Elephant trophy imports allowed despite Trump condemnation
WASHINGTON _ The U.S. is opening the door to allowing elephant hunters to bring tusks and other animal parts into the country as trophies, despite President Donald Trump's condemnation of the practice as a "horror show."
The Interior Department says it is revising the way it reviews applications to import hunted animal parts in response to a federal court opinion and withdrawing broad conclusions that applied to African elephants killed in Zimbabwe. The policy move, outlined in a March 1 memo, means that some African elephants taken in Zimbabwe could be imported.
Under the change, import applications will be individually assessed for whether the action enhances the survival of the species in the wild, a standard laid out in law. Previously, the agency applied countrywide determinations on that enhancement question when vetting applications.
The Interior Department's Fish and Wildlife Service had decided last November to allow some elephant carcasses from Zimbabwe to be brought to the U.S. as hunting trophies, a practice previously halted by the Obama administration. The service determined the killing of African elephant trophy animals in Zimbabwe "will enhance the survival of the African elephant."
After an outcry from both Democrats and Republicans, Trump then put the new import policy on hold and used Twitter to proclaim he was skeptical that "this horror show in any way helps conservation of elephants or any other animal."
_ Bloomberg News
