SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
The Trump administration recently reversed a November 2017 decision to ban animal trophy imports from African nations, drawing condemnation from animal rights groups. (Photo: @tx_nyer/Twitter)
After Calling Practice 'A Horror Show,' Trump Reverses Ban on Animal Trophy Imports
Breaking earlier promise, administration now says slaughtered elephants and other exotic animals will be allowed into U.S. on "case-by-case" basis
Mar 06, 2018
Animal rights advocates denounced the Trump administration's reversal of a ban on animal trophy imports, announced in a memo issued last week, and the secrecy with which President Donald Trump's U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) will now allow some Americans to import endangered species they have killed in African countries.
The agency said it would begin issuing permits "to import a sport-hunted trophy on a case-by-case basis," effective immediately, but did not share what guidelines it would follow in making those decisions.
The Center for Biological Diversity objected to the lack of transparency as well as the Trump administration's refusal to protect elephants, lions, and other animals in African countries including Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Botswana.
\u201cTheir decision-making on elephant trophy imports needs to be in the public, not behind closed doors. And quite simply, elephants in the wild need to roam freely, and unencumbered from trophy hunts, ivory poaching, and the illegal trade that is driving their numbers downward.\u201d— Center for Biological Diversity (@Center for Biological Diversity) 1520305664
The decision comes four months after President Donald Trump announced he would reinstate a 2014 ban on animal trophy imports, calling trophy-hunting a "horror show" despite the abundance of evidence that his sons have hunted animals and posed proudly with their "trophies."
The president announced the ban last November after the public outcry that ensued when he briefly reversed President Barack Obama's directive outlawing trophy imports.
"We saw the public outcry last fall when [the trophy decision] was announced...not just from people who are traditionally Democrats," Tanya Sanerib, an attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity, told the Huffington Post on Tuesday. "The agency is really playing hide the ball. It's incredibly disappointing."
In December, a federal appeals court ruled in favor of the National Rifle Association (NRA) and Safari International, which had sued the Obama-run USFWS on the grounds that the 2014 trophy ban was implemented without a public comment period, among other complaints. The decision to permit trophies on a case-by-case basis was made by the USFWS in light of the appeals court's decision.
But on social media, some accused the Trump administration of sneakily reversing its earlier decision while Americans' attention is focused elsewhere, months after the animal trophy uproar.
\u201cJust a reminder that Trump initially stopped this move due to the public outcry, and then snuck it back in when he assumed everyone had forgotten. \n\nWhat a horrible thing to do. https://t.co/xXDsmPOXlj\u201d— The Wokest Numbersmuncher (@The Wokest Numbersmuncher) 1520307553
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Animal rights advocates denounced the Trump administration's reversal of a ban on animal trophy imports, announced in a memo issued last week, and the secrecy with which President Donald Trump's U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) will now allow some Americans to import endangered species they have killed in African countries.
The agency said it would begin issuing permits "to import a sport-hunted trophy on a case-by-case basis," effective immediately, but did not share what guidelines it would follow in making those decisions.
The Center for Biological Diversity objected to the lack of transparency as well as the Trump administration's refusal to protect elephants, lions, and other animals in African countries including Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Botswana.
\u201cTheir decision-making on elephant trophy imports needs to be in the public, not behind closed doors. And quite simply, elephants in the wild need to roam freely, and unencumbered from trophy hunts, ivory poaching, and the illegal trade that is driving their numbers downward.\u201d— Center for Biological Diversity (@Center for Biological Diversity) 1520305664
The decision comes four months after President Donald Trump announced he would reinstate a 2014 ban on animal trophy imports, calling trophy-hunting a "horror show" despite the abundance of evidence that his sons have hunted animals and posed proudly with their "trophies."
The president announced the ban last November after the public outcry that ensued when he briefly reversed President Barack Obama's directive outlawing trophy imports.
"We saw the public outcry last fall when [the trophy decision] was announced...not just from people who are traditionally Democrats," Tanya Sanerib, an attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity, told the Huffington Post on Tuesday. "The agency is really playing hide the ball. It's incredibly disappointing."
In December, a federal appeals court ruled in favor of the National Rifle Association (NRA) and Safari International, which had sued the Obama-run USFWS on the grounds that the 2014 trophy ban was implemented without a public comment period, among other complaints. The decision to permit trophies on a case-by-case basis was made by the USFWS in light of the appeals court's decision.
But on social media, some accused the Trump administration of sneakily reversing its earlier decision while Americans' attention is focused elsewhere, months after the animal trophy uproar.
\u201cJust a reminder that Trump initially stopped this move due to the public outcry, and then snuck it back in when he assumed everyone had forgotten. \n\nWhat a horrible thing to do. https://t.co/xXDsmPOXlj\u201d— The Wokest Numbersmuncher (@The Wokest Numbersmuncher) 1520307553
From Your Site Articles
Animal rights advocates denounced the Trump administration's reversal of a ban on animal trophy imports, announced in a memo issued last week, and the secrecy with which President Donald Trump's U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) will now allow some Americans to import endangered species they have killed in African countries.
The agency said it would begin issuing permits "to import a sport-hunted trophy on a case-by-case basis," effective immediately, but did not share what guidelines it would follow in making those decisions.
The Center for Biological Diversity objected to the lack of transparency as well as the Trump administration's refusal to protect elephants, lions, and other animals in African countries including Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Botswana.
\u201cTheir decision-making on elephant trophy imports needs to be in the public, not behind closed doors. And quite simply, elephants in the wild need to roam freely, and unencumbered from trophy hunts, ivory poaching, and the illegal trade that is driving their numbers downward.\u201d— Center for Biological Diversity (@Center for Biological Diversity) 1520305664
The decision comes four months after President Donald Trump announced he would reinstate a 2014 ban on animal trophy imports, calling trophy-hunting a "horror show" despite the abundance of evidence that his sons have hunted animals and posed proudly with their "trophies."
The president announced the ban last November after the public outcry that ensued when he briefly reversed President Barack Obama's directive outlawing trophy imports.
"We saw the public outcry last fall when [the trophy decision] was announced...not just from people who are traditionally Democrats," Tanya Sanerib, an attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity, told the Huffington Post on Tuesday. "The agency is really playing hide the ball. It's incredibly disappointing."
In December, a federal appeals court ruled in favor of the National Rifle Association (NRA) and Safari International, which had sued the Obama-run USFWS on the grounds that the 2014 trophy ban was implemented without a public comment period, among other complaints. The decision to permit trophies on a case-by-case basis was made by the USFWS in light of the appeals court's decision.
But on social media, some accused the Trump administration of sneakily reversing its earlier decision while Americans' attention is focused elsewhere, months after the animal trophy uproar.
\u201cJust a reminder that Trump initially stopped this move due to the public outcry, and then snuck it back in when he assumed everyone had forgotten. \n\nWhat a horrible thing to do. https://t.co/xXDsmPOXlj\u201d— The Wokest Numbersmuncher (@The Wokest Numbersmuncher) 1520307553
From Your Site Articles
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.