Is Trump Allowing Ivory to Be Imported Again
For Now, Trump to Keep Ban on Importing Elephant Trophies
WASHINGTON — President Trump on Fri reversed the regime's decision to commencement allowing hunters to import trophies of elephants that were killed in two African countries, awaiting a further review.
His evening Twitter bulletin reversed a determination by his own administration over Republic of zimbabwe that was announced this calendar week and promoted as recently as Fri afternoon by the White House press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
"Put big game trophy decision on agree until such time as I review all conservation facts," Mr. Trump tweeted. "Under study for years. Volition update before long with Secretary Zinke. Thank you!"
Ryan Zinke, the interior secretarial assistant, said in a statement later Friday night that the conclusion applied to two African countries, though it did non proper name them.
"President Trump and I have talked, and both believe that conservation and good for you herds are disquisitional," the argument said. "As a consequence, in a manner compliant with all applicable laws, rules and regulations, the issuing of permits is beingness put on concur as the determination is beingness removed."
The U.s. Fish and Wildlife Service had signaled its intention to end the 2014 ban, citing Republic of zimbabwe's conservation efforts. On Thursday, the service appear on its website that it would begin issuing permits to permit the import of elephants hunted from 2016 to 2018, with two trophies allowed per import.
Nearly two weeks ago, the department as well waived the ban in a similar fashion for Zambia.
Zambia and Zimbabwe have had mixed success in recent years maintaining or increasing their elephant population, co-ordinate to the Great Elephant Census, a projection financed by Paul G. Allen, a founder of Microsoft. The project likewise establish that the African elephant population shrunk nearly xxx pct from 2007 to 2014.
It is unclear why Mr. Trump reversed the conclusion, just the announcement faced backfire from both conservatives and liberals. Laura Ingraham, a Play tricks News host, said Thursday on Twitter that she did not understand how the decision would not "INCREASE the gruesome poaching of elephants," while the comedian Ellen DeGeneres started an online campaign, using the hashtag #BeKindToElephants, to raise funds for elephant conservation efforts.
On social media, photos were being shared of Mr. Trump'south two elder sons hunting on safari in Zimbabwe, including ane photo that showed Donald Trump Jr. with a severed elephant tail in i hand and a pocketknife in the other.
The White House argued that the hunting would bring money to local communities and incentivize efforts to protect elephants. In defending the decision on Friday, Ms. Sanders cited a recently completed Park Service review that had begun during the Obama administration.
"This review established that both Zambia and Zimbabwe had met new standards, strict international conservation standards that allowed Americans to resume hunting in those countries," she told reporters during a news conference.
Under President Barack Obama, the practice had been banned because of a lack of information on conservation efforts in Zimbabwe.
Safari Club International, a trophy-hunting organization that sued the Obama administration in 2014 in an endeavor to claiming the ban and was the first to report the policy change on Tuesday, lashed out confronting the news media and "anti-hunters" for swaying the Trump administration to lift the trophy ban.
"The fight for the freedom to hunt is far from over," Paul Babaz, the organization'due south president, said in a statement. "We will be more proactive and not back down."
But environmental groups applauded the reversal on Friday and called for more than restrictions on trophy hunting, which has faced increased scrutiny, especially after an American dentist killed Cecil, a king of beasts beloved in Zimbabwe, in 2015.
"It'due south keen that public outrage has forced Trump to reconsider this despicable determination," said Tanya Sanerib, a senior lawyer with the Center for Biological Diversity, "only it takes more than a tweet to terminate bays hunters from slaughtering elephants and lions."
Ms. Sanders besides confirmed Friday that a about-total ban on the commercial trade of African elephant ivory enforced during the Obama administration would remain in identify.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/17/us/politics/trump-elephant-trophy-ban.html
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