Yes it would be legal here. In Texas there is no shortage of them and they are not classified as game animals. They are thankfully classified as vermin and so they may be hunted whenever and however we want. I have never heard of it being done this way, I have only ever heard of them being tracked and treed by hounds. The animal lovers would probably scream, but that is no surprise as they are already screaming over the fact that they are hunted with dogs. In fact, they would scream no matter how we hunted them, even if we were only allowed to hunt them barefooted, with rocks or spears. For to them, the real issue is not at all "how" we hunt animals, but rather that we "do" hunt animals. So, to try to keep them from screaming by limiting our methods would be utterly futile. The only way to shut them up would be to not hunt at all, and for me this is not an option. We just have to be diligent in communicating with our legislators, and try to persuade them not to buckle to all that screaming.

Anyway - enough politics - let us discuss lion hunting. I am positive that they could be hunted exactly like leopard. What will we use for bait? Their mainstay is deer, but it would not be legal to use that for bait, so we would have to use something else. Perhaps feral hog? They exist in part of the lion's range, but not all. Or maybe just go to your local rancher and purchase a few calves, goats, or sheep? And how should the bait be set? I suppose it should be secured to a tree, provided that you are in a part of Texas that has trees. They are numerous in west Texas where there are no trees, and the bait would have to be placed in some other way. You would want to protect the bait in some way from vultures and coyotes. In this way I would not be surprised if you could get on them at first or last light. Hmm..