Thanks for contacting me about the conservation of lions in Africa.
I entirely agree with you that lions are an iconic species that deserve our best protection, and I am glad that the UK Government is committed to conserving the world’s wildlife. The UK is a leading participant in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, which is reviewing the protection granted to lions.
I agree with you that the killing of the Zimbabwean lion known as ‘Cecil’ was a particularly distressing case. The Africa Minister, Grant Shapps MP, wrote to the government of Zimbabwe to call for our two countries to work together to promote lion conservation.
I know there have been serious concerns raised about African lion hunting trophy imports, which is why I strongly welcome the UK’s agreement in principle with other EU member states to introduce stricter measures. I was also pleased that in 2012 the UK funded a conference in Johannesburg to consider conservation of the African lion with other interested countries...
Continued on PDF...