In the wake of Cecil the lion’s death, the outpouring of criticism from the public and animal organizations has been enormous and overwhelmingly against the dentist, Walter Palmer, who killed the 13 y r. old lion this past July and in support of ending the import of lion trophies.
While I understood the outcry of Cecil’s death, I felt we, as a people, were a bit hypocritical. I had written earlier the public was mad over an animal who suffered nearly two days before the final shot that killed him but we as a whole aren’t not outraged over the brutal lives and deaths animals endure at factory farms in the U.S. While people were angry over the lion’s death, why aren’t people as outraged over 10 billion animals being killed every single day in the most brutal manner for the consumer to eat.
In light of what happened, Congressman, Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ) introduced the “Conserving Ecosystems by Ceasing the Importation of Large (CECIL) Animal Trophies Act” (H.R. 3526). This bill is a companion to a similar bill introduced in late July by Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and several Senate colleagues (S. 1918).
The CECIL Animal Trophies Act would prohibit the importation of trophies from species that are proposed to be listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) but have not yet been listed. The only exemption is if the hunter receives a special permit from the Secretary of the Interior. This ensures that when an imperiled species is proposed for listing by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, hunters do not rush to kill as many of them as possible for trophies before their window of opportunity closes.
In October 2014, in response to a petition submitted by Born Free USA and other organizations, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) proposed listing the African lion as threatened under the ESA. . Lion populations have dropped by more than 50% since 1980, Current estimates suggest there are barely more than 20,000 lions remaining across Africa.
Born Free CEO, Adam Roberts states, “The outrage expressed by the American public over Cecil’s death has made it clear that the vast majority of U.S. citizens believe this is not an acceptable way to treat wildlife
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Thank God!! It’s about time for this. Overdue. Makes me happy!!
agree
I agree with it but don’t believe in no hunting.
Where was this bill prior to Cecil’s death? Animals are killed routinely by hunters in Zimbabwe. Where’s the outrage over their deaths? You have one lion killed and the whole world gets mad. Why aren’t any of you mad over the other needless deaths??