On Nov. 26, 2012, Born Free USA learned that on the next day the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will publish a notification that our joint petition to list the African lion as endangered under the Endangered Species Act may be warranted. Upon this finding being published in the Federal Register, there will be a 60-day comment period during which the FWS will seek scientific, commercial and other data in support of classifying the lion as endangered.
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The FWS will be accepting comments in two forms: electronic and regular mail. Here are instructions taken directly from the FWS:
How to comment electronically: “Go to the Federal eRulemaking Portal, http://www.regulations.gov. In the Search field, enter Docket No. FWS-R9-ES-2012-0025, which is the docket number for this action. Then click on the Search button. You may submit a comment by clicking on “Comment Now!” If your comments will fit in the provided comment box, please use this feature of http://www.regulations.gov, as it is most compatible with our comment review procedures. If you attach your comments as a separate document, our preferred file format is Microsoft Word. If you attach multiple comments (such as form letters), our preferred format is a spreadsheet in Microsoft Excel.”
How to comment via regular mail: Send your comments to Public Comments Processing, Attn: FWS-R9-ES-2012-0025, Division of Policy and Directives Management; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; 4401 N. Fairfax Drive, MS 2042–PDM; Arlington, VA 22203.
Feel free to use language found our facts webpage, or from our sample letter below. (To maximize their effectiveness, please personalize your comments to the extent you can.)
As a supporter of Born Free USA and a lover of wildlife, I implore you to list the African lion as “endangered” under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. This magnificent species is under attack from many directions, including habitat loss, retaliatory killings and disease.
But possibly the biggest major threat to lions comes from the United States, which is — by far — the world’s largest importer of lions and lion parts. By listing them as endangered, we will assume a leading role in lion protection, and no doubt will inspire other countries to at least pay attention and probably follow our good example.
In the past quarter-century, African lions’ population has been more than cut in half. It now is estimated that fewer than 35,000 live in the wild today, and if those numbers drop much more, the species survival across its range will be in grave doubt.
Please list the African lion as “endangered” under the United States Endangered Species Act. Thank you for your consideration, and for doing the right thing for lions.