Yay ! We can now resume the elephant slaughter for trophies !

[RubberToe]

Here ya go, Making America Great Again one dead elephant at a time...

U.S. Lifts Ban On Importing Elephant Trophies From Zimbabwe And Zambia

I would like to formally apologize to everyone in the world, on behalf of the dozen or so sane people left in this country. I am truly ashamed to be an American.

RT

P.S. Wait a minute, isn't the elephant the mascot of one of the political parties? With any luck, the party in question will find their way to extinction before the species they are trying to destroy.

 

[Sharkbait]

P.S. Wait a minute, isn't the elephant the mascot of one of the political parties? With any luck, the party in question will find their way to extinction before the species they are trying to destroy.

Ya, well I've always said there isn't a nickel's worth of difference between either party. I don't trust either of them, especially around my pockets.

 

[Merrill]

Ok, somebody is going to have to explain to me how this is good for the species, if the elephant is an endangered species and you allow more to be killed how is this a good thing.

 

[Sharkbait]

Ok, somebody is going to have to explain to me how this is good for the species, if the elephant is an endangered species and you allow more to be killed how is this a good thing.

It's not good for the species. Unfortunately for the elephants, most of them live in some of the most corrupt countries in the world. The corrupt leaders of these countries would sell their mothers for a price, and there's always an outlet for the product.

 

[Cascadian]

 

[Cascadian]

 

[SDRick]

If lifting this ban can effectively counter and enhance anti-poaching as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service claims, it certainly would be the lesser of two evils.

 

[TaoJones]

I've never had an interest in having stuffed critters in my abodes. Pictures of critters encountered in the wild, sure. But stuffed or otherwise preserved parts? No interest. And I surely wouldn't spend money to go shoot critters. Curious definition of "sport", that.

 

[gigglehertz]

We can also use lead ammo in national parks. Not sure how that makes anything great again.

 

[SDRick]

I've never had an interest in having stuffed critters in my abodes. Pictures of critters encountered in the wild, sure. But stuffed or otherwise preserved parts? No interest. And I surely wouldn't spend money to go shoot critters. Curious definition of "sport", that.

I'm pretty sure the majority of the world agrees with you. What is unintuitive is fortunately there are enough who will pay dearly to engage in this "sport" which actually helps pay for and protect some of these endangered species.

 

[3Victoria]

Thank you for your apology. I accept for Canada,

 

[TaoJones]

I'm pretty sure the majority of the world agrees with you. What is unintuitive is fortunately there are enough who will pay dearly to engage in this "sport" which actually helps pay for and protect some of these endangered species.

Similar as well in some ways perhaps to deer season - the idea being to cull the herd to reduce starvation and disease and such. So I get the hunting part of it to a certain extent. The stuffed critters in the house thing... yeah... just not a fan. Dust catchers .

 

[SDRick]

I don't believe this change in policy has anything to do with making America great again. I also do not believe Americans need to apologize for this change. I believe it has more to do with addressing or getting some redress in countries with rampant, out of control poaching decimating these beautiful animals on the way to extinction.

If someone has a better idea to control the situation, I am all ears.

 

[Uncle Paul]

Have a solution I got from my Bass fishing catch and release friends.

Allow hunters with tranqulizer guns to track and knock out all the game they want.

Use the limp animals for trophy pictures, the allow the animals to slowly wake up and wander away.

Would provide the hunting experience people want, provide tremendous income potential for the local citizens, and allow the local animals to survive, abiet with periods of immobility.

The game preserves would become tremenously successful, and the profits gained used to extend the populations of the endangered species.

Last week I caught a beautiful 4 lb. Bass. Got to look her in the eye (female with eggs), slip out the barbless hook, and released her back into the lake.

Maybe this could be a solution....not perfect, but a solution.

 

[rxlawdude]

I believe it has more to do with addressing or getting some redress in countries with rampant, out of control poaching decimating these beautiful animals on the way to extinction.

If someone has a better idea to control the situation, I am all ears.

Let's see. This will allow the illegal poachers to continue to decimate healthy herds, while allowing a-holes with more money than morals to kill the older, culled animals.

I totally fail to see how this is anything but horrific.

 

[rxlawdude]

Have a solution I got from my Bass fishing catch and release friends.

Allow hunters with tranqulizer guns to track and knock out all the game they want.

Use the limp animals for trophy pictures, the allow the animals to slowly wake up and wander away.

Most people that feel the need to hunt for sport (not food) probably are already limp themselves, if you catch my drift. Need something to compensate with.

 

[SDRick]

Let's see. This will allow the illegal poachers to continue to decimate healthy herds, while allowing a-holes with more money than morals to kill the older, culled animals.

I totally fail to see how this is anything but horrific.

You are only half right. What you fail to see is that this is a viable (though admittedly not desirable for my tastes) method to try to enforce anti-poaching using the funds generated from these hunts. You may not like it but what you also fail to see is a better way to solve the problem.

At least Uncle Paul came up with something, just not sure if it would work. Good ideas do not always guarantee "market" acceptance and support.

 

[SageBrush]

If someone has a better idea to control the situation, I am all ears.

Criminalize the killing or possession of body parts. Minimum 10 year confinement.

 

[SDRick]

Criminalize the killing or possession of body parts. Minimum 10 year confinement.

Good luck with that in these Third World countries.

The problem is not with the anti-poaching laws already in place, the challenge is paying for the personnel and enforcement efforts in these dangerous and remote areas.

Any other ideas?

 

[yeti]

This thread makes me sad. It's not just about the elephants, but also about how well-meaning people can be so disconnected and so sold on the usual narrative around these things (e.g., corrupt countries, severe punishments, need for militarized anti-poaching, hunting economy trickle downs and all that).

Killing/nabbing poachers will only slow down the process, but it is not a solution. Every poacher killed or nabbed only ensures that the next poacher will be more ruthless and more dangerous, and their methods more horrific.

A good book to read on this complicated topic is Keith Somerville's "Ivory: Power and Poaching in Africa". There are also tons of papers out there on what's happening out there (e.g., Illegal killing for ivory drives global decline in African elephants)

When we lived in Namibia we had an older Ha||om (San) woman as a nanny for our daughters. She had grown up eating elephants and it was a favorite kind of meat. Her ancestors had probably been eating elephant for many millennia, but today they cannot do that because elephants have been over-harvested because of Western and Eastern greed (see? we are the problem). Hunting elephants today is reserved for the big-money hunters from the West and East, and, of course, illegal poaching to turn their teeth into some fancy trinket.

And please stop all these "third world country corruption" drivel. Would we want to be judged on the worst our country has to offer? It is disgusting to stereotype an entire nation based on the actions of a few sick individuals.