Airlines Ban Hunting "Trophies" Onboard

Delta Airlines recently joined British Airways, KLM, Singapore Airways, Lufthansa, Air Emirates, Iberia Airlines, IAG Cargo, and Qantas in banning transportation of hunters' animal trophies, according to the consumer-based petition website SumofUs.org, based in the U.S. Following the death of Cecil the lion, awareness has spread of animals and especially threatened species being hunted for sport, and airline policies may have changed.

Delta is the only American carrier with direct service between the U.S. and Africa. Other airlines that also recently declared they were banning trophy shipment include United Airlines, American Airlines and Virgin Atlantic, according to SumofUs.org.

In a statement, representatives of Delta Airlines said, "Effective immediately, Delta will officially ban shipment of all lion, leopard, elephant, rhinoceros and buffalo trophies worldwide as freight. Prior to this ban, Delta's strict acceptance policy called for absolute compliance with all government regulations regarding protected species. Delta will also review acceptance policies of other hunting trophies with appropriate government agencies and other organizations supporting legal shipments."

In response to Delta's decision, "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. Delta has set a great example, and no airline should provide a get-away vehicle for the theft of Africa's wildlife by these killers," Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of The Humane Society of the United States, said in a statement.

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) regulates the international trade of roughly 5,000 species of animals and 29,000 species of plants.

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