We all agree that canned hunting is, at its best, unsporting.
This post makes me think that this breed and hunt scenario isn't as bad as it sounds.
Think about it...
Predator breeding for the purpose of hunting is in no way detrimental to the populations of wild lions.
A hunter paying the hunting fees as well as the expense associated with the hunt is injecting much needed money into the African economy. I know not in the indigenous tribal sense, but in the overall economy sense.
The hunter gets the thrill of shooting a lion which still has some capacity to harm him - if that's his thing.
It is proven that large cats breed well in captivity - so much so - that the US has the highest population of tiger in the world.

If we look at the facts, large predators in Africa could be utilised in the same way as fur bearers and our own North American Bison (which are mostly canned hunts) are here. As an agricultural asset.

IMO, offering captive bred predators such as lion and tiger would greatly decrease hunting and poaching pressure in their wild populations.
Not an endorsement, just another way of looking at it...