Just weeks after the Trump administration announced a new policy allowing the importation of dead African elephant and lion parts by U.S. trophy hunters, a group of environmental and wildlife conservation NGOs, including Born Free USA, has filed a lawsuit alleging the move goes against recent court rulings. Earlier this month, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) announced it would stop making trophy hunting decisions on a country-by-country basis as had been done at times in the past, but instead look at each application individually. A case-by-case “may sound proper on its face,” Prashant K. Khetan, the CEO and general counsel for Born Free USA, said. “But, in reality, this process will allow for permits to be issued for the importing of trophies while ignoring salient facts, and there will be little ability for groups like ours to challenge those permits.”
In March, Born Free USA also filed a complaint against USFWS for failing to produce documents (requested under the Freedom of Information Act) about the formation of the pro-hunting International Wildlife Conservation Council (IWCC).