Trophy hunting, particularly of big cats, is hugely contentious. By harvesting a few individuals per year, the practice can bring rare financial resources to conservation areas. Yet it must be monitored to avoid harvesting too many individuals such that conservation efforts are hindered. In their recent paper Croes et al. (2011) claim to uncover just this problem in the Bénoué Complex in northern Cameroon, a regionally critical area for large mammal conservation where strictly protected areas adjoin zones with allotted quotes for lion harvesting.