Sat as thousands of bloodthirsty big game hunters stroll by, the Mirror is offered the chance "to follow in the footsteps" of dentist Walter Palmer to kill a lion.
Despite mounting global outrage over the pay-to-slay industry that sees thousands of animals slaughtered each year, for £73,000 we could take one of the kings of the jungle's lives.
We were made sickening offers this week at the annual Safari Club International (SCI) Convention - which boasts being the world's biggest trade for trophy killers committed to conservation.
However, critics argue little of the vast sums of money hunters spend protects wildlife as they claim but instead lines the pockets of corrupt African officials making a killing from the killings.
The Las Vegas event, which celebrated its 50th anniversary this year, is a marketplace for animal serial killers such as Palmer, who slaughtered Cecil the lion and fellow U.S. hunter Phil Smith, who assassinated Mopane.
The Mirror counted at least 31 of the big cats among the exhibitors being sold off however the actual amount could be higher.
Over four days, SCI raises millions from its 25,000 attendees who bid tens of thousands of pounds to kill animals - many of which are protected under various international laws - during sick auctions.
Comedian and campaigner Ricky Gervais condemned the “evil” hunters who will tomorrow bid to kill a polar bear.
Ricky, a supporter of the Campaign to Ban Trophy Hunting, told the Mirror: “Who do these people think they are, auctioning off the lives of animals so sadists can kill them for kicks?
“Shooting an endangered polar bear to raise money like it’s some school tombola is one of the sickest things ever.
“We’re seeing polar bear numbers edging towards extinction. But they still think it’s OK to shoot them for a laugh. What planet are they on?
“They are doing it to raise funds to thwart democracy in Britain – everyone here wants to ban this trade.
“They are going to blast this poor creature to bits so someone can get an adrenaline rush and pay slick lobbyists to spin their web of deceit.”
The convention is attended by several well-known people in the States with Donald Trump Jr headlining the show tonight.
Convention attendee Dawid Muller of Daggaboy Hunting Safaris flew to Las Vegas from Namibia, offering murderous hunters the chance to slaughter a menagerie of animals.
They included lion, elephant, buffalo, hippo, crocodile, sable, blue wildebeest, zebra, warthog and baboon.
All had prices listed except the lion, whose cost was given on request.
Muller offered the Mirror the chance to hunt one of the big cats with his outfit for $100,000 (£73,589).
"Open area lion would be $100,000 for 14 days. It's expensive," he said.
"The cost is dependent on the bait costs. If you leave four or five baits, the price goes up. If you get lucky and get the lion early it can be $100,000, but it can go up to $120,000. That's just for the hunt. Baiting rates would be 14 times $1,500."
He added we could undertake "a canned hunt for much less".
"We'd probably have to go to Zambia for an open hunt, but the canned hunt is another option in South Africa," Muller explained.
Controversial canned hunts are where lions are bred for the bullet in captivity, often hand-reared and are confined in enclosed spaces on private hunting reserves.
They often guarantee a marksmen easy trophy heads in exchange for much lower fees.
Daggaboy currently has an open lion hunt on sale for $49,600 without the cost of baits.
Fellow attendee Louis Muller - no relation to Dawid - offered hunts in Zimbabwe where both Cecil and Mopane were slaughtered.
Explaining the costs, the experienced guide, who runs Pro Safaris Africa, said we could undertake one for "a minimum of $70,000".
"Lion is about supply and demand," he explained.
"If you look at Zimbabwe, we only shoot 30 lions a year. All in all, in southern Africa, I think there are 300 lions shot.
"A wild lion, the cheapest you'll find is probably around $55,000 and, depending on the length of hunt, goes up to $150,000.
"A lion is normally sold at a minimum of 15 days and normally around about 21 days simply because it takes that long."
Muller explained some of the hunts would be taken up by tracking and killing such animals as giraffes, buffalo and hippo to cut up to then lure in lions to shoot.
He added: "If you're going to go there and spend all that money, you have to make sure you have enough for baits. The baiting cost is a big one You're not shooting small animals for bait.
"You need hippo and giraffe and stuff like that as they eat a lot of meat. Lion is a lot of work.
"When all said and done, you're looking at a minimum of $70,000."
Muller then boasted: "I always have a lion permit as I get one concession a year, but because of demand, they have sold out for two to three years.
"Next year's have gone already. I sold it for $55,000. Lion takes a lot of work, a lot of driving, takes a lot but you can do it. So if you want to do a lion, go for it."
Muller currently has two open lion hunts on sale one for $90,100 and another for $80,400 without the cost of baits.
The annual SCI Convention is a Mecca for American hunters.
It comes despite new research showing 76 per cent of U.S. voters now oppose trophy hunting, with majorities across all party lines.
The same amount opposes the auctioning of hunting trips, trophies, and animal parts at Safari Club International's annual convention.
Around 80 per cent of all trophy hunters worldwide are Americans.
In 2017 alone, 650,000 animal "trophies" were imported to the States.
Thankfully due to Covid, the number has fallen in recent years.
However, now that travel restrictions have eased 'outfitters' - guides who carry the hunts - told the Mirror they have been "inundated" with calls for kills.
One South African exhibitor told us: "Now travel is permissible many hunters want to make up for lost time.
"The industry has, like many businesses struggled, but it has also allowed for breeding to flourish.
"Our reserves are now rich with animals to harvest. There has never been a better time to follow in the footsteps of those who already have a lion added to their bucket list. You can too."
Eduardo Goncalves, founder of the Campaign to Ban Trophy Hunting, said: "The SCI Convention is the world's most shocking kill-fest.
"If there's an animal you fancy killing for kicks, here's the place to buy it. There's something for every psychopath. God knows how it's still allowed in this day and age.
"Lion numbers are in free fall.
"Scientists warn they could be gone from the wild by 2050. Yet hunting companies are literally making a killing from flogging them to be snuffed out for fun. Their owners are making mountains of money from selling lions and other animals to sadists who just like killing animals for thrills.
"The people who run these hunting companies and the hunters who go on these jolly jaunts should all be jailed. They are committing crimes against nature. Trophy hunting should be outlawed, pure and simple. It is cruel, barbaric, and is pushing more and more species to the brink of disaster.
"The profits from the convention go to the coffers of SCI, it's slick lobbyists and their dirty tricks campaigns to protect hunters' 'rights'."
Mr Goncalves said currently the SCI "is pouring money into a campaign" to thwart the will of the British people.
He added: "The industry is terrified at U.K. plans to ban hunting trophies. So this bully-boy American organisation, which spends a staggering £10 million a year on lobbying, is cooking up all sorts of plots to stop the ban on trophy imports coming into force here.
"It has already been caught red-handed hiring controversial contractors who created a fake 'Africans for trophy hunting' group to influence Ministers and M.P.s. The operation got shut down by Facebook and Twitter after it was exposed. The whole thing was concocted and run by a sole right-wing master of 'dark arts'. Goodness knows what other devious tactics SCI and its friends have up their sleeve. The only thing we can be certain of is that it will be a pack of lies designed to pull the wool over the eyes of M.P.s."
Kitty Block, president and CEO of the Humane Society of the United States and CEO of Humane Society International also condemned the convention.
She said: "Despite new evidence of public opposition to trophy hunting, a stubborn minority is meeting at the Safari Club International convention in Las Vegas this week to congratulate and brag to each other about their kills and to shop and bid for their next pay-to-slay adventure—a shameless betrayal of threatened and endangered species, especially in light of the global biodiversity crisis.
"We must expose and eliminate this exploitative industry forever."
