The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has reversed a 2014 decision by the Obama administration to ban the import of trophies from elephants killed by American hunters in Zimbabwe. Between 2004 and 2014, more than 12,500 elephant trophies were imported into the United States, of which 5,000 originated from Zimbabwe alone. The import ban gave elephant populations a much needed respite and a reversal of the ban will doubtlessly prove devastating.
This reversal comes on the heels of several other pro-hunting decisions and statements by the Department of the Interior (DOI) and its leadership. Earlier this month, the DOI formed the International Wildlife Conservation Council, which, according to DOI’s website, is intended to, among other things, focus on the “economic benefits that result from U.S. citizens traveling abroad to hunt.” What is more, Secretary Zinke has expressed his personal enjoyment of hunting, saying that “some of my best memories are hunting and fishing with my dad and granddad, and then later teaching my own kids to hunt and fish. That’s something I want more families to experience.”
Prashant Khetan, Born Free USA CEO and General Counsel, says: “The decision by the U.S. FWS to reverse the elephant and lion trophy import bans is wrong-headed and seems to be part of a larger move by the DOI to promote hunting at the expense of animal welfare. That Sec. Zinke can promote hunting in the name of family bonding boggles the mind, as there are so many ways to bond with children while also teaching them compassion and kindness. Sadly, the lifting of these bans is likely to be just the tipping point of a series of very ill-informed, anti-conservation policies related to animal rights.”
Update, November 17: President Trump issued a tweet contradicting his Administration’s decision to lift the ban on elephant trophy imports. We at Born Free USA urge the U.S. Department of the Interior to focus on conservation and uphold the ban indefinitely, for elephant trophy imports from Zimbabwe (and other nations), as well as for lion trophies.