Why the Norwich City Hall lions disappeared...

Sam EmanuelNorwich City Hall's famous lions were covered up as part of a charity's bid to highlight the plight of the big cats.Sam Emanuel

Norwich City Hall's famous lions were covered up as part of a charity's bid to highlight the plight of the big cats.

Lion Aid has been putting black shrouds on lion sculptures in iconic places across the UK to raise awareness of the 90pc decline in lions in the wild in just 50 years.

The charity will finish the exercise by covering up one of the lions in Trafalgar Square at the end of the month, having been given permission by Mayor of London, Boris Johnson.

Norwich City Council supported the event, which ran all day Saturday and was attended by Norwich City Council leader Steve Morphew.

Lion Aid spokeswoman Chris Macsween said: 'Lion Aid is a new charity and its mission is to highlight the plight of the lions and to fund effective programmes to reverse this drastic decline.

'We have therefore initiated a campaign called Where Have all the Lions Gone? The message of the campaign is quite simple. Lose lions in the wild, and lose them at home. Extinction on the African plains would be associated with the loss of icons, symbols, and representations in every-day use.

'It is a light-hearted campaign that nevertheless packs a punch in terms of delivering the message of the lions' plight.'