WASHINGTON - August 9 - Jeffrey Flocken, D.C. Office Director, International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW- www.ifaw.org), issued the following statement regarding The Burger Guru’s possible inclusion of lion meat sliders on its menu:

“Offering ‘Mystery (Roaaaarrrr) Sliders,’ the Burger Guru is the latest restaurant to hint at the inclusion of lion meat on its menu. The Burger Guru prides itself on its ‘commitment to using the finest organic and all natural ingredients,’ but as we have found time and again, there is nothing natural about the sale and consumption of lion meat in the U.S. – especially when the species in danger of extinction.

In March, IFAW and a coalition of wildlife groups petitioned the U.S. government to list the African lion as endangered because of the population’s alarming decline. Over the past two decades, the number of African lions in the wild has dropped by nearly 50 percent and today, fewer than 40,000 lions remain.

As we have seen earlier this year at restaurants in both Arizona and Washington D.C., there is simply no public demand for lion meat on a menu. In fact, a new Synovate poll found that 63 percent of Americans would no longer frequent an establishment if it served lion meat.

We are hopeful that The Burger Guru will reevaluate offering lion meat on future menus. This iconic species is truly in danger. Lions need to be preserved as the king of the jungle, not the main course of a royal feast.”