Following Cecil's Death, The US Has Formally Classified African Lions As Endangered Species

The death of Cecil the lion, hunted and slaughtered by the American dentistWalter Palmer last July for $50,000 dollars, shocked the entire world. Reacting to this 'trophy kill', theUS Fish and Wildlife Serviceannounced on 21st Decemberthat African and Indian lions would now be considered "a protected species".

"A shocking decline"

The wildlife service used these words to describe the dramatic decline in the lion population. There are no more than20,000 remaining lions in Africa and India. It is estimated that there were 500,000 at the beginning of the 20th century, and 200,000 in the 1950's.

^{Source : @FWS}

"The bar has been set a lot higher now" to hunt a lion

Cecil's death made headlines worldwide, seeing as he wasthe icon of theNational Hwange Park inZimbabwe. "Today we are going to tell you the story from the lion's point of view" announcedDan Ashe, the head of the American agency.

^{Source : @ParisMatch}

Sadly, this change tothe lawdoes not totally prohibit people from hunting lions as trophies. It will only make it more difficult for hunters to obtain a lion-hunting permit.

^{Featured image : @animauxdico}