Now the issue of lion shooting is in the spotlight with Mr Borsak telling environment minister Greg Hunt that figures used to support a proposed ban on importation of hunting trophies into Australia had been subject to "deliberate misrepresentation of true data."

Mr Borsak said the issue has been confused by including discussion about lions shot through illegal "canned hunting" schemes where the animal, sometimes drugged, is released in a confined area with no chance of escape.

"First of all they are fudging the figures and secondly they are definitely trying to confuse the issue by talking about 'canned hunting' which we abhor and don't support," he said. "They release an animal out of a cage and you shoot it as it runs away. No hunter would do that."

The row has surfaced ahead of an expected statement in two weeks at a Global March for Lions in Melbourne on amendment to the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.

Mr Borsak in a letter to the minister stated: "Given these (and other) 'anomalies' the whole basis for your proposal to implement stricter domestic measures to regulate the import and export of specimens of the African lion is flawed and erroneous."

He said the few specimens brought in to the country are from lawful hunting of African lions which he says is supported by Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. Mr Borsak's argument is that lawful hunting supports the local economy and reduces poaching.

"Australia somehow thinks it knows better about what is good for conservation in Africa than Africa does. We have got a big brother attitude to these people," Mr Borsak said.

Liberal MP Jason Wood has lobbied the environment minister on import of trophies and has made speeches on "canned hunting" in parliament.

Mr Hunt's office told Fairfax Media that in response to a request from Mr Jason Wood MP a year ago the Department of the Environment provided data to the Parliamentary Library on African lions imported into Australia since 2010.

"The department has since become aware of some discrepancies in the information provided, primarily due to the complexity of data available on trade in hunting trophies. These discrepancies have since been rectified by the department," it said

Between 2010 and 2013, 89 individual African lion items were imported into Australia. Of these,18 were declared as hunting trophies.

The minister says he responded in January to Mr Borsak's letter explaining he had requested the department to review the data and put in place rigorous processes to avoid future errors.