There are multiple threats facing ring-tailed lemurs and causing the population decreases over the last 2 decades noted above. The number one reason is habitat loss. Their forest areas are being decimated by humans for farmland, grazing for livestock, and regular burning for the coal industry. This is leading to severely fragmented forest areas suitable for the lemurs to call home, and further isolating populations, which would reduce genetic diversity in the gene pool. Another major cause of population decline is the unsustainable hunting for the bushmeat trade as a local food source for humans. Bushmeat has now gained popularity all over the globe as an exotic delicacy. This has increased the illegal push for these imports in many at risk populations of animals all over the world. A third concern for these lemurs is the capture for illegal pet trade. It has been common practice to have them as part of a private collection in many parts of their nation.

The ring-tailed lemur went from Near Threatened status to ENDANGERED in 2014. This is a direct result to the devastating decline in the population and ongoing habitat loss they are facing. As such, there has been multiple protections put in place to try and help this species. They are listed on Appendix I of CITES, which is an international agreement between governments to severely limit the exportation/importation of endangered species. This makes most trade illegal and difficult. There are multiple conservation sites that have been identified in Madagascar with protected areas put in place. The problem is these areas are small and fragmented with illegal activities still occurring there.

According to IUCN the following conservation actions need to take place: land/water protection (resource & habitat protection), land/water management (site/area management and habitat & natural process restoration), species management (harvest management), education & awareness, and law & policy (compliance and enforcement at the local & national level).

There are local groups, such as Anja Reserve who are a prime example of what we can do right. The locals in this area have embraced the conservation efforts for the ring-tailed lemur and self-regulate and enforce their protections. They are now benefiting greatly from ecotourism. Proving that protecting the lemur and giving up close tours from visitors all over the world can provide their families with better quality of life and financial means, than farming that land or hunting the lemurs. There is also a large captive lemur population in the United States on St Catherine's Island in Georgia. There they are studied and part of a breeding program. The hope of this program is to understand them better and be able to release some of the captively bred population back into the wilds of Madagascar. As mentioned previously, there are about 2500 ring-tailed lemurs in captivity around the world. Lemurs in zoos play a very important role in conservation as well. Zoos raise awareness of species people would otherwise never see in their lifetime. They put a face to the human caused plights of so many at risk species. When they are seen by people at the zoo, we become impassioned and inspired to do something to save these fragile lives.