Poaching for body parts poses 'existential threat' to lions

Demand spans cultural, spiritual and commercial purposes across Africa and Asia.

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Lions are revered for attributes such as strength, power, protection and nobility.

In South Africa, parts are linked to the Umndawu ancestral spirit; in Uganda, fats and oils are used in spiritual practices; skins signify royalty and supernatural power. In western Tanzania and West Africa, lion parts are incorporated into amulets, rituals and commercialised spiritual services, sometimes far from their natural range.

Market surveys highlight the scale of demand. In Senegal, domestic use may require between 32 and 169 lions annually, despite the country having only 35 to 45 lions.

Molecular analysis has linked seized skins to Cameroon, while lion parts continue to be sold in West African countries where lions have long been locally extinct.

In Southeast Asia, demand is largely linked to perceived medicinal and cultural value, sometimes as substitutes for tiger parts. Lion bones, teeth and claws from South African breeding facilities have been exported to countries including Vietnam, Thailand, Laos and China since the early 2000s.

The authors said growing Asian diaspora communities in Africa and expanding trade links may further facilitate cross-continental trafficking. Seizures, arrests and investigations point to overlap between lion part trafficking and other illicit wildlife trades, including ivory, rhino horn and pangolin scales.

Some trade is highly organised. Seizures include 17 lion skulls in Lusaka in 2021 and more than 300kg of body parts in Maputo in 2023. Many parts likely came from captive-bred lions, but these incidents indicate cross-border crime networks, the study said.