Trump administration lifts ban on hunting trophies
Hunters will be allowed to bring tusks and tails of slain African elephants back to the US
President Donald Trump’s administration is to roll back an Obama-era ban on bringing hunting trophies from African elephants into the US.
The previous rule, enacted in 2014, came as part of a package of reforms designed to crack down on the trafficking of wildlife and big game mementoes.
The US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has now decided to reverse the ban, meaning that big game hunters who visit Zambia and Zimbabwe will be permitted to bring trophies such as tusks and tails back to the US.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The department said it had concluded that managed hunting programmes will “enhance the survival of the species in the wild”. The FWS will officially reveal details of the change in policy on Friday.
At first glance, the ruling may seem counter-intuitive, given that African elephants are in decline. Their population has shrunk by 111,000 in the last ten years, with 415,000 elephants remaining in the wild - less than a third of the 1.3 million which roamed the continent in 1980, according to a 2016 report by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
However, this decline is in large part due to illegal poaching. After consultation with Zambian and Zimbabwean officials, the FWS says it has been persuaded that authorised hunting is beneficial to the long-term survival of the species in this instance.
Regulated hunting programmes aid conservation efforts by “providing incentives to local communities to conserve the species and by putting much-needed revenue back into conservation,” an FWS spokesperson said.
The reversal comes a month after the FWS overturned a ban on lion hunting trophies from Zimbabwe and Zambia on similar grounds, USA Today reports.
However, animal rights charities condemned the roll-back of the ban.
"It's a venal and nefarious pay-to-slay arrangement that Zimbabwe has set up with the trophy hunting industry," said Wayne Pacelle, president of the Humane Society, in The Washington Post.
During the presidential election campaign, Donald Trump’s sons, Donald Jr and Eric, came under fire for their participation in big game hunting.
A widely-circulated photo showing the pair posing with carcasses of elephants and big cats was met with disgust by animal lovers and activist groups, although Trump Jr defended the trip, saying that locals were “very grateful” for the meat provided by the expedition.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Magazine interactive crossword - May 3, 2024
Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - May 3, 2024
By The Week US Published
-
Magazine solutions - May 3, 2024
Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - May 3, 2024
By The Week US Published
-
Magazine printables - May 3, 2024
Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - May 3, 2024
By The Week US Published
-
'Biden is smart to keep the border-security pressure on'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Arizona grand jury indicts 18 in Trump fake elector plot
Speed Read The state charged Mark Meadows, Rudy Giuliani and other Trump allies in 2020 election interference case
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
'Voters know Biden and Trump all too well'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Who will win the 2024 presidential election?
In Depth Election year is here. Who are pollsters and experts predicting to win the White House?
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
National Enquirer helped Trump in 2016, ex-boss says
Speed Read David Pecker says the tabloid published fabricated content to hurt Trump's rivals
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Sitting in judgment on Trump
Opinion Who'd want to be on this jury?
By Susan Caskie Published
-
How could the Supreme Court's Fischer v. US case impact the other Jan 6. trials including Trump's?
Today's Big Question A former Pennsylvania cop might hold the key to a major upheaval in how the courts treat the Capitol riot — and its alleged instigator
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
'A direct, protracted war with Israel is not something Iran is equipped to fight'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published