FAQs About LionAid

Over the past 50 years Africa’s lion populations have plummeted from over 200,000 individuals back in the 1960’s to perhaps 10,000 today. A shocking number if you consider the size of that continent – and by far the greatest number of remaining lion populations are small, scattered, and highly vulnerable.

There have been many conservation foundations working to improve the lot of the African lion, but sadly to date the declines have not abated. In fact the rate of decline is accelerating – Ghana is probably the latest African country added to long list that have lost all their lions, and Kenya and Uganda predict local extinctions in the next ten years. We have recently been informed that the supposed lion population in Angola, numbering over 1,200, probably numbers not more than over 30 lions.

A new approach is clearly needed, and LION AID is committed to identifying issues that WILL make a difference, and executing meaningful solutions to these issues.

So what WILL make a difference?

• Educate the general public as to what is actually happening to our top African predator – there remains an overall high degree of unawareness of the huge decline of lions.
• We are convincing the UK Government to effect a ban on the importation of lion trophies and indeed all lion products into the UK – while the UK only imports a very small percentage of the total trophy lions shot, such individual action by nations will make a difference.
• Encourage other European nations to similarly consider their positions – Spain, Germany, Hungary, Denmark and the Czech Republic together import over 100 lion trophies per year.
• Bring pressure to bear on the hunting organizations to voluntarily stop lion trophy hunting – there could be surprising levels of support with a carefully considered approach.
• Lobby the IUCN to change their present status of African lions as “Vulnerable” to “Endangered” on their Red List – lions meet all the IUCN criteria, but the organization remains oddly complacent.