Liberals will always find a reason to have a problem with President Trump.
It's why they are always protesting over something no matter how ridiculous it is.
Whether it's a travel ban or not you can count on them taking the streets.
Another issue has come to the forefront that has them protesting yet again.
President Trump reversed his decision to repeal the elephant trophy ban after an immense amount
of public backlash.
This past Friday he tweeted out a message on social media that he will be upholding
a ban for importing trophies of elephants that are hunted and killed in Zimbabwe.
This will be pending further review.
His tweet read,
"Put big game trophy decision on hold until such time as I review all conservation facts.
Under study for years.
Will update soon with Secretary Zinke.
Thank you!"
Secretary Zinke also echoed the decision and intimated that he and the president had discussed
the issue and were concerned about conservation and the critical need for healthy herds.
The statement came hours after a statement by Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
Sanders had defended the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services decision to end the 2014 ban that
had been previously initiated under President Obama.
On Thursday the service noted that through December of 2017 they would issue permits
to import sport-hunted trophies from Zimbabwe elephants.
The Daily Mail reported.
"The move was met with a barrage of criticism from animal rights groups and activists.
It also came on the same day that the US State Department presented to Congress its first
annual report on wildlife trafficking which, it said, 'remains a serious transnational
crime.'
French screen legend and animal rights activist Brigitte Bardot added her voice to the growing
chorus of criticism, slamming Trump as 'unfit for office' after his administration's
'shameful actions.'
'No despot in the world can take responsibility for killing off an age-old species that is
part of the world heritage of humanity,' Bardot said in a letter to Trump, released
through Fondation Brigitte Bardot.
The move is 'a cruel decision backed by Zimbabwe's crazy dictator and it confirms
the sick and deadly power you assert over the entire plant and animal kingdom,' the
83-year-old actress added.
'Your shameful actions confirm the rumors that you are unfit for office.'
According to the Great Elephant Census project, African Savanna elephant populations fell
by 30 percent between 2007 and 2014, while Zimbabwe saw a drop of six percent.
Despite an overall fall in poaching, Africa's elephant population has declined in part because
of continued illegal killing, said a report this year by CITES, the Convention on International
Trade in Endangered Species.
African ivory, in particular, is highly sought in China where it is a status symbol.
A provision in the Endangered Species Act says the import of such trophies can be legal
if accompanied by proof that the hunting benefits broader conservation of the species.
Trump's sons are known to have a passion for hunting.
In one widely shared photograph, Donald Trump Jr poses with a knife in one hand and an elephant
tail in the other, the animal's corpse beside him.
The US decision follows tumultuous days in Zimbabwe, where President Robert Mugabe refuses
to resign after the military seized control of the country."
SCI President Paul Babaz said in a statement,
"These positive findings for Zimbabwe and Zambia demonstrate that the Fish and Wildlife
Service recognizes that hunting is beneficial to wildlife and that these range countries
know how to manage their elephant population."
Wayne Pacelle, the organization's president and CEO said,
"Let's be clear: elephants are on the list of threatened species; the global community
has rallied to stem the ivory trade; and now, the U.S. government is giving American trophy
hunters the green light to kill them."
SCI Director of Communications Steve Comus told NPR in an email,
"In some occasions, the skull might be (could even be skull with tusks).
And, there are other parts imported sometimes, as well.
What happens is that all of the meat, etc. is consumed by local people there in Africa
(typically a village close to where the elephant is harvested).
So, most of the elephant not only remains in Africa, but in the stomachs of local Africans."
While animal welfare issues have not been a huge priority for the administration the
issues related to it occasionally come to the forefront of the media.
The President and his family have received criticism and backlash for trophy hunting
in Africa and have almost never spoken out in defense of themselves for it.
While others have considered it a non-issue that should not be worried about.
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