Following lion’s death, Delta Air Lines stops shipping animal trophies
In this undated photo provided by the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Cecil the lion rests in Hwange National Park, in Hwange, Zimbabwe. Following the death of the lion by a hunter, Delta Air Lines announced it will no longer transport animal trophies.
Following a huge public outcry over the killing of a beloved lion by a trophy hunter, Delta Air Lines announced Monday it would no longer ship animal trophies, the latest of several carriers to end the service.
Delta, the only U.S.-based carrier with nonstop service to South Africa, declined to elaborate on why it had made the decision and how often it ships animal trophies. It would say only that effective immediately, the airline will “ban shipment of all lion, leopard, elephant, rhinoceros and buffalo trophies worldwide as freight.”
Prior to this ban, the Atlanta-based airline said it followed all government regulations regarding protected species.
Delta has been under pressure to adopt a ban following the shooting death in July of a well-known lion named Cecil. The lion was lured from a protected national park in Zimbabwe and killed in an illegal hunt, Zimbabwean authorities said.
The hunter, a Minnesota dentist named Walter Palmer, is now sought for extradition by Zimbabwean authorities. Palmer has denied any wrongdoing.
An online petition by the advocacy group SumofUs.com, urging all airlines to adopt a ban on transporting animal trophies, has collected more than 260,000 signatures.
South African Airways Cargo recently announced an embargo on the shipment of rhino, elephant, tiger and lion trophies but lifted the ban last month, saying “we make an effort to ensure that our business is in harmony with government policy, compliant with international protocols and that the operational decisions we make must advance the interests of the company.”
Emirates SkyCargo in May banned hunting trophies. Other carriers that have adopted bans on the transportation of some or all animal trophies include Air France, KLM, British Airways, Luftansa, Emirates, Iberia, IAG Cargo and Qatar Airways.
Jan Brueckner, an economics professor at UC Irvine and an expert on airlines, said he is not sure how much business Delta might lose by adopting the ban. But he said the move is a public relations victory.
“It’s certainly good for public relations,” he said. “People don’t want rare species to be further reduced and so the airline can do something about that and that’s a good thing.”
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