Fish and Wildlife Service publish final rule on African elephant imports
Fish and Wildlife Service publish final rule on African elephant imports
Ashley Curtin, Nation of Change
March 29, 2024
New restrictions on imports of African elephant hunting trophies and live
elephants were adopted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The amendment
to the 4(d) rule for African elephants is said to protect and conserve
African elephants both in the wild and in captivity.
The final rule will only allow trophy and live elephant imports from
countries that annually certify their elephant populations are biologically
sustainable. These countries must also have adequate conservation
legislation in place, but this part of the amendment doesn’t take affect
until 2026, according to the Fish and Wildlife Service.
“The Service values collaborative conservation of wildlife all around the
world and is committed to improving implementation of international
conservation law” Martha Williams, U.S. Fish and Wildlife service director,
said. “Our actions today will help support range countries’ efforts to
manage and conserve African elephant populations and will further protect
African elephants that are imported to the United States. We are optimistic
that with this final rule and by continuing to work in partnership with
range countries, wild African elephant populations will be sustainable into
the future.”
Objections to the new restrictions said the final rule stopped short of a
total ban on imports and “allows any biologically sustainable trade instead
of requiring that elephant populations be stable or increasing before
trophy trade is permitted,” the Center for Biological Diversity reported.
“I’m truly crushed this rule doesn’t ban trade in elephant hunting trophies
to the United States, and it doesn’t even require stable elephant
populations to allow trophy imports,” Tanya Sanerib, international legal
director at the Center for Biological Diversity, said. “These magnificent
animals are globally cherished but under threat, and it’s high time we stop
letting wealthy trophy hunters turn them into décor.”
The United States is a one of the largest importers of hunting trophies
globally followed by the European Union.
The final rule came after the International Union for Conservation of
Nature’s 2020 reassessment of elephants “found that forest elephants are
critically endangered and savannah elephants are endangered,” the Center
for Biological Diversity reported.
According to the Fish and Wildlife Service, the rule will benefit African
elephants, whose numbers have fallen from as many as 26 million individuals
at the end of the 18th century to an estimated 415,000 in the wild today,
by:
Supporting countries that import elephants to the United States to enact
national legislation necessary to enhance elephant conservation and
protections, including penalizing illegal trade.
Requiring that the authorized imports of trophies and live elephants will
contribute to enhancing conservation and not contribute to the decline of
the species.
Ensuring that imported live African elephants have strong protections once
in the United States, including by requiring that these elephants and their
offspring go only to facilities suitably equipped to house and care for
them.
Clarifying sport-hunted import regulations and permit requirements to
increase transparency with stakeholders.
“We face a devastating biodiversity crisis that requires an elephant-sized
response,” Sanerib said. “These are mouse-sized rule changes that continue
to treat elephants like commodities. We need global change that prioritizes
biodiversity over profits.”