President Donald Trump reversed a decision Friday to lift a ban on imported elephants and lions killed by trophy hunters in Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The Safari Club International had announced earlier this week that the ban on elephants had been lifted to encourage the local African communities to conserve the animals as a source of profit from U.S. trophy hunters. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) announced Wednesday that the ban on lion trophy imports would be lifted, the Guardian reports.
The FWS decision to lift the import bans on the endangered animals was met with pushback from members of Congress and conservation groups.
“When carefully regulated, conservation hunts can benefit habitats and wildlife populations. That said, this is the wrong move at the wrong time,” GOP Rep. Ed Royce, who chairs the House Foreign Affairs committee, said Friday, according to The Hill
“Today Zimbabwe is in economic and political crisis. American citizens in the country are advised to go outdoors only when necessary. In this moment of turmoil, I have zero confidence that the regime — which for years has promoted corruption at the highest levels — is properly managing and regulating conservation programs,” Royce added.
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