Trophy hunting history in the United States is repeating itself yet again. A U.S. hunter traveled to Zimbabwe for a trophy hunt and killed a 12-year-old lion with a bow and arrow after luring the lion out of his protected habitat of Hwange National Park. The lion, named Mopane, was beloved by tourists. This incident is markedly similar to that of Cecil the lion, another well-known and well-loved lion who was killed in 2015 also after having been lured out of the protected area of Hwange National Park. It is believed that this hunter also contracted the same safari operator as the one hired to help track and kill Cecil.
Trophy hunting is a contentious topic both in the U.S. and worldwide, and has drawn substantial media attention the last several years, starting with global outrage over Cecil’s death in 2015. It is no secret that hunters from the U.S. partake in trophy hunting and that the U.S. is one of the top destinations for trophy hunting imports. Even though the African lion, among other species, is listed as a protected species under the Endangered Species Act, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service allows trophy-hunted imports of exotic animals into the U.S. – whether threatened, endangered, or not.
With history repeating itself, it is time for the United States to end this cruelty once and for all. Congress and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service must pass laws and enact regulations that bar the import of hunting trophies. There are two vital bills that have been presented to Congress in the past – the Conserving Ecosystems by Ceasing the Importation of Large (CECIL) Animal Trophies Act and the Prohibiting Threatened and Endangered Creature Trophies (ProTECT) Act. Among other provisions, the CECIL Act seeks to reestablish protections that have been eroded in recent years by restricting the import of sport-hunted species that have been proposed for listing under the Endangered Species Act and to reinstate the prohibition of imports of elephants and lions from Tanzania, Zimbabwe, and Zambia. The ProTECT Act would prohibit the taking of any endangered or threatened species in the U.S. as a trophy and would prohibit the import of any such trophy into the U.S.
Without laws and regulations to prohibit trophy imports, such as the CECIL and ProTECT Acts, countless animals will be killed, including those belonging to threatened and endangered species that are already struggling to survive. It is our duty to help preserve wildlife species and safeguard ecosystems and not add unnecessary pressures to this already-fragile system by allowing people to ruthlessly kill for vanity. We need Congress and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to pass much-needed legislation to ensure that hunting trophies can no longer be imported into the United States.
Keep Wildlife in the Wild,
Julie
