On Feb. 20, 2026, for the first time anywhere in the world, DNA forensics has been used to secure a criminal conviction for the illegal killing and trafficking of an individual lion — marking a major breakthrough in the global fight against wildlife crime.

The conviction follows the illegal snaring and killing of a male lion near Victoria Falls in 2024 — a crime that, like many wildlife trafficking cases, initially appeared difficult to prove. While the lion’s radio collar helped locate the remains, it was cutting-edge forensic science that ultimately secured the conviction.

After suspects were arrested and lion claws and body parts were seized, investigators faced a familiar legal challenge: possession of wildlife parts alone does not always prove a crime. Without clear evidence linking the items to a specific illegally killed animal, cases often collapse. This time, the outcome was different.

Scientists at the Victoria Falls Wildlife Trust laboratory, working with support from TRACE and TRAFFIC, applied a newly developed genetic profiling technique to generate a full DNA profile from the seized lion parts. That profile was matched exactly to genetic material from the poached lion and independently verified against a national genetic database.

It was the first time lion DNA analysis had ever been used in a criminal investigation to identify the individual lion that was the victim of illegal killing. The genetic evidence was presented in court and accepted by prosecutors, resulting in all suspects receiving 24-month prison sentences — the world’s first conviction based on forensics from an individual lion.

The lead scientist behind the technique developed the lion SNP DNA profiling method during postgraduate research at the University of Edinburgh, before applying it in real-world criminal investigations in Zimbabwe.

Lions are among the most trafficked big cats in the world, with body parts traded for ornaments, jewellery and traditional uses. Until now, prosecutions have often relied on circumstantial evidence. This case shows that wildlife crime can be investigated with the same forensic rigour applied to human criminal cases — transforming how justice can be delivered for iconic and threatened species.