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AFP
WASHINGTON
PRESIDENT Donald Trump said Friday he will uphold a ban on importing trophies of elephants hunted and killed in Zimbabwe, pending further review, reversing his own administration's decision from just a day earlier after a public outcry.
"Put big game trophy decision on hold until such time as I review all conservation facts. Under study for years. Will update soon with Secretary Zinke. Thank you!"Trump tweeted.
Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke said the pair came to the decision after they"talked and both believe that conservation and healthy herds are critical."
Just hours before, Trump's spokeswoman Sarah Sanders had defended the US Fish and Wildlife Service's move to end the 2014 ban initiated under Trump's predecessor Barack Obama.
The service said Thursday that it would begin issuing permits to import"sport-hunted trophies from elephants hunted in Zimbabwe"between January 21, 2016 and December 31, 2018.
Zambia would also have been covered under the revised rule.
The move was met with a barrage of criticism from animal rights groups and activists.
It also came on the same day that the US State Department presented to Congress its first annual report on wildlife trafficking which, it said,"remains a serious transnational crime."
French screen legend and animal rights activist Brigitte Bardot added her voice to the growing chorus of criticism, slamming Trump as"unfit for office"after his administration's"shameful actions."
