Why have Aston Villa removed the lion from their badge on Twitter & other social platforms?

Anybody paying a visit to the social media channels of Aston Villa on March 3 will discover that the club’s crest looks a little different, with a prominent lion being removed from a famous badge.

The Premier League outfit are among the teams to be offering their support to a World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) campaign intended to raise awareness for wildlife support.

Why have Villa tweaked their emblem and which other clubs have got involved? GOAL takes a look…

Why have Aston Villa removed the lion from their badge?

Explaining on the club’s official website why their crest is looking a little bare, the West Midlands-based outfit said: “Aston Villa is once again showing our support for World Wildlife Day.

“The club are removing the lion from the club’s iconic badge across all of our official social media channels on Thursday, March 3 to help raise awareness of the #WorldWithoutNature campaign.

“A host of brands and sports teams across the world are getting involved to highlight just how important nature is in every aspect of our lives.

“An initiative by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), the campaign highlights the dramatic loss of biodiversity globally and the social and economic risks it poses.

“According to WWF’s Living Planet Report, the average populations of mammals, birds, fish, amphibians and reptiles have dropped by an alarming 68% since 1970.

“#WorldWithoutNature is more prominent than ever as governments from around the world gear up to negotiate the details of a new global agreement for nature.

“This is to be agreed at the COP15 global biodiversity summit due to begin in Kunming, China, next month.

"WWF is calling on global leaders to use this opportunity to deliver an ambitious global plan to tackle biodiversity loss and set nature on the path to recovery.”

Which other clubs have removed animals from their badges?

A number of teams in England are involved in the WWF initiative, including Villa’s local rivals Wolves and the Bees of Brentford.

Championship outfits Hull City – who feature a tiger on their badge – and Bristol City – with a robin being removed from their crest – have also offered their support to a worthy cause.

Meanwhile, second tier side Preston North End have removed a lamb which sits front on their crest and Huddersfield are giving their Terrier a break.