United, Delta and American Airlines have all announced they will no longer ship the trophies. A change.org petition had been circulating for at least three months that called for Delta to stop transporting exotic animal trophies.
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“The attraction for trophy hunters is being able to display the animal they butchered when they get home”, the website says its petition.
Delta led the charge on Monday, announcing a ban on the freight shipment of all lion, leopard, elephant, rhinoceros and buffalo trophies worldwide.
“The cruel killing of the Zimbabwean lion known as Cecil broke my heart”, said the 78-year-old, who has created many distinctive sculptures of lions in a career spanning six decades. Hours later, Delta Air Lines, which has direct service to Africa, adopted a similar ban.
WestJet points out it does not serve destinations where hunters can take Big Five animals, including lions and elephants, but says it would not carry Big Five trophies.
Since the controversy erupted over Cecil’s death, Air France, KLM, Iberia, IAG Cargo, Singapore Airlines and Qantas have joined South African Airways, Emirates, Lufthansa and British Airways in banning shipments of big-game trophies.
On Saturday, in response to Cecil’s killing, the Zimbabwean Government suspended the hunting of lions, leopards and elephants along with all bow-hunting in areas outside of Hwange National Park.
Delta announced in a statement that the ban is effective immediately. The U.S. has been urged by animal conservationists and more than 228,500 petitioners on the White House website to have Palmer extradited to Zimbabwe to face charges.
Delta also will review policies on accepting other hunting trophies with government agencies and other organizations that support legal shipments, the airline said. Palmer expressed regret after killing Cecil and enduring the backlash, claiming he relied on local professionals to ensure the legality of his hunt and that he was unaware that his prey was a local favorite.
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“LionAid is strongly opposed to further trophy hunting of Africa’s vulnerable and endangered species”.
