Killing of Cecil the Lion Prompts Major U.S. Airlines to Ban Trophy Hunting Shipments

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“United also follows all U.S. domestic and international regulations, which prohibits the possession of trophies or other items associated with protected species,” she added. Big game shipment is now officially prohibited by United moving forward.

The policy shift from Delta, American and United was praised by Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of the Humane Society of the United States. “Lions, elephants and the other species that make up the Africa Big Five belong on the savanna, not on the walls and in home museums of wealthy people who spend a fortune to kill the grandest, most majestic animals in the world,” Pacelle said in a statement yesterday. “Delta has set a great example, and no airline should provide a getaway vehicle for the theft of Africa’s wildlife by these killers.”

Meanwhile, pressure is building to bring justice to Cecil’s grisly killing by Palmer, who is currently in hiding. Zimbabwe is seeking the extradition of the 55 year old, who allegedly paid $50,000 to shoot, kill and behead the famous lion.

VIDEO: Zimbabwe wants American hunter to face charges for killing #Cecil the lion. http://t.co/dxtPVrwGjj pic.twitter.com/Z3a1pOqG20

— Reuters Top News (@Reuters) July 31, 2015

As Reuters noted, a million-signature-strong Change.org petition is urging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to list African lions as a threatened species and punishment for those involved in Cecil’s death. While including the African lion to the U.S. list would not stamp out trophy hunting, it does require a permit from the service to import lions or their body parts to the U.S., Reuters pointed out.

The Times reported that the current lion population has dipped to 35,000 (compared to 100,000 a century ago) and dropped considerably in the last three years, prompting the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to propose listing the lion as a threatened species.

While efforts from these airlines to stamp out trophy hunting should be applauded, it doesn’t eliminate the problem entirely. Unfortunately, South African Airlines—which helped kick start the exotic animal import ban—”lifted a ban on the transportation of animal-hunt heads and carcasses in its aircraft,” Bloomberg reported.

And just today, The Guardian reported that on July 6, customs officials at Zurich airport seized 578 pounds of illegal ivory being transported from Tanzania to Beijing via Zurich. It’s estimated that the contraband might have come from up to 50 elephants and worth 400,000 Swiss francs (roughly $410,000) on the illegal market.

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