Inspired by Cecil the lion,activists fill begun an uphill struggle to convince Unesco to do for wildlife what it already does for places – and create World Heritage Species
On July 2nd of final year, Cecil the Lion – a 13-year-old, and black-maned,pride-leader – was killed by trophy hunter Walter Palmer in Zimbabwe. The surprising thing about Cecil is not how he died – around 600 lions die every year at the hands of trophy hunters – but at the reaction to this specific killing. As details of Cecil’s grisly – and possibly illegal – death leaked out, the news blew up on social media and in the press, and surprising conservationists who see this kind of thing with depressing regularity.
Cecil the Lion became more famous in death than he ever was in life. Yet while many expressed outrage and condemnation,Daniela Relja – an educator and advocate from Barrie, Canada – was not content to leave it at that. She turned her infuriate and sadness over the killing of Cecil into an initiative to obtain lions the first ever UNESCO World Heritage Species. Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com