Africa’s lions need our help. Over the last three decades, the continent-wide population has plummeted by nearly 50 percent from an estimated 75,000 in 1980 to fewer than 40,000 today. Lions face a number of serious threats to their long-term survival including retaliatory killing for conflicts over livestock, loss of habitat and prey, over-utilization for commercial purposes, unsustainable trophy hunting and a lack of action internationally. That’s why Defenders is stepping up along with other conservation groups to make sure lions have a brighter future in Africa.
We filed a petition today with the U.S. Department of the Interior to list lions as “endangered” under the Endangered Species Act. Listing African lions as endangered will further their conservation in at least three ways:
- First, it will raise awareness in the United States and around the world of the plight of African lions and give greater impetus to efforts by foreign governments and conservation organizations to conserve lions.
- Second, it will generally prohibit the import of lions and lion parts into the U.S., reducing pressures on lions in the wild.
- Third, it will encourage Congress to provide funding for lion conservation in Africa, including programs to reduce conflict between lions and humans.
This petition is a wake-up call that we hope will encourage forward-thinking conservation actions that will ultimately save Africa’s lions. After decades of exploitation, much of it at the hands of Americans, Africa’s lions need all the help they can get.
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