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Wild Elephants Should Not Be Trophies or Zoo Exhibits - Act Now!

Dear John,

African elephants are imperiled due a multitude of threats, including poaching, habitat loss, and human-elephant conflict. They should not face additional threats from trophy hunters and those who want to capture them for a diminished life in zoos.

The US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has proposed new regulations to govern the importation of live elephants and elephant trophies, and we have an opportunity to encourage the agency to strengthen these regulations.

The capture and removal of wild elephants from close-knit family herds is traumatic for both the captured individuals and the remaining herd. Elephants are highly unsuited to captivity and inevitably suffer in zoos, which cannot meet the complex cognitive and social needs of the species. Furthermore, such captures serve no conservation purpose: No elephant brought into or born into captivity is ever returned or released to the wild.

Proponents of trophy hunting often tout its economic benefits and contribution to conservation efforts in range states. But studies show that these supposed benefits are vastly overstated, and trophy hunting actively hurts the structure and viability of wild elephant populations, which undermines long-term conservation efforts.

Continuing to grant import permits for live elephants and elephant trophies sends the troubling message that the United States is not committed to taking the necessary measures to protect African elephants, and it provides a justification for other nations to allow similar imports.

TAKE ACTION ([link removed])

What You Can Do
Submit a comment on or before March 20, 2023, urging the USFWS to ban the importation of African elephants and elephant trophies. ([link removed])

Please be sure to share our action alert with family, friends, and co-workers, and encourage them to take action, too. As always, thank you very much for your help!

Sincerely,

Kate Dylewsky
Assistant Director, Government Affairs

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Photo by Diana Robinson

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The Animal Welfare Institute is a not-for-profit organization, founded in 1951 and dedicated to reducing animal suffering caused by people. We seek better treatment of animals everywhere: in the laboratory, on the farm, in commerce, at home, and in the wild.

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