Each year, hundreds of thousands of wild animals in the U.S. and around the world are killed by trophy hunters. The hunters’ primary motivation is not to get food, but simply to obtain animal parts (heads, hides or claws and even the whole animal) for display and for bragging rights.
Trophy hunters use cruel and unsporting methods like baiting and hounding to target native carnivore species like bears, mountain lions and wolves, shoot animals in captive hunts (in which hunters pursue animals who can’t escape). They participate in gruesome wildlife killing contests that target bobcats, coyotes, foxes and other species.
Cecil, a famed black-maned lion in Zimbabwe, was lured with bait, shot with an arrow and suffered for more than 10 hours before his hunters tracked and finished killing him. Cecil's death sparked international outrage in 2015; 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. They also do their sport-killing domestically: Bears, bobcats, mountain lions, wolves and other domestic wildlife also fall victim to trophy hunting, damaging natural ecosystems.
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.
