Opinion: Why would any decent person want to kill an elephant?

To the editor: Sport? Killing an elephant is as much of a sport as shooting a parked car. (“Does trophy hunting ‘enhance survival of the species’? Trump administration policy allowing elephant trophies stirs debate,” Nov. 16)

Elephants are intelligent and sentient animals with strong family bonds. By decimating senior family members of an elephant clan, the knowledge passed down is slowly eradicated.

I think the only elephant trophies that hunters should bring back to the U.S. are photographic images of living and breathing animals, not body parts or pictures like the widely circulated one of Donald Trump Jr. holding up the severed tail of a dead elephant.

Anthony Baker, Rancho Palos Verdes

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To the editor: Where do we draw the line between humans and other animals? What happens when a trophy hunter seeking prestige brings back some body part of an elephant that he has just killed, proudly displaying it, expecting admiration from others?

Killing another human being for no reason is classified as murder, but what about killing another very sentient being so very human is so many ways? Elephants are known for their high intelligence and community life. It has been documented that they grieve for their long-deceased family members.

When you kill one elephant — especially a more mature member on whom the whole community depends for the animal’s great memory and experience for their mutual survival — , the whole community suffers

How callous and uncaring are we to become?

Eleanor Kirby, Hawthorne

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To the editor: Seeing photos of President Trump’s sons with animal carcasses is one of the most disgusting displays of indifference to the lives of others that I have had to watch since this presidency began.

The Trump administration decided to reverse its previous decision to lift the ban on importing elephant body parts to the United States, a move that would have made trophy hunting much more appealing to self-centered folks who love to kill wild animals for sport and want to show it off.

Elephants are kind, intelligent beings who form lifelong friendships, take care of each other and mourn the loss of one of their own. It seems that Trump wants to offend as deeply as possible anyone who disagrees with him.

I’d rather have an elephant as president.

Stephanie McIntyre, Simi Valley

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