What city in Thailand has the best weather?

[rooster59]

Trump halts decision to allow elephant trophy imports after uproar

By David Shepardson and Eric Beech

 

Elephants graze inside Zimbabwe's Hwange National Park, August 1, 2015. REUTERS/Philimon Bulawayo/Files

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said in a tweet on Friday he is putting a decision to allow imports of elephant trophies on hold after a torrent of criticism from conservation advocates and across social media.

 

Trump's reversal came hours after his administration released a rule on Friday to allow hunters who kill elephants in Zimbabwe to bring their trophies back to the United States, which had been banned by the Obama administration.

 

"Put big game trophy decision on hold until such time as I review all conservation facts. Under study for years. Will update soon with Secretary Zinke. Thank you!" Trump wrote.

 

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke said in a statement that he had spoken with Trump and "both believe that conservation and healthy herds are critical." He said the "issuing of permits is being put on hold as the decision is being reviewed."

 

Early word of the planned change had drawn protests from conservationists, who said it could deplete already at-risk elephant populations. It also caused a social media firestorm, with opponents posting photos of President Donald Trump's sons Donald Jr. and Eric, avid hunters, posing with dead wild animals.

 

Tanya Sanerib, senior attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity, said on Friday in a statement: "It's great that public outrage has forced Trump to reconsider this despicable decision, but it takes more than a tweet to stop trophy hunters from slaughtering elephants and lions. We need immediate federal action to reverse these policies."

 

Amid the backlash to reports that the move would apply to two southern African countries -- Zimbabwe and neighboring Zambia -- White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said it was due to a review by career officials at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service which began back in 2014 under the previous administration of Democratic President Barack Obama.

 

"This review established that both Zambia and Zimbabwe had met new standards, strict, international conservation standards, that allowed Americans to resume hunting in those countries," Sanders told reporters.

 

In an official notice published on Friday in the Federal Register, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said it had concluded that the killing of African elephants in Zimbabwe as trophies, between the dates of Jan. 21, 2016, and Dec. 31, 2018, "will enhance the survival of the African elephant."

 

The agency had said earlier on Friday before Trump's tweet that "legal managed hunting" can help provide incentives to conserve wildlife and habitat and provide revenue to help conservation.

 

The move was disclosed by Fish and Wildlife Service officials attending a meeting in Tanzania this week that was organized by a pro-trophy hunting group.

 

The officials had said Zambia would also be covered by the change, but only Zimbabwe was mentioned in Friday's notice. Zambia was mentioned in a news release issued by the government.

 

The international affairs section of the official U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service webpage shows the agency has already begun accepting permits for imports of trophies from the hunting of lions in Zimbabwe and Zambia.

 

Wildlife advocates said that move contradicts the agency's decision last year to extend Endangered Species Act protections to African lions. But U.S. hunting groups and the National Rifle Association praised the recent decision on lion trophies, which they said the Trump administration issued on Oct. 20.

 

Africa's elephant population plunged by about a fifth between 2006 and 2015 because of increased poaching for ivory, a coveted commodity used in carving and ornamental accessories in China and other parts of Asia, the International Union for Conservation of Nature said last year.

 

Wildlife activists argue that corruption is endemic in impoverished Zimbabwe, and that money generated by big game hunting and meant for conservation has been diverted into the pockets of crooks and poachers.

 

Supporters say money made from well-regulated hunts has been used for costly wildlife conservation in cash-starved African countries battling to diminish chronic poverty.

 

The Republican chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives' Foreign Affairs Committee, Representative Ed Royce, slammed the administration's decision to allow the imports, saying economic and political turmoil in Zimbabwe gave him "zero confidence" the authorities there were properly managing conservation programs.

 

"Elephants and other big game in Africa are blood currency for terrorist organizations, and they are being killed at an alarming rate," Royce said in a statement. "Stopping poaching isn't just about saving the world's most majestic animals for the future -- it's about our national security."

 

Zimbabwe was thrown into chaos this week when the army took charge, appearing to signal the end of long-serving President Robert Mugabe's reign, despite the 93-year-old's insistence that he remains in charge.

 

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-11-18

[greatwhitenorth]

And you guys thought Trump was an idiot.  Proof if he has a bad idea he is open to change

[Becker]

4 minutes ago, greatwhitenorth said:

And you guys thought Trump was an idiot.  Proof if he has a bad idea he is open to change

5555555555555! Good one!

[zydeco]

44 minutes ago, rooster59 said:

In an official notice published on Friday in the Federal Register, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said it had concluded that the killing of African elephants in Zimbabwe as trophies, between the dates of Jan. 21, 2016, and Dec. 31, 2018, "will enhance the survival of the African elephant."

Whoever was responsible for this idiotic decision should be assigned to sweeping up elephant dung at the nearest zoo.

[FritsSikkink]

53 minutes ago, greatwhitenorth said:

And you guys thought Trump was an idiot.  Proof if he has a bad idea he is open to change

Normally you do the thinking and talking to other people before you make decisions.

[boomerangutang]

49 minutes ago, greatwhitenorth said:

And you guys thought Trump was an idiot.  Proof if he has a bad idea he is open to change

I still think he's an idiot.  He was a birther for several years.  He pulled out of the Paris Accords, effectively giving the finger to every other country ww.  There are 14 women who have accused him of sexual assault, yet he rails against Franken (idiot calls 'Frankenstein') for pretending to touch a clothed woman's breasts.  

[boomerangutang]

Trump an idiot?  nawwww.   Oh wait, he suggested that the US and Russia collaborate to stem digital attacks on the US.   

[greatwhitenorth]

some look at the glass half full, some half empty....

 

the longest journey begins with a single step...

 

now that he has reversed the elephant decision perhaps he can review another issue or two

[dunroaming]

5 hours ago, greatwhitenorth said:

And you guys thought Trump was an idiot.  Proof if he has a bad idea he is open to change

Not quite.  His daughter threatened to kick him in the nuts if he didn't reverse his stupid decision.

[Siameaze]

Hey Don Jr., Jared....hunting trip off. Find another trophy site. Maybe Siberia and Wooly M tusks?

 

[natway09]

There is an old saying ,,,,, brain in gear before mouth !

Not sure that is possible with this  clown.

His Son (nor anyone else) should go shooting elephants,,, but it is a bit of an  American thing, if it moves shoot it human or animal . They are just a race of gunslinging  nuts, brainwashed by huge corporations who make guns & ammo,, but they can't see it

[LawrenceN]

5 hours ago, boomerangutang said:

...yet he rails against Franken (idiot calls 'Frankenstein').

Friendly amendment: Idiot spelled it "Frankenstien."

[Basil B]

The only trophy I would like to see is his head hanging on a wall...

[Slip]

6 hours ago, zydeco said:

Whoever was responsible for this idiotic decision should be assigned to sweeping up elephant dung at the nearest zoo.

Sweeping up elephant dung is massively inefficient.  He should be made to catch it directly from the source.

Edited November 18, 2017 by Slip

[Skeptic7]

8 hours ago, rooster59 said:

"Put big game trophy decision on hold until such time as I review all conservation facts. Under study for years. Will update soon with Secretary Zinke."

"On hold" doesn't mean permanently stopped...hasn't been determined yet, just delayed. Stay tuned for his reversal and give it the green light. He never has been one to care about public opinion or doing the right thing. 

[Trouble]

Evidently the study to change the rule/law was started in the Obama Administration and done by career (non-political) employees.  Whether you like it or not, this is not a Trump idea but one that originated before his arrival on the scene.  Personally it seems like the people at Fish and Wildlife service got this wrong.  However the public has made an outcry and Trump has stopped the issue for further review.  On this one he did the right thing.  We will see where the review goes but this is not of Trumps making.

[yardrunner]

17 hours ago, greatwhitenorth said:

And you guys thought Trump was an idiot.  Proof if he has a bad idea he is open to change

the trouble isn't that he is open to change but that what ever ideas he has are put forward for implementation without being properly thought through

[Grumpy Duck]

18 hours ago, FritsSikkink said:

Normally you do the thinking and talking to other people before you make decisions.

The person appointed to the white house thought no one would notice such a decision designed for his sons. But it was noticed and royce is in a bitter battle to keep his seat so he must be seen going against such idiotic policies whenever he can. 

[Dagnabbit]

Big game hunting is a net positive to the population of endangered species.

The money it brings in is used in conservation and breeding programs.

Distasteful but true. Personally, I think it's bordering on sociopathic to want to hunt and kill animals with no intent to eat...

Sent from my SM-A720F using Tapatalk

[Jonmarleesco]

On 11/18/2017 at 10:38 AM, rooster59 said:

"This review established that both Zambia and Zimbabwe had met new standards, strict, international conservation standards, that allowed Americans to resume hunting in those countries," Sanders told reporters.

 

What was she on, I wonder, to persuade her that she could get away with uttering such tripe.