Each year, hundreds of thousands of wild animals around the world are killed for their heads, hides, pelts and other body parts. Animal parts are hung on walls; their bodies are stuffed and posed for bragging rights. Cruel and unsportsmanlike practices like baiting, hounding and trapping—also captive hunts, in which hunters pursue animals who can’t escape—ensure that animals don’t stand a chance and hunters bag an easy prize.
Cecil, a famed black-maned lion in Zimbabwe, was lured with bait, shot with an arrow and suffered for more than ten hours before his hunters tracked and finished killing him. Cecil's death in 2015 sparked international outrage. His son, Xanda, met a similar fate two years later.
American trophy hunters pay big money to kill animals overseas and import over 126,000 wildlife trophies per year on average. Wolves, bears, mountain lions, bobcats and other domestic wildlife also fall victim to trophy hunting, damaging natural ecosystems.
Were imported to the United States between 2005 and 2014.
Are hunted and killed as trophies, including Africa's "big five" species: Buffalo, elephants, leopards, lions and rhinos.
Have banned the sale of ivory to protect elephants from hunting and poaching: California, Hawaii, Illinois, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oregon and Washington.
Stand with us in condemning the killing of wildlife for trophies, both in the United States and around the world. Pledge to do what you can to end this cruel and unsportsmanlike pastime.
