Yes, John Jackson of Conservation Force is who you want to talk to about importable lions. There are a few areas where lions can be imported from, but it takes time and is expensive. You might also contact Wyatt Fetner of Safari Specialty Importers, he’s also working on lion imports.
Tanzania, most of the traditional areas like Rungwa, Ugalla, Maswa, Selous, Moyowasi and some other areas I can’t recall at the moment. I’m not sure if you can import a Masailand lion or not. Not even sure who may have lion on quota in Masailand.
Mozambique, only the Niassa Reserve.
Zambia, I believe both the Luangwa Valley (Upper Lupande is a good one) and Kafue Plateau concessions (Kasonso Busanga) and a few other areas.
Zimbabwe , the Conservancies such as Bubye (best lions), Save & Nuanetsi and possibly also Matetsi for importable lions.
Namibia, I’m not sure if you can import a Namibian lion or not, but I know a hunter who is going to Namibia for lion next month, so will find out.
South Africa - none that I’m aware of.
Keep this in mind when looking for a lion hunt…
1; it’s about as expensive as an African hunt gets for a quality hunt with high success in good 6+ lions.
2; if you want a big mane, look for areas that are colder and higher elevation as those areas tend to produce better manes in general. Areas like Matetsi (3,500 ft elevation), Kafue (4,000 ft.), Rungwa (5,00 ft.) and Masailand (6,000+ ft.) tend to produce better manes than places like the Selous or Zambezi Valley. That said, you can be lucky and kill a good mane in unlikely areas.
3; a proper lion hunt, either baited or tracking on foot (I am excluding high fenced lions in Northwest of South Africa) are one of Africa’s great hunts.
4; the best areas for wild lion hunting have success rates of 50-70%. High success areas boasting near 100% success are ALL high fence, and too often, canned hunts.
5; if you’re going to do a wild lion hunt in a good area, be prepared to spend $100,000 or more.
