On October 29, 2014, The U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service, proposed listing the African Lion (Panthera Leo Leo) subspecies as "threatened" under the Endangered Species Act ("ESA"). The proposed Rule would make it illegal to "take" the African lion (includes harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or any attempt to do any of these) within the United States or upon the high seas, or import or export, carry or receive in interstate or foreign commerce. However, the proposed Rule would make an exception for the importation into the U.S. of African lion trophies taken legally in range countries upon the issuance of threatened species import permits. This proposed Rule will become final or withdrawn by the Secretary on or before October 29, 2015.
Signors of this petition urge and encourage the Secretary of the Interior to make the listing of the African lion a threatened species under the ESA, as proposed, but remove the exception for trophy or sport hunting.
Trophy hunting or sometimes called "sport hunting" of a threatened species, such as the African lion, is contrary to concept of the conservation or preservation of an animal, is immoral, barbaric and sends the wrong message to the public at large, especially young people.
Thank you for the proposal to list the African Lion on the ESA Threatened list. However, as it is presently written, there is an exception for trophy hunting. We who have signed this petition believe that trophy hunting is contrary to the idea of preservation of this and any animal because it does decrease its numbers, there is no foolproof way of controlling the number of permits for such hunting, and it promotes the barbaric blood "sport" of hunting for the "killing pleasure," which has resulted in the extinction or near extinction of large animals, such as the American Bison and the Grey Wolf. We urge you to make the Rule final but remove the exemption for trophy hunting from it.
