Breeding and keeping lions in captivity may be fun for zoo visitors, but it’s not real conservation. Real conservation is aimed at addressing the persecution and threats facing lions in the wild. Lion habitat and prey are declining, hundreds of lions are killed each year for sport by western hunters and still others are killed for meat and body parts. In the last three decades alone, the continent-wide population of lions across Africa has declined by an alarming 70 percent. It is up to us to make sure that lions are protected in the wild as our top priority. How sad it would be to someday realize that lions are gone from Kenya, but are alive and caged in South Carolina.
Challenge is to make lions’ lives worth living
Adam Robert
Senior Vice President for Born Free USA united with API
Letter to the Editor
The Times and Democrat (Orangeburg, SC)