I actually ate the sirloin from my lioness, which I figured I earned since she did actually charge at me multiple times. That was the last time I will eat lion. It had a strange flavor and odor, and I didn't finish it and even asked the wait staff to take it away because the smell was bothering me. I decided I don't want to eat any animal that will feed on carrion. But yes, I did eat lion. I suppose if it was kept in captivity and shot in captivity, then it would have likely not eaten rotten meat and may have tasted better. I will have to try again when I shoot a cheetah because they only eat fresh meat.
I know there are a lot of hunters that do just that in the USA but they use trail cams to identify the animals the week before deer season. I guess the main difference is that somebody else might come and get their deer, but they are doing something similar and probably wouldn't stop if they were the only ones hunting on the land where their chosen deer was.
Now, as for conservation value, let me say this. I hunted Arabian oryx in its native habitat. It was actually an SCI world first for my hunt and I am still quite proud of that hunt, spot and stalk with a bow in the sand dunes in the Arabian Peninsula. There were only three species on the property that could be hunted - the oryx and both sand and mountain gazelles. Those were not the only animals on the property though. The ranch was fenced to keep feral camels out as the camels will pull up plants by the root and eat the whole thing, leaving nothing for other animals. Once the camels were kept out, there was effective habitat for the oryx and gazelles, but also eagles, other birds of prey and normal birds, lizards, snakes and other wildlife. Even if the Oryx hunting has no conservation value for Oryx, what about all the other wildlife and the habitat it protects under the umbrella of the value of its hunting? Does a hunt only have conservation value if it saves exclusively that species or can one species being hunted save other species and let that give it conservation value?
Back to the lions, how many acres are devoted to CBL hunts? How many other animals live on those ranches? Do they have zero conservation value because some lions are getting bred and killed? All those lions are doing is replacing the revenue of photo tourists while at the same time reducing the ecological footprint because even a CBL hunt is going to generate more revenue than several photo tourists. If killing 2 rhinos saved 500 cheetahs, would we say that it has no conservation value for the rhino so it must be stopped? Many of these CBL ranches also have a lot of other wildlife that is expanding its range and populations and that is a good thing. I think the big picture here is that CBL is not detrimental to wild lions and that should be enough - especially when it is very easy to demonstrate the is conservation value in those hunts if you look at more than exclusively wild lions.
Most of the "damage" done by CBL is to the image of hunting in the eyes of people who also don't accept hunting wild lions or hunting in Africa by wealthy foreigners at all, regardless of the animals they are shooting. Hell, California wanted to ban the importation and possession of giraffe, sable and zebra trophies. Cecil was a wild lion. Those are hunted over bait. Wait, sorry, let me rephrase that with the lefty wording - "they are lured from their protected areas to be murdered by hunters with small penises to fulfill their homicidal tendencies and blood lust." But I am sure if we just change our hunting methods, they will be totally OK with hunting.
