Help end trophy hunting!

The United States is the world’s largest importer of animal trophies, including federally protected species such as elephants, leopards, and lions -- wildlife whose numbers are in sharp decline. Trophy hunting not only exacerbates pressures on already imperiled species, but also is counterproductive to the millions of taxpayer dollars spent on the population recovery efforts for these species and combating wildlife trafficking and poaching.

Trophy hunting drives demand for rare wildlife parts and products and thwarts sincere conservation efforts to establish sustainable and healthy breeding populations. And the carnage happens right here in our backyard too: non-native endangered and threatened species are imported, stocked and shot behind fences for guaranteed trophies in the U.S.

We can move towards ending trophy hunting by urging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to prohibit the import of any trophy of a species listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) into the United States as well as prohibiting trophy hunting in the United States of any ESA-listed species.

While government agencies spend millions of taxpayer dollars to curb demand for wildlife parts that fuel poaching, they fail to address the one factor they have complete control over: trophy hunting by U.S. citizens. By taking these steps, the USFWS will be supporting real conservation efforts to save imperiled wildlife and protecting them from being slayed by trophy hunters for fun and for bragging rights.

TAKE ACTION

Please send a message to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service using the form below. Be sure to edit your message so it stands out.

This action alert is for U.S. residents. International advocates, please visit Humane Society International.

Your Message

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Dear Principal Deputy Director Williams,

I am writing to ask you to prohibit the import of any trophy of a species listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) into the United States as well as prohibiting trophy hunting in the United States of any ESA-listed species.
 
The United States is the world’s largest importer of animal trophies, including federally protected species such as elephants, leopards, and lions -- wildlife whose populations are in dangerous decline. Trophy hunting not only exacerbates pressures on already imperiled species, but also is counterproductive to the millions of taxpayer dollars spent on conserving at-risk species and on combating wildlife trafficking and poaching by driving demand.
 
In addition, trophy hunting of ESA-listed species and the import of their parts is highly unpopular with U.S. voters and national leaders have spoken out. On his presidential campaign trail, President Biden supported “prohibit[ing] animals from being hunted and brought into this country for trophies.” President Trump in 2017 called the trophy hunting of elephants a “horror show”. And the U.S. Congress for the past two years has codified bipartisan concerns over the efficacy of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service trophy import permitting process to “adequately determine whether a country has proper safeguards in place to protect species vulnerable to poaching”. A 2017 poll conducted by Remington Research Group showed 80% of respondents opposed the hunting and U.S. import of ESA-listed African lions and African elephants. This figure includes 80% of Republican, 84% of Democrat, and 76% of non-partisan responders.
 
We should be working to protect these majestic creatures, not hunt them. Please prohibit the import of any trophy of a species listed under the ESA into the United States.

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