American hunters will be allowed to bring home elephant trophies from Zimbabwe and Zambia, as the Donald Trump administration lifted a ban imposed by the previous Barack Obama administration. Elephant parts from South Africa and Namibia are allowed to be imported even now. The administration is also reviewing an existing ban on import from Tanzania. Imports from Zimbabwe and Zambia were banned after the Obama administration concluded that these countries were unable to establish that hunting was helping conservation of African elephants that are listed as a threatened specifies under the Endangered Species Act.Rich American hunters travel the world on expeditions. The U.S has argued that the large amounts paid in license fees to local governments helped conservation efforts. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service cited the same reason for lifting the ban.
‘Enhancing survival chances’
“The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has determined that the hunting and management programmes for African elephants in Zimbabwe and Zambia will enhance the survival of the species in the wild. American hunters make up the largest proportion of people who hunt overseas, placing our nation in a key role to support science-based, well-managed hunting programs abroad,” it said.
The agency has said it allows the import of a sport-hunted elephant trophy only when the killing of the trophy animal will enhance the survival of the species. The permits will be granted on a case by case basis and will be limited to two per hunter in a calendar year. Elephants hunted between 2016 and 2018 can be brought into the country now, and many such trophies are already waiting in these countries, according to reports.
‘Positive findings’
The American National Rifle Association (NRA) and Safari Club International (SCI), a hunting advocacy group, have been fighting the ban in courts. Individuals who have hunted or wish to hunt elephants between 2016 and 2018 will need to apply for and obtain import permits from the FWS in order to bring their elephants home, SCI said in a statement.
“These positive findings for Zimbabwe and Zambia demonstrate that the FWS recognizes that hunting is beneficial to wildlife and that these range countries know how to manage their elephant populations,” said SCI President Paul Babaz said in a statement.
NRA is a close ally of Mr. Trump.
The current decision comes after Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke set up a council to advise him on how to increase conservation awareness and the “economic benefits that result from U.S. citizens travelling abroad to hunt.”
Cecil outcry
The government may have allowed trophies to be flown to America, but some American airlines had banned transportation of these in 2015 after a huge public outcry over a Minnesota dentist killing an iconic lion, Cecil, in Zimbabwe.
Walter Palmer had reportedly paid about $50,000 to hunt Cecil and posed with its carcass, triggering an outrage. Some airlines had barred carrying animal trophies even prior to that.
