Donald Trump is making Africa great again… for rich American hunters.
The president is reversing the Obama administration ban on bringing the heads of elephants killed in two African countries back into the United States.
If that’s not infuriating enough, the administration is claiming allowing imports of parts of elephants (called trophies) will actually save the species. Why? Because locals will apparently become more incentivized to conserve the animals.
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So, if elephants go extinct, we know to blame the careless people of Africa and NOT those who hunted the elephants down.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said it determined that hunting African elephants in Zimbabwe and Zambia will “enhance the survival of the species,” adding in a statement:
“Legal, well-regulated sport hunting as part of a sound management program can benefit the conservation of certain species by providing incentives to local communities to conserve the species and by putting much-needed revenue back into conservation.”
The decision, which will allow the imports of elephants slain between Jan. 21, 2016 and the end of 2018, is a reversal of a wildlife preservation policy under the Obama administration.
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The U.S. and international officials say the African elephant is a threatened species, and the Obama administration argued that allowing trophy imports would threaten the species by encouraging the poaching of them.
The Trump administration, on the idiotic hand, says killing more elephants will actually help the species’ survival — and gun rights groups can’t help but agree!
The National Rifle Association praised the elephant trophy decision, noting in a statement that hunting down the species was good for the species:
“By lifting the import ban on elephant trophies in Zimbabwe and Zambia the Trump Administration underscored, once again, the importance of sound scientific wildlife management and regulated hunting to the survival and enhancement of game species in this country and worldwide.”
Needless to say, animal rights groups were fired up over the decision. Wayne Pacelle, president of the Humane Society of the U.S., wrote in a blog post:
“Let’s be clear: elephants are on the list of threatened species; the global community has rallied to stem the ivory trade; and now, the U.S. government is giving American trophy hunters the green light to kill them.”
Pacelle argued the decision solely benefits rich American hunters while leaving Africans poor and unable to hunt for themselves, adding:
“What kind of message does it send to say to the world that poor Africans who are struggling to survive cannot kill elephants in order to use or sell their parts to make a living, but that it’s just fine for rich Americans to slay the beasts for their tusks to keep as trophies?”
Sounds in line with the rest of POTUS’s agenda.
The reversal is part of an effort by Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, who oversees the FWS, to promote hunting. So grab your rifle, Donald Trump Jr. — Christmas came early this year!
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