Lions on Track to be Extinct by 2031

​worldanimalnews.com/breaking-born-free-foundations-ongoing-battle-to-prevent-lion-extinction-by-2031-after-97-population-decline/

International Wildlife Charity, The Born Free Foundation, is continuing its work on lion conservation amidst the knowledge that the lion population in Africa has dwindled by 97% in the past century. Although a century is a long time to consider, there is no denying that these statistics are damning and lions are facing imminent danger of going extinct by the year 2031. 

Lions are extinct in 26 African countries with remaining numbers now sitting at approximately 20, 000. To put things into perspective, there are roughly 1.2 billion people in Africa and 20, 000 lions indicating that the species is wildly outnumbered. Although the foundation continues to make strides in increasing the conservation area, bolstering lion populations, and replenishing ecosystems to allow more species to flourish, there is significant work to be done to ensure the future of the lions in Africa. 

The perils lions face in the wild are all entirely the fault of humans. Habitat loss due to the continued population increase and demand for more land to serve said population, the continued allowance of trophy hunting under the hypocritical guise of conservation, and illegal poaching continue to put the lions of Africa in danger of going extinct. 

First of all, it's time for a global ban on trophy hunting. I'm sick and tired of hearing how the money spent on these hunts is funnelled into conservation efforts. One cannot help increase the population of a species by paying massive amounts of money to shoot them. This hypocritical stance on conservation is helping along the extinction of the lions. If these people truly want to fund conservation, donate that money to real conservation efforts and abandon trophy hunting once and for all. Regarding habitat loss, it's crucial that conservation groups continue to advocate for more designated conservation space that prevents human growth in the area. We cannot allow the population to continue taking more land from the lions as it is causing continued human interference that results in the lions being executed. We need real solutions and we need them now!

The moral of this story here is that humans are pushing millions of species further and further towards extinction. If it isn't lions, it's giraffes or rhinos, Africa's immense and diverse wildlife population is dying so we must continue efforts to better protect them. As I said, tackle the things that we can tackle right off the bat, starting with trophy hunting and working towards increasing the designated conservation areas allowing for more room for the lion population to roam and increase. 

I applaud the efforts of groups like Born Free Foundation who are working tirelessly to protect lions and other African wildlife. I truly hope we start to hear good news coming from Africa regarding its wildlife. I will update as more information becomes available. Read the full story from World Animal News by visiting the link at the top of the page.

HAPPY VEG