UK's big shame hunting

British trophy hunters still thirst for blood of big cats

- NADA FARHOUD

AS many as 100 lions have been slaughtered by British trophy hunters since the killing of big cat Cecil caused outrage in 2015.

Figures released by the Government show 80% of the lions shot by Britons were bred to be killed in enclosed fields in what is known as 'canned hunting'.

Some 19 of the 118 slain were murdered in the wild - and the number could be even higher as the figures for 2023 have not been released.

From 2015 to 2022, British hunters brought home nine lion bodies, two heads, 29 skins, 14 bones and 10 sets of lioness claws, plus feet and tails.

Among the bloodthirsty Brits are Syed Rizwan, from Essex, who admitted killing a lion on an African hunting trip.

But the most notorious is arguably Carl Knight, originally from Surrey, who runs Take Aim Safaris.

His firm gives holidaymakers the chance to hunt lions, elephants, hippos, giraffes, leopards, zebras and a host of other animals in South Africa.