Scheme aids lions in the wild and Kenyan villagers

A Kent-based charity is funding a "pioneering" scheme helping villagers in Kenya and discouraging them from killing lions in the wild.

Chris Macsween runs Lion Aid from her home in Dover. The project was devised together with the Maasai communities, who administer it themselves.

The charity's Merrueshi Project helps villagers to protect their livestock, discouraging them from retaliatory killings of wild animals.

Macsween described the scheme as "the biggest joy of my life, allowing rural communities and wildlife to coexist harmoniously".

She added: "It has never successfully been done before and it's a wonderful project."

The charity has so far equipped six villages bordering the Amboseli National Park on the Kenya-Tanzania border and aims to expand to more.

The former accountant said: "Lions are so special because they are the iconic predator.

"They are at the top of the food chain and they are losing their lives."

She developed her passion for helping creatures in the wild after a holiday in Africa.

She said: "I saw what was happening to lions and I was horrified. I came home, I gave up my job and I founded Lion Aid."

The project provides solar panels to power flashing lights to deter lions from entering villages and killing livestock.

In return, villagers donate two heads of livestock each, forming a community insurance herd.

If anybody loses an animal to predation, they get another back.

Macsween said: "In the whole time since we've run this project, not a single lion has been killed in retaliation for livestock losses.

"It's a huge 100% success. I'm so proud."

The solar panels the scheme provides also generate lighting inside homes, allowing many villagers to move away from the use of toxic kerosene lamps for the first time.

James Lerionka Nairenke, a Maasai elder of the Merrueshi community, said: "Since the project started people are able to coexist with the lions and other animals.

"We want to thank Lion Aid for everything they are doing for our community."

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