JOIN THE GLOBAL MARCH FOR LIONS

Saturday, March 15th in Cities All Over the World!

Local organizations have initiated a Global March for Lions that will be held in designated cities throughout the world to highlight the plight of lions embroiled in the canned hunting industry in South Africa. The march will be held this Saturday, 15 March and the Mountain Lion Foundation is excited to be one of groups participating in the Los Angeles rally. Lynn Cullens from MLF will speak about struggles facing our own American lion and what we can do to ensure the survival of lions here at home.

LOS ANGELES, CA On Saturday, March 15, 2014, over 55 major cities around the world join to march and rally to raise awareness of the canned lion hunting industry in South Africa, to educate the public about how endangered lions are in the wild, and to advocate for legislation to protect them.

Speakers at the rally in Los Angeles include:

Tippi Hedren — actress and wildlife advocate, Founder and President of the ROAR Foundation and the Shambala Preserve
Martine Colette — Founder and Director of the Wildlife Waystation and designated wild animal expert for the city of Los Angeles
Lynn Cullens — Associate Director of the Mountain Lion Foundation
Matt Rossell — Campaigns Director for Animal Defenders International

Vaud & the Villains will provide a New Orleans-style funeral band to accompany our Lion Funeral Procession as we walk down Wilshire Blvd in memory of all the murdered lions to the South African Consulate, then return to the La Brea Tar Pits for the rally.

MARCH & RALLY DETAILS

WHEN: Saturday, March 15, 2014 from 11:00 am – 2:00 pm
WHERE: La Brea Tar Pits, 5801 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90036. Front of the George C. Page Museum at the lion statue. Other Cities
DETAILS: The march begins at 11am. Marchers will walk down Wilshire Blvd in a funeral procession in memory of all the murdered lions to the South African Consulate then return for a rally. The Rally begins when marchers return to the La Brea Tar Pits at appx. 12:15pm.

If you are able to attend, please be sure to say hi to Lynn Cullens from MLF. Rumor is she will be handing out a limited number of free mountain lion shopping bags so be sure to track her down early!

BACKGROUND INFO

Canned hunting is a legal practice in South Africa where lions are bred in captivity, trapped within enclosures, then shot and killed as trophies.

Lion cubs are hand reared at these murder farms, where unknowing volunteers habituate them to humans. When large enough, these lions are confined, often drugged, and killed by bullet or arrow in canned hunts. Their heads are imported to the US, Europe, and other countries and their bones sold to countries all over Asia for bogus “medicinal purposes.”

The American Lion, also known as cougar, puma, panther and mountain lion faces similar challenges in the United States with human-caused mortality at an all-time high. With less than 30,000 mountain lions remaining in the U.S. and more than 3,000 killed annually, we need to take action today to ensure a future for our own local lions. The Mountain Lion Foundation’s Associate Director Lynn Cullens will speak about these struggles at the rally on Saturday.

Today there are fewer than 4,000 African lions left in the wild in South Africa, but more than 8,000 are held there in captivity. The demand for lion bones throughout Asia is posing an increasing threat to wild lions. In 1970 there were 200,000 lions living in the wild; today only about 20,000 remain. Lions will be extinct in less than twenty years if action is not taken today.

People around the world are calling for the South African government to ban canned hunting. Other goals of the global march are to:

Change the listing of lions under the Endangered Species Act from “threatened” to “endangered”
Ban canned lion hunting around the world
End the export of lion bones to China where they are used for bogus “medicinal purposes”
Prohibit the import of lion trophies to USA, EU, and other countries
Educate the public about how threatened lions are in the wild
Advocate for legislation to protect lions

We hope to see you there! If you do not live near Los Angeles, please visit the Global March for Lions’ website to find a local rally in your area. And be sure to check out their Facebook page for even more information!