Over the past 50 years Africa's lion populations have plummeted from over 200,000 individuals back in the 1960's to fewer than 20,000 today. This is a shocking number  considering the geographical size of Africa and the fact that the greatest number of remaining lion populations are very small, scattered throughout the continent and remain highly vulnerable.

There have been many conservation foundations working to improve the lot of the African lion, but sadly to date the declines have not abated. In fact the rate of decline in lion numbers is accelerating, Ghana is probably the latest African country added to long list that have lost all their lions, and Kenya and Uganda predict local extinctions in the next ten years.

Lions are a major trophy for hunters. Despite their well-documented decline, there is still a considerable trophy hunting effort. Since the last-published decline in lion numbers on the continent were made public in 2002-2004, over 4,400 lions have been exported as trophies. As such, trophies are largely male lions. The effect of this commercial activity has greatly impacted both overall lion numbers and the ability for remaining lions to reproduce. Trophy hunting must cease.

LionAid.org is a non-profit organization dedicated to the conservation and preservation of lions. Their mission is to create awareness about the huge decline of the lion population and work with government officials and other organizations to cease the legal hunting of these animals.

In this segment of The Organic View Radio Show, host, June Stoyer will speak to the founder of LionAid.org, Dr. Pieter Kat and to Christine Macsween. Stay Tuned!