Donald Trump Jr. may be out of luck in killing more leopards
Leopard populations in sub-Saharan Africa have plummeted by more than 30 percent in the last 25 years. Photo by Chip Litherland/AP Images for The HSUS
The son of the Republican nominee for president – the son who favors killing elephants and leopards over golfing and says he wants to become secretary of the Interior Department (which oversees trophy imports) if his father is elected president – might have to set his gunsights elsewhere if HSUS and HSI get our way. On the heels of a series of successful efforts to restrict the import of elephant and lion trophies by upgrading protections for the species and highlighting corrupt management practices in African nations, we filed a legal petition today to protect yet another of the Africa Big 5 coveted by American trophy hunters: the African leopard. We have petitioned the federal management authority to list African leopards as endangered – a designation that, if adopted, would make it very difficult for American hunters to import trophies of these big cats in the future.
Leopard populations in sub-Saharan Africa have plummeted by more than 30 percent in the last 25 years and experts agree that leopard trophy hunting is unsustainable. But for trophy hunters, who spend thousands of dollars on luxury safaris in a pay-to-slay scheme with a limited number of African nations, leopards are a sought-after prize. An HSUS and HSI analysis shows that between 2005 and 2014 alone, Americans imported parts equating to at least 5,575 individual leopards, nearly half of the global trade in leopard trophies during that period.
For trophy hunters, who spend thousands of dollars on luxury safaris in a pay-to-slay scheme, leopards are a sought-after prize. Between 2005 and 2014 alone, Americans imported parts equating to at least 5,575 individual leopards, nearly half of the global trade in leopard trophies during that period. Photo from Wikimedia Commons
And given the cascading population impacts from removing males in their prime, an untold number of leopard cubs have lost their lives to infanticide by incoming males filling the territorial void. The situation is so dire that South Africa – one of the major exporters of leopard trophies – prohibited their export in 2016. Leopards are also losing habitat and prey (who are also targeted by bushmeat hunters) by the minute.
In our legal petition, we provide evidence to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to warrant listing all leopards in Africa as endangered and immediately prohibit the import of leopard trophies unless stringent permitting requirements are met under the Endangered Species Act. The import of live leopards and other leopard parts (such as pelts for the fur trade) are already required to meet these standards, and it is incomprehensible that American trophy hunters have enjoyed a regulatory loophole waiving such requirements since the early 1980s. We are grateful to Dr. Jane Goodall and Dereck Joubert for their support in protecting this majestic animal.
In December 2015 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service changed its regulations in response to our petition to list African lions under the Endangered Species Act, and in 2016 to date no lion trophies have been imported into the United States (following many years when an average of 560 lions were imported as hunting trophies per year). Following another petition we filed, FWS recently cracked down on African elephant trophy imports as part of its effort to address the ivory poaching crisis.
It is time to provide the same level of protection to the African leopard. Donald Trump Jr., Honeywell CEO David Cote, and other over-privileged animal exploiters can use their wealth to entertain themselves in other ways and let these animals be.
I can’t imagine a more miserable choice of Secretary of the Interior than Trump jr. Thank you for reminding us all of the dire consequences for animals worldwide if Trump sr. gets elected.
And thanks for pushing for protections for leopards.
Even if they WEREN’T endangered, killing them for “trophies” would be stupid, cowardly and just plain wrong.
The three of them are cowards and have more personal secrets that need to be revealed before November’s Election
It makes me sick to see that young Trump so proud of his kills–he was taught respect well by his obnoxious father. He should only go away and take his ilk with him.
Has it ever been tried to help the bushmeat hunters to establish herds of cattle for the use of what I assume must be for hungry natives? The cattle would not be to hunt but would be kept by the current hunters to raise for food. Another option might be to ship frozen meat to the area where negoiations could be made to donate meat to the hunters for sparing the wildlife. I know it doesn’t save lives, and to me a cow is as valuable as a lepoard, but cattle are raised primarily for consumption, they are plentiful, and are not wild. If people must eat meat, would a domestic meat animal not serve the purpose?
I agree, and goats also. Why not create an educational campaign here and in these countries as well. How about population explosion. No one wants to address the real issue, and that the human population is imploding especially in poorer countries. Sadly the Pope even though he called some places an “open sewer” fell short of addressing the real problem today and for a long time. Birth control for everyone!
I (sort-of) agree with Nancy about using goats to help starving Africans, as they eat just about anything and can be milked, but cattle would be a bad idea. It takes seven pounds of grains to make a pound of meat. It’s extremely wasteful and inefficient. Better to give them seeds and other gardening aid than to get them hooked on eating animals, a nasty business that is polluting the world, wasting water, warming our planet, and making untold numbers of animals suffer.
Thank you for fighting for our animals.
No one with the surname Trump should be allowed to hold a government position. Certainly not head of the DOI.
IT DOES NOT TAKE A BRAVE MAN OR WOMEN TO STAND AGAINST AN ANCIENT, DEFENCELESS , & PRICELESS ANIMAL WITH A LOADED WEAPON OF MASS DESTRUCTION, IT ONLY TAKES A WORTHLESS COWARD TO FIRE A WEAPON AT A PRECIOUS ANIMAL OF GODS & GODDESSES EARTH, THIS EARTH WAS ROAMING WITH ANIMALS AND PREHISTORIC BEINGS A LOT SOONER, THEN THESE MONGLOID, MONGROLS, STILL TRYING TO STAND ERECT AND STILL TRYING TO STOP DRAGGING THERE KNUCKLES, IF IT WAS LEFT FOR COWARD WOMEN & MEN WITH WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION, TO REALLY TAKE CARE OF OUR WORLD’S NATURAL TREASURES , WELL IT IS VERY EVIDENT ALL OF THIS GREAT PLANETS WILD LIFE & ALL ITS NATURAL WONDERS WOULD HAVE BEEN COMPLETELY EXTINCT & ABSOLUTELY ELIMINATED ALONG TIME AGO, JUST FOR SPORT & TROPHY’S AND BRAGGING OF COURSE, 96 ELEPHANT’S DESTROYED EACH DAY ON THIS EARTH, WHAT A SHAME, DOGS & CATS DEVESTATED DAY IN AND DAY OUT, WHAT OUR BEINGS DO TO THIS EARTHS ANIMALS AND DEFENCELESS BEINGS, THEY DO TO THEMSELVES AND ALL OF US, SOUNDS LIKE A SUICIDAL, MURDEROUS PLIGHT, IF THESE ABUSIVE, HATEFUL, DISFUNCTIONAL, DEVESTATING, MURDEROUS, GENOCIDAL, WASTED, & WORTHLESS SO CALLED HOMOSAPIAN BEINGS WHERE EVEN 1 % OF ANY VALUE, WELL LETS SEE IF THESE WASTED SOULS CAN WALK NAKED OUT TO THE JUNGLE, WITH NO GUN, NO STICK, NO WEAPON WHAT SO EVER, JUST HE SKIN ON THERE BACK, A COUPLE OF HANDS FULL OF FINGER NAILS, AND THEN SEE IF ONE OF THESE JOKERS CAN TAKE A FIRE & ICE BREATHING LION OR TIGER THEN ?????? EXACTLY, COMPLETE COWARDS THAT KILL OFF AND EXTINCT ANIMAL’S FAR MORE VALUABLE THEN ANYTHING THE WORTHLESS MURDERERS COULD EVER ACHIEVE, UP, UP AND AWAY, ABOVE AND BEYOND ANY AND ALL OF THESE COWARDS WHO WOULD USE AN ATOMIC BOMB TO KILL A DEFENCELESS LEOPARD OR LION, IF ONLY THEY COULD GET THERE GREASY AND GRIMEY MITTS ON ONE, FOR THE SPORT AND HUNT, FOR TROPHY & FUN, ( WOW WHAT FUN STORIES TO TELL AT CAMP FIRE TIME ) IT WOULD BE VERY GOOD IF A LION OR LEOPARD CAME PRANCING DOWNTOWN, MAINSTREET LOOKING FOR A COWARD SHOOTER TO DECAPITATE, AND PUT A WORTHLESS HOMOSAPIAN’S HEAD IN THE CAVE & ON THE LION’S OR TIGER’S MANTEL, ( YOU KNOW A TROPHY HUMAN HEAD, JUST FOR SPORT, RIGHT CHUCKIE ) FOR THE LION OR TIGER”S POSTERITY, AND FOR GREAT STORY TIME AMOUNG THE PRIDE, RIGHTTTT !!!!!!! ) SO FINALLY, YOU SAY HEY, THATS WHY WERE ON TOP OF THE FOOD CHAIN, RIGHT CHUCKIE??? WRONG THATS IN FACT WHY YOU NEVER EVEN CRAWLED OUT OF THE SUMP MUD & GOOP AND CRUD CRAPP YOU WERE BORN FROM, IF I WERE TO TAKE FLIGHT IN AN AMERICAN APACHE WAR HELICOPTER, JUST TO KILL A TROPHY ANCIENT ANIMAL, FOR SPORT RIGHT !!! ??? OR I WALKED FROM MADISON AVENUE, STRAIGHT TO THE JUNGLE WITH A ROCKET PROPELLED GRENADE LAUNCHER STRAPPED ON MY BACK, LOOKING TO KILL A CAT, WELL DOES IT REALLY MATTER WHAT I TAKE TO KILL A ANIMAL FAR MORE SUPERIOR THEN ALL OF US NUMB SKULLS, IN EACH AND EVER IMAGINABLE AND POSSIBLE, BOTTOM LINE IS A MICROSCOPIC UNDETECTABLE, FEEBLE AND AFRAID BEING , LOADED WITH WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION, ARE THE VERY FIRST ONES THAT NEED TO BE SIFTED THROUGH, THEN TOLD TO STAND DOWN & THEN DISARMED AND DISMANTLED, AND RECYCLED FOR A BRIGHTER & BETTER FUTURE FOR ALL LIVING BEINGS OF THIS GREAT EARTH, AND ALL OF THIS EARTHS WILD LIFE & ALL OF THIS EARTHS PRICELESS ANCIENT ANIMALS & PLANTS, AND A BRIGHTER & BETTER FUTURE FOR US BELOW AVERAGE HUMAN BEING S, Sincerely, JOHN ADAM RENDO’N
CaliKaliforniaKing RAJ☆JAR JARMAN J. A. R. JAR
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John, while I understand why you’re angry (trophy hunters make me mad too), please ease up on the all-caps rants here. Even an animal-lover like me can barely read your run-on sentences and name-calling.
Seriously, if you want to get your opinion out there and really influence people, you need to start writing like an adult, keep it short, and use punctuation.
For sown great writing examples, check out Wayne’s blogs;’he’s a great writer, he gets to the point immediately and gives helpful information without resorting to name-calling. There are also lots of books out there about making your writing more effective. Thanks.
Thank you all for supporting our beautiful wildlife.
God help us if Trump, I mean any Trump gets into office!! Horrifying
No one with the surname Clinton should ever be allowed to hold a gov’t position.
Certainly not POTUS
I guess you agree with Trump who is hate monger, has no experience in government, routinely insults women, spreads hatred against anyone who isn’t white caucasian, and anyone who disagrees with him and has 3500 lawsuits against him for cheating and fraudulent practices which have hurt a lot of people financially and otherwise. As Barbara Bush, mother of past president George Bush says,”If you are a woman and you vote for Trump, you don’t know what you are doing”. Obviously you don’t know what you are doing. Shame on you!!!
And no one with the surname of Clinton should ever be allowed into gov’t again alone elected POTUS.
Dear Lord – can’t we do a national write-in for President. Although I have to admit I don’t know who except You could help this country and world !!!
Disgusting … What a waste of a beautiful anima for a spoiled rich boy’s minute of pleasure.
Dr. Andrew Stein and his NGO, “CLAWS CONSERVANCY “, is currently working on the ground in Botswana to help foster human/predator co-existence. His global leopard census has just been approved by the IUCN and a map of this dispersal was published in the December 15 edition of NATGEO Magazine.
He is functioning through grants from NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC and WWF. Any contributions would be appreciated.
I don’t like the killing of anything living, even insects, snakes and other creepy crawlies get my admiration and protection.
I don’t like big or small game hunting. I am unhappy about Trump’s sons doing it, but it won’t stop me from voting for Trump because I won’t vote for Hillary no matter what. She absolutely cannot be in power because she is a lying, incompetent boob who, as Secretary of State no less, thought it was okay to use an unsecured private server for State department and government business. It was “easier for her”….what a narcissist to put her own interests before protecting our country and its people. That decision alone proves that her judgment is extremely poor (even I would know that one had to use the protected government server to do government business on!). Hillary is dangerous in any government office and she definitely is not Presidential material. Plus she has lied about so many things and has done so many things that were and still are detrimental to our country. I don’t understand how any intelligent person can support her.
What I will do is let Trump know that I don’t like his sons hunting animals and I will let his sons know that as well. I will also continue to support the HSUS and other animal protection organizations. That is the best I can do.
Evil people…