The number of lions that can be hunted in Zambia this year has been capped at 24.

This comes after Jean Kapata, Zambia’s Minister of Tourism and Arts, announced last year that the country would lift its ban on the hunting of lions for the 2016/2017 hunting season.

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In 2013, the country banned big cat hunting, as the numbers were too low to have a sustainable hunting industry. Last year, the ban on leopard hunting was also lifted.

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In addition to the quota, the minister’s guidelines include that old lions with diminished biological function could be hunted. Professional hunters are only allowed to hunt lions of six years and above. No female lions will be hunted.  According to the Ministry of Tourism and the Department National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW), hunters who violate these guidelines will have their licences revoked.

According to Kapata, trophy hunting contributes significantly to wildlife conservation and to the socio-economic wellbeing of Zambia’s people. She also said hunting played a very critical role in protecting the wilderness in the country’s game management areas.

However, some members of the tourism industry argue that the benefits reaped from hunting will not outweigh the negative publicity that will ensue from lifting the hunting ban. One operator said last year that the amount of money going to communities from hunting was just not enough of an incentive for most people to protect the areas, while another argued that the prices of flagship species such as leopard and lion were so low that the killing of the animals was financially unjustifiable.