Free-ranging African lions (Panthera leo) have declined over the last century, and particularly in recent decades, to fewer than 35,000 today (Riggio et al., 2012). Lion decline is driven primarily by the conversion of savanna habitat to support people and the associated loss of prey and killing of lions by pastoralists in defence of their livestock (IUCN, 2006; Riggio et al., 2012). Among other potential threats, the effect of trophy hunting on lions is controversial. Practitioners whose primary concern is the welfare of individual animals contend that hunting is unequivocally negative and advocate for its cessation, whereas those whose primary concern is the status of populations suggest that hunting has the potential to confer both positive and negative impacts on lions, and question whether bans achieve intended conservation outcomes. In response to this uncertainty, we initiated a consensus-building process among published scientists with expertise in conservation and management of wild lions. Our objectives were to evaluate the impacts of trophy hunting on lions, identify the key problems in its management and evaluate the potential consequences, negative or positive, of banning the practice. Finally, we sought to establish clear science-based standards by which sustainable hunting of lions could be achieved. Here we present a summary of that consensus.