Near the turn of the 20th century, Africa was home to approximately four million elephants. Now fewer than 500,000 remain. Africa’s lions have seen similar declines, with populations plummeting by 42 percent in just the last 20 years. To save these iconic animals from extinction, the Obama administration banned the importation of some elephant trophies and made importing lion pelts and other trophies more difficult. But now Donald Trump has reversed this policy, allowing lion trophies to be imported into the country once again.
This isn’t the least bit surprising. President Trump’s sons have boasted publicly of killing rare animals in Africa, and on top of that, Trump hates all things Obama. In September 2019, his administration approved the first importation of a lion trophy since 2016, when lions became protected under the Endangered Species Act. He’s also said that the Fish and Wildlife Service will now allow trophy imports of dead elephants and lions on a “case-by-case” basis. This essentially removes the ban, and will inevitably increase elephant poaching. We need Congress to introduce legislation to reverse this dangerous decision. Will you join the more than 500,000 signers who are demanding that Congress reinstate a total ban on all trophy hunting imports?