New Lawsuit Aims to Tackle Leopard Trophies in the United States

​worldanimalnews.com/breaking-lawsuit-filed-today-aims-to-save-an-estimated-300-leopards-each-year-from-being-imported-into-the-united-states-as-trophies-from-hunters/

Conservation & Animal protection organizations filed lawsuits challenging the US Fish & Wildlife Service's decision to continue to allow roughly 300 leopard trophies into the US every year from Africa. Those 300 leopard trophies account for 52% of all of the leopard trophies in trade every year making the United States one of the largest contributors to the decline in leopard populations.

“Federal officials are dishing out leopard import permits right and left despite lacking the data to know how trophy hunting harms this highly imperiled species,” Tanya Sanerib, International Legal Director at the Center for Biological Diversity

Leopards across the globe face numerous perils  to their survival without even factoring in the human caused perils they face. Fragmentation, habitat loss, and a decline in prey due to the increase in the bush meat trade are all affecting leopard populations. Trophy hunting, sport hunting, and illegal poaching also contribute to the decimation of the leopard population. Almost every single peril that leopards face is directly linked back to human interference / conflict. 

• TROPHY / SPORT HUNTING - Hunters obtain permits from the US Fish & Wildlife Services to travel to Africa and slaughter a leopard, returning back to the US with a leopard "trophy".
• HABITAT LOSS - Continued human development and logging are destroying the habitat that leopards call home.
• BUSH MEAT - The increase in the bush meat trade is slowly taking away food for big cats like leopards forcing them to travel further to obtain food.

There is simply no argument in defense of trophy hunting, especially when we're talking about animals that face endangerment in the wild. Trophy hunting does absolutely nothing to aid in conservation despite what participants and organizers would have you believe. It's incredibly hypocritical to make claims that shooting and killing endangered animals does anything positive for conservation. What trophy hunting ACTUALLY does is contribute to the population decline of endangered animals like elephants, giraffes, leopards, and cheetahs. We need to call trophy hunting out for exactly what it is, the murder of endangered animals for the right price. 

African leopards are currently listed as "threatened" which leaves them without necessary protections under the ESA that would grant necessary resources and funding to leopard conservation. This lack of protections is also keeping the public out of discussions on leopard survival and conservation. Leopards need ESA protections or their survival will be in jeopardy. We are pushing so many species to the brink of extinction because of our own greed and ignorance and leopards are the next casualty of our complete lack of empathy and compassion.

Until our planet collectively agrees that animals need our help, they will continue to die. Until our planet collectively agrees that conservation is crucial, animals like giraffes and leopards will continue to race towards extinction. Until we devalue pangolin scales and ivory, the black market will continue to decimate elephants, rhinos, and pangolins. You see, it is up to us to end our contributions to the plights of animals but it will require ALL of us to be on board. 

I've said it before, extinction is permanent. We need to act like it's as serious as it is or we have no right to shed a tear when these beautiful animals go extinct.

HAPPY VEG