Paws Up!
To Delta Airlines for banning the shipment of wildlife trophies on Delta flights
Many trophy hunters traveling to African countries in search of big game are not solely seeking the experience of killing a rare animal. In part, these hunters are motivated by the hope to obtain a “trophy” from the hunt – which may be the severed head, horns, pelt, or corpse of the hunted animal. While federal law places some restrictions on the import of wildlife parts, many forms of “hunting trophies” are still imported legally into the U.S. Until recently, airlines such as Delta permitted wildlife trophies as cargo, so long as the cargo did not violate U.S. wildlife trafficking laws.
According to a recent news article, that policy has changed. Delta Airlines will no longer allow the body parts of trophy-hunted lion, leopard, rhinoceros, elephant, or buffalo as cargo on Delta flights. This decision comes shortly after a 13-year-old male African lion, locally known as “Cecil,” was slaughtered by an American trophy hunter, who lured the lion out of his protected sanctuary in Hwange National Park. Cecil’s headless, skinless body was later found by park officials in Zimbabwe.
Take action. Contact Delta Airlines and thank them for taking a corporate stand against trophy hunting.
The National Humane Education Society 