This bill would again allow the importation of ivory and of trophies from African Elephants, who are already being poached/slaughtered at the rate of one every 15 minutes. There are only around 300,000 African elephants left, and this would hasten their extinction. We had banned ivory. This Republican sponsored bill would be devastating to elephants as it would essentially undo the ban for rich trophy hunters.
Why is this important?
HR 226 is misnamed the "African elephant Conservation and Legal Ivory Possession Act." It would allow ivory to be sold again in the United States, and would most likely cause more poaching, more deaths, and ultimately, the extinction of the African elephant. It would certainly not conserve nor protect African elephants. It is a giveaway to trophy hunters, gun collectors, and the NRA.
Many activists have worked for years to ban ivory and "sport-hunted trophy" of elephants, and this horrific and cruel resolution would undo all that work and make elephants even more of a target for poachers and trophy hunters.
