Killing for Trophies is Immoral

Four US Senators have announced that they are introducing an act to prohibit the importation of animal trophies to include species that have been proposed for listing as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act.

The act will be called the Cecil Act (the ‘‘Conserving Ecosystems by Ceasing the Importation of Large (CECIL) Animal Trophies Act”).  Cecil was the Zimbabwean lion who was killed by an American trophy hunter.

Democrats Bob Menendez (N.J.), Cory Booker (N.J.), Richard Blumenthal (Conn.) and Ben Cardin (Md.) are co-sponsoring the legislation. 

The proposed bill amends the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to extend the import- and export-related provision of that Act to species proposed for listing as threatened or endangered under that Act.  See Section 9(a)(1) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1538(a)(1)).

See also http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/jurisprudence/2015/07/how_to_prosecute_cecil_the_lion_s_killer_apply_the_endangered_species_act.html