Trump admin to reverse ban on elephant trophies from Africa

[hollodero]

(11-20-2017, 08:59 PM)JustWinBaby Wrote: I think big game hunting is ridiculous, but I'm not going to say people should be banned from doing it.  If that country wants to charge money for it, bring in some tourism dollars, and maybe throw some bucks towards conservation, then who are we to tell them no?

Well... the law in question isn't about forbidding it, it's about reversing ostracism. Maybe we aren't to ostracise, maybe we shouldn't tell anyone what to pay money for, I don't know. This reversal, however, looks like encouraging elephant killing. To be more precise, it looks of course like bowing to a certain group of donors, but however.

(11-20-2017, 08:59 PM)JustWinBaby Wrote: I'm guessing the law has more to do with discouraging poaching.  Otherwise, if someone pays to kill an elephant who cares if they bring back a trophy?

Some people in this country really do seem to care more about elephants and lions then genocide.

You're not wrong here. Caring about elephants sure is some kind of moral figleaf, masking a distinct non-caring about more important stuff. But somehow that argument goes both ways - in that the admin cares more about the bragging rights for some rich elephant-hunting scumbags than more severe problems that would demand action. In regard to Africa, there's a lot to be said about that, what countries are forced to do or to cultivate instead of food because the world bank says so and all that and so much more. Yet they care about trophies being allowed again. What purpose does this serve, how does that make the world possibly a better place.

That being said, it still angers me, especially the "conserving the species by killing them" part, raises more money for the problem and forces local communities to more action and all that. That was so damn cynical, as I said. Even Trump seems to agree with me :)