Delta Bans Shipment of Big Game Hunting Trophies

By Jesse Sokolow on 3 August 2015
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DSC_4997Delta Air Lines announced a ban on the shipment of big game hunting trophies as freight. This includes lion, leopard, elephant, rhinoceros, and buffalo carcasses that hunters wish to transport as air freight.

The carrier said that it will “review acceptance polices of other hunting trophies with appropriate government agencies and other organizations supporting legal shipments.”

The move follows the events of last month in Zimbabwe, when Cecil the Lion, a local icon and favorite of visitors to the Hwange National Park, was lured out of the protective boundaries of the park and shot dead by an American hunter from Minnesota. The events sparked a worldwide uproar and massive inpouring of support for Cecil, as well an onslaught of criticism for Walter Palmer, the Minnesota dentist who killed the animal.

The hunter had reportedly planned to have the lion’s head and pelt shipped to him in the United States as a trophy, although the animal’s remains were ultimately handed over to Zimbabwean authorities.

(Photo: Accura Media Group)

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