Public Reason, the Conservation of Biodiversity and the Regulation of Markets for Lion Skeletons. Sustainability 2019, 11, 5085. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11185085
Coals P, Burnham D, Johnson PJ, Loveridge A, Macdonald DW, Williams VL, Vucetich JA. Deep Uncertainty, Public Reason, the Conservation of Biodiversity and the Regulation of Markets for Lion Skeletons. Sustainability. 2019; 11(18):5085. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11185085
Chicago/Turabian StyleCoals, Peter, Dawn Burnham, Paul J. Johnson, Andrew Loveridge, David W. Macdonald, Vivienne L. Williams, and John A. Vucetich. 2019. "Deep Uncertainty, Public Reason, the Conservation of Biodiversity and the Regulation of Markets for Lion Skeletons" Sustainability 11, no. 18: 5085. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11185085