In the wake of the Zimbabwe coup, the Trump administration has elected to lift the Obama era ban of importing elephant trophies into the United States.  The U.S. Fish and Wildlife notice stated that permitting elephants from Zimbabwe and Zambia to be brought back as trophies will raise money for conservation programs.  The new policy applies to the remains of African elephants killed between January 2016 and December 2018.

To kill animals for mere sport is cruel, deviant and immoral. As stewards of the earth, human-kind has the responsibility and obligation to protect and nurture all that is in it...Most especially, threatened animals, such as elephants, and environments & habitats, like the coral reefs.  

To kill an animal to save future generations makes no sense.  Thus, I am petitioning the Trump administration to immediately reinstate the ban on importation of elephant body parts.

Further, I’m petitioning Senator Debbie Stabenow, Senator Gary Peters and the full Michigan delegation to the U.S. House of Representatives, to introduce legislation banning the importation of body parts of all threatened and endangered animals.

Lastly, I humbly request that as a good steward, you will support this petition by signing and sounding the alarm to your family, friends and neighbors.

The information below has been taken from the Thursday edition of the PBS Newshour.

The world’s largest land mammal, the African elephant has been classified as threatened under the U.S. Endangered Species Act since 1979.

Illicit demand for elephant ivory has led to devastating losses from illegal poaching as the natural habitat available for the animals to roam has also dwindled by more than half. As a result, the number of African elephants has shrunk from about 5 million a century ago to about 400,000 remaining. And that number continues to decline each year.

According to the United Nations, as many as 100,000 African elephants were killed between 2010 and 2012. For forest elephants, the population declined by an estimated 62 percent between 2002 and 2011.