As of July, importing rhinoceros body parts into Australia has been outlawed. It is time to urge the Australia government to place a similar ban on importing lion body parts.
A century ago, there were an estimated 200,000 lions alive in the wild in Africa. Now, fewer than 30,000 can be found in the lands where they once freely roamed.
Even worse, Australians are paying as much as $40,000 to go to to Africa to hunt lions and other wildlife. By doing this, they are contributing to the disappearance of many majestic creatures from the earth.
Since 2010, more than 100 lion body parts -- paws, skulls and even the entire stuffed bodies of some animals-- have been brought into Australia.
People who bring back these so-called trophies after killing lions in "canned" hunts -- in which wild animals are kept within fenced areas so people can more easily shoot them -- are contributing to the demise of lions in Africa. With hundreds of lions being slain every year, La Trobe MP Jason Wood is right to call canned hunts "sick and wrong" as well as "barbaric."
Australia, now is the time to outlaw the importation of so-called trophies from the world's endangered lions!
