re: Trump ends ban on importing heads of hunted endangered elephants

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I don’t see how anybody can defend this.

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i can

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If they’re already illegally killed in another country, how is that our problem?

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pretty sure that's very hard, if not impossible, to do anyway

these hunts are pretty much always HIGHLY regulated by the US, the country where the hunt occurred, and by international law

you don't just get to go to africa to hunt random endangered species and get to bring the animals back to the US

now I have to get a MAGA hat that can fit an elephant's head

I'm getting one for the Bama game next season.

ugly americans are ruining Africa.

He said that chick Franken groped “shouldn’t be dressed like that”

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SFP has led some really good threads in the old days about how capitalism could possibly save endangered species

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Look up Ibex hunting in Texas. Endangered in Africa and plentiful in Texas from ranchers raising them and charging people to hunt a small portion of the herd. Suddenly there is a strong financial benefit the save the species. And the species has been pulled out of the endangered list (although there are dwindling numbers of them in Africa) Capitalism driving conservation.

Naturally, animal right groups and left wingers have been trying to shut down these ranchers for years. Genius idea, what motivation does a rancher have to maintain that herd or the species if you take away the financial benefit? None. The Ibex would return to being endangered in just a few years.

well it's more than just the direct funding of the conservation efforts

to get the permits, there is scientific data that requires the specific herd be culled (or a specific animal be killed). this information is verified by multiple governmental agencies (the country involved, the US, and certain international agreements related to endangered species)

here is a link to US Fish & Wildlife on the US permitting of elephant hunting

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To determine whether to allow imports of sport-hunted elephant trophies, the Service considers factors such as the biological needs of the species; possible threats to the populations; current population estimates; management programs; legal protection (including hunting regulations and any applicable quotas); local community involvement; and, if any funds are generated by the import, how those funds are used for conservation. The Service will allow imports from countries that have well-managed hunting programs that are contributing to conservation of elephants in the wild. We hope that these approvals will encourage other countries to strengthen their elephant conservation efforts.

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so even if the African country has spotty records, the US still has to approve your trip/hunt to get the permit

i think a lot of people who have knee-jerk reactions to these situations think American hunters are just going to random places in Africa and killing random endangered species but that's not true at all. it's one of the most regulated behaviors i've ever seen and requires layers upon layers of governmetn approval

also, those animals are getting killed regardless to cull the herd. the only question is who gets to kill the animal

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and it's the ching chong Chinese that decimate the populations of exotic animals in Africa. as my granny used to say..."they'll eat anything"

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When you have to feed 1.2 billion people daily, anything will be eaten.