This Wednesday, ABC News reported that the Trump administration is reversing an Obama-era ban on the import of elephant trophies by big-game hunters from Africa.
“I don’t understand how this move by @realDonaldTrump Admin will not INCREASE the gruesome poaching of elephants. Stay tuned,” Ingraham tweeted Thursday morning.
I don't understand how this move by @realDonaldTrump Admin will not INCREASE the gruesome poaching of elephants. Stay tuned. https://t.co/KqizmlgaGg
— Laura Ingraham (@IngrahamAngle) November 16, 2017
According to ABC News, even though elephants are listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act, “a provision in the act allows the government to give permits to import these trophies if there is evidence that the hunting actually benefits conservation for that species. The official said they have new information from officials in Zimbabwe and Zambia to support reversing the ban to allow trophy hunting permits.”
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) said it has determined that the hunting of elephants in Zimbabwe and Zambia “will enhance the survival of the species in the wild.”
“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,” an FWS spokesman said in a statement this Wednesday.
The Hill reports that the ban’s reversal was an effort led by Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to promote hunting.
“Some of my best memories are hunting and fishing with my dad and granddad, and then later teaching my own kids to hunt and fish. That’s something I want more families to experience,” Zinke said in a September statement.
Featured image via Gage Skidmore
