The latest in a string of baffling decisions from the Trump White House is the sudden reversal of a ban on bringing elephant hunting trophies into the United States. The ban was put in place by the Obama administration in 2014, and was designed to protect the endangered species – as of 2014, there were only 350,000 savannah elephants left in Africa.
Trump’s reversal of the decision, which will allow trophy hunters to bring back elephants they’ve killed in Zambia and Zimbabwe, is being roundly criticised by a bunch of outraged celebs, including Ellen DeGeneres, Diplo and Judd Apatow.
Please retweet & use #BeKindToElephants, and for everyone who does, we’ll make a donation to The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust. @DSWT pic.twitter.com/Fckx9iblci
— Ellen DeGeneres (@EllenDeGeneres) November 17, 2017
Compassion, social intelligence, decisiveness, patience, wisdom. These are all qualities found in elephants and not found in the people allowing them to be killed for trophies. #NotUs
— Ellen DeGeneres (@EllenDeGeneres) November 16, 2017
Another example that Trump is possessed by Satan himself https://t.co/gTlIcZnA0i
— diplo (@diplo) November 17, 2017
No fucking way. Retweet this please. https://t.co/htiNzxHkoe
— Judd Apatow 🇺🇦 (@JuddApatow) November 16, 2017
This administration is really out here trying to destroy the world…like wtf? https://t.co/OWgfqK0lVD
— Zendaya (@Zendaya) November 16, 2017
The fact that Trump has lifted President Obama’s ban on elephant trophies being imported into the country is a devastating blow to the survival of these beautiful animals. It’s savage and pointless. It breaks my heart. pic.twitter.com/iclfxN6TXr
— Ricky Gervais (@rickygervais) November 16, 2017
I’m determined to do something about this. #BeKindToElephants pic.twitter.com/0dGkx4vNzD
— Ellen DeGeneres (@EllenDeGeneres) November 17, 2017
No longer surprised by the nefarious acts of @realdonaldtrump and his administration but this is truly heartbreaking. Lifting the ban on bringing elephant “trophies” into the US is a massive step backwards in protecting these endangered creatures. There is no “sport” in hunting. pic.twitter.com/13a4ezJP4x
— Tony Kanal (@TonyKanal) November 17, 2017
https://twitter.com/DancingTheMind/status/931118136811835393
PLEASE SIGN AND STOP TRUMP’S ELEPHANT SLAUGHTER https://t.co/RhkTBSJFgW
— Rachel Antonoff (@rachelantonoff) November 16, 2017
Thank you @TheEllenShow for taking time to shed a light on this. I️t should be criminal. Such beautiful creatures and people want to reduce them to a trophy on a wall. #bekindtoelephants https://t.co/DXZep2XmFu
— Rob Thomas (@ThisIsRobThomas) November 17, 2017
I just want to say a huge Thank You to everyone who has retweeted #BeKindToElephants . You all give me hope in humanity 💚🐘💚 @DSWT @TheEllenShow @yashar Let’s keep it going ! pic.twitter.com/mF40F3n2ld
— Kristin Davis (@KristinDavis) November 17, 2017
Human beings must accept responsibility 4 protecting the natural world, in large part because we r the ones wrecking it. #BeKindToElephants https://t.co/Q9RodRqZpR
— Sean Astin (@SeanAstin) November 17, 2017
Supporters of the Trump administration’s decision, including the US Fish and Wildlife Service, are saying that reversing the ban will actually help conservation efforts.
A Fish and Wildlife Service spokesman said 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.
Detractors say that the ban’s reversal will only serve to encourage poachers and support an already corrupt big game hunting industry in the African countries.
According to the recently published Great Elephant Census, elephant numbers in Africa declined by 30% between 2007 and 2014. They remain on the endangered species list.
