Lawsuit Seeks to Stop Trophy Hunters From Bringing Back Leopard Skins to US

TUCSON, Ariz. (CN) — U.S. regulations that let big game hunters import leopard trophies from four African nations violate U.S. law, because the government failed to show that hunting the big cats — which face declining habitat and other threats — would not put the species at risk, three non-profits said in a federal lawsuit Wednesday.

Leopard skins or other parts should not be allowed from Tanzania, Mozambique, Zambia, or Zimbabwe, according to the lawsuit from the Center for Biological Diversity, Humane Society of the United States, Humane Society International, and Ian Michler, a former safari guide and environmental journalist.

Federal law allows the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to issue import permits only if the hunting would not harm the species, the plaintiffs said.

Because the leopard population in those southeastern African nations is being squeezed by predation from people, loss of habitat and poaching, the species is harmed by U.S. imports from the four countries, where basic data on leopard populations isn’t even available, the plaintiffs claimed.

The non-profits decried the practice in a news release.


https://www.courthousenews.com/lawsuit-seeks-to-stop-trophy-hunters-from-bringing-back-leopard-skins/