The Trump administration has quietly decided once again to allow Americans to import the body parts of African elephants shot for sport, despite presidential tweets decrying the practice as a "horror show."
President Donald Trump personally intervened in November when the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service first said it would lift an Obama-era ban on elephants imported from Zimbabwe and Zambia. The agency contends that encouraging wealthy big-game hunters to kill the threatened species would help raise money for conservation programs.
The agency overseen by Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke issued a letter last week announcing the importation of elephant trophies will now be approved on a "case-by-case basis."
Nether the Interior Department nor Fish and Wildlife issued a media release announcing the decision, which was quickly condemned by environmental advocates.
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