Trump To Allow Import Of Killed African 'Trophy' Elephants

WASHINGTON, DC — The Trump administration announced Wednesday that it will reverse an Obama-era ban of hunters bringing home the remains of elephants hunted legally in Zimbabwe and Zambia, The Washington Post reported.

While the ban enforced by the Obama administration allowed U.S. hunters to bring home trophies from elephants hunted in South Africa, it blocked those from Zimbabwe because the country had not shown its management of elephants increased the population, according to the Post report.

African elephants are listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, but a spokesperson for the Fish and Wildlife Service told The Hill newspaper that hunting gives communities incentive to conserve species by providing revenue.

“Legal, well-regulated sport hunting as part of a sound management program can benefit the conservation of certain species by providing incentives to local communities to conserve the species and by putting much-needed revenue back into conservation,” the spokesperson told The Hill.

Safari Club International, a group that promotes hunters’ rights, broke the news Wednesday, writing on their website: “These positive findings for Zimbabwe and Zambia demonstrate that the Fish and Wildlife Service recognizes that hunting is beneficial to wildlife and that these range countries know how to manage their elephant populations. We appreciate the efforts of the Service and the U.S. Department of the Interior to remove barriers to sustainable use conservation for African wildlife.”

Animal rights groups quickly condemned the decision Wednesday night. Wayne Pacelle, president of the Humane Society of the United States, questioned whether a notoriously corrupt nation like Zimbabwe could be trusted to properly care for their elephant population.

“Under the prior administration, FWS made the eminently reasonable decision that Zimbabwe – one of the most corrupt countries on earth – was not managing its elephant population in a sustainable manner,” he wrote in a blog post Wednesday. “Government officials allegedly have been involved in both poaching of elephants and illegal export of ivory tusks. Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe even celebrated his birthday last year by feasting on an elephant.”

Pacelle added: “Let’s be clear: elephants are on the list of threatened species; the global community has rallied to stem the ivory trade; and now, the U.S. government is giving American trophy hunters the green light to kill them.”

Watch: Trump Reverses Ban On Elephant Trophy Imports

Photo Credit: AP Photo/Karel Prinsloo, File