Walt Disney Pictures and Jon Favreau:

Please educate your viewers about the declining numbers of lions in the wild.

We, the viewers, request that the following information be displayed at the end of the latest Lion King movie.

⦁ Tragically, at the time the original Lion King was first filmed in 1994, a total of 1000 lions died, in the Serengeti National Park due to a sudden outbreak of Canine Distemper. Researchers suspect the lions contracted this disease from the many dogs kept by the local tribesmen.This is a perfect example of one of the greatest threats lions face: Human Wildlife Conflict

⦁ In recent years the International Union of Conservation of Nature listed the Lion (Panthera Leo) as “vulnerable” meaning the numbers are declining dramatically. Lions have lost 42% of their population since the filming of the first Lion King, approximately three generations since 1993-2014.

⦁ An estimated 20,000 lions remain in the wild today.This means there are more lion statues globally than real wild lions!

⦁ Devastatingly in the last 50 years the global lion populations have plummeted from 100.000 to 20.000.

⦁ Lions are extinct in 26 countries.

⦁ THREATS
To best meet the challenges facing remnant lion populations we should be clear about the causes of their continuing decline and the threats to their survival.

i. Loss of habitat and natural prey
ii. Conflict with humans and livestock
iii. Unsustainable trophy hunting and trade in lion parts
iv. Disease and climate change
v. Inbreeding Depression

⦁ Many lions are bred and held in ‘Canned hunting’ facilities. 'Canned hunting' is the hunting of wild animals (mostly lions) in a confined area from which they cannot escape. In South Africa, it is not only legal, it is flourishing. 8,000 or more captive-bred lions and other predators languish in more than 200 breeding facilities, where they are exploited for profit at every stage of their lives. The animals involved are habituated to people from an early age, often through being hand-reared and bottle-fed, so they are no longer naturally fearful of people, making them easy targets for a rifle or bow when it comes to the hunt.

It is not just the lions that has suffered tremendously over the last two decades. The big 5 in Africa has seen a major decline in numbers, especially due to loss of natural habitat and prey as well as unsustainable trophy hunting and poaching. We loose one elephant to hunting and poaching every 15min. Less than 350,000 wild elephants remain in the wild today. Our rhino's are also on a dramatic decline. Giraffes face a silent extinction with less than 80,000 remaining in the wild today. The future looks bleak for these majestic animals...the key to turning this downward spiral into a positive is education. Educating our youth of today, the future leaders of tomorrow, is key in this fight! Which better way of educating our youth today by doing it through an amazing, and much loved medium, as the Lion King!

We thank you for your consideration and look forward to the epic adventure that awaits us in the new Lion King movie!

https://www.facebook.com/ActionAWC/​

https://www.facebook.com/groups/southernafricanfightforrhino/​

https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/15951/115130419
https://www.bornfree.org.uk/lion-farming-and-canned-hunting
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-37295358
http://lionalert.org/page/threats