The claim that hunting of captive bred lions takes pressure off wild lions must be challenged as there is no science on this at all. Canned hunting has merely opened up an entirely new market for hunters that would not have been able to afford a wild hunt. And where wild lion hunting has dropped away, this is only because bans on hunting have been introduced. In the countries that still allow wild lion hunting (Zimbabwe, Namibia and Tanzania for example), demand for permits outstrips the quota. And we also know that wild lion populations across Africa continue to decline.