Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines said today it has banned shipment of lion, leopard, elephant, rhinoceros and buffalo trophies as freight.
Up until today, Delta had accepted hunting trophies if customers provided appropriate documentation to U.S. customs officials and if the animal in question was not a protected species.
The move comes amid an outcry over the killing of the well-known lion Cecil by American hunter Walter Palmer, after the lion was lured out of a Zimbabwe wildlife reserve.
Delta said Monday it will also review policies for accepting other hunting trophies with government agencies and organizations supporting legal shipments.
The new ban also comes after a petition launched earlier this year called for the airline to stop transporting exotic animal hunting trophies. The petition on change.org has gained more than 394,000 supporters.
Chris Green, legislative director for the Animal Legal Defense Fund, said in his petition that he is a Diamond Medallion frequent flier on Delta and that he started the petition after South African Airways announced a policy refusing to transport exotic animal hunting trophies. Delta is the only U.S. airline to serve South Africa directly.
Other foreign carriers have since joined in announcing bans, and while some of them have tighter restrictions on shipments of hunting trophies, Delta’s move “is a massive step forward,” Green said.
“I’m just very grateful to see Richard Anderson and other Delta executives step up to do the right thing to protect this valuable, dwindling resource,” Green said, adding that it would have been a “PR disaster” if Cecil’s body had been shipped to the United States on an airline. “Airlines are seeing the light, that the risk in continuing to engage in this practice of transporting wildlife hunting trophies far outweighs any financial gain they might have.”
A similar online petition on SumOfUs.org garnered more than 259,000 supporters. “Airlines and other large corporations would be foolish to ignore the public reaction to the killing of Cecil the lion, and growing concern about the plight of endangered species,” said SumOfUs.org campaign director Paul Ferris in a written statement.
Humane Society of the United States president Wayne Pacelle also issued a statement Monday saying Delta “has set a great example,” adding that “no airline should provide a get-away vehicle” for such activities.
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