DETROIT and WASHINGTON, July 30,
2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Following the tragic death of Cecil the
Lion, African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) launched "Justice for
Cecil," a CrowdRise fundraiser with the goal of protecting
lions like Cecil, and other species heavily targeted by
poachers.
"The threat of extinction is very real for African lions," says
African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) Vice President of Species
Protection, Dr. Philip Muruthi.
"Given the dramatic decline in Africa's lion population, we cannot support
any human activities that contribute to lion mortalities, and that
includes sport hunting."
Lions are extinct in North
Africa, severely depleted across West and Central Africa, and now losing ground in their
strongholds of East and Southern
Africa. Amid rapid economic change and growth on the
continent, AWF is working to conserve the wildlife and wild lands
of Africa through a variety of
species protection, community development, education and enterprise
development initiatives. African lions are iconic and play an
important role in the functioning of the ecosystem. Their numbers,
however, are declining rapidly across their range as a result of
habitat loss, human-lion conflict, disease, unsustainable hunting
and a decline in their prey base. AWF's goal is to conserve viable
and ecologically functional populations of lions in their natural
environments.
Poaching is one of the most pervasive threats to wildlife around
the world. Tigers, lions, elephants, rhinos, and many other species
are targeted for the illegal wildlife market. These horrific crimes
are carried out on a grand scale -- the illegal wildlife trade
is estimated to be a $20 billion a
year industry, and is causing the drastic declines of wildlife
populations across the continent. Donations made to the
'Justice for Cecil' CrowdRise campaign will support AWF's continued
work to protect the wild lands and wild life of Africa, including Africa's lion population, which has
declined by 30 percent over the past two decades -- today less
than 30,000 of the big cats remain.
About CrowdRise
CrowdRise is the world's largest and fastest growing online
platform dedicated exclusively to charitable fundraising and is
used by individuals, charities, companies and celebrities to unlock
the power of the crowd and raise hundreds of millions of dollars to
support positive social missions.
About African Wildlife Foundation
Founded in 1961, the African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) is a
leading conservation organization focused solely on the African
continent. For more information, visit www.awf.org
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SOURCE CrowdRise