by Karen Mehall Phillips - Wednesday, October 25, 2017
As explained by the NRA Institute for Legislative Action (ILA), NRAHLF.org has big news on the African lion conservation front. On Oct. 20, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), following an extensive evaluation of information from the governments of Zimbabwe and Zambia and other sources, determined that the import of lion trophies from the two countries meet the enhancement requirements of the Endangered Species Act. These findings underscore what hunter-conservationists have said all along: Hunting in the two southern African countries has enhanced the species’ survival.
The USFWS findings are for trophies taken in 2016, 2017, and 2018 and are in support of applicants who have met all of the USFWS’ permitting requirements. The USFWS will re-evaluate the hunting programs in place in Zimbabwe and Zambia in mid-2018 to determine if import permits can continue for 2019 and beyond.
"By lifting the import ban on lion trophies in Zimbabwe and Zambia, the Trump Administration underscored the importance of sound scientific wildlife management and regulated hunting to the survival and enhancement of game species in this country and worldwide" said Chris Cox, Executive Director of NRA-ILA. "This is a significant step forward in having hunting receive the recognition it deserves as a tool of wildlife management, which had been all but buried in the previous administration."
For more information, NRA-ILA urges hunters and other interested parties to check out this link: https://www.fws.gov/international/permits/by-activity/sport-hunted-trophies-lions.html