Outrage over raffle offering chance to kill a lion as 'prize'

A club is selling £1,000 tickets for a raffle in which the first prize is the chance to shoot a lion.

Wildlife campaigners are quite rightly up in arms over the sickening raffle being held by The Bubye Valley Conservancy in Zimbabwe.

The raffle will be held next month at the Safari Club International Convention in Las Vegas.

See also: Cecil the lion killer Walter Palmer returns to dentist work

See also: Public outcry as huge elephant killed for sport in Zimbabwe


According to the Metro, Oxford University academics Dr Byron du Preez and PhD student Paul Trethowan work with The Bubye Valley Conservancy, and have come under fire following the raffle announcement.

Following the news that American dentist Walter Palmer killed Cecil the lion in Zimbabwe last year, donations of £785,000 were received by the university's Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU).

Speaking to the Mail On Sunday, Dr Pieter Kat, from the charity LionAid, said: "We are shocked and appalled by this lion trophy raffle from WildCRU's close associates.

"The generosity of public donations was given to WildCRU to protect lions like Cecil and I hope Oxford University will use monies given in good faith to protect lions from future trophy hunting, which has no benefit to the conservation of a species in catastrophic decline."

Martin Nel, who is due to lead the hunt, tried to defend the raffle, saying: "Everyone who has been actively involved in research in Africa agrees that trophy hunting has its place in conservation on the continent, and BVC's achievements highlight this fact."

But Conservative MP David Jones said: "This is shocking and Oxford University should be distancing itself from this immediately. Events such as this are sickening."