The United States Fish and Wildlife Service finalized a rule on Friday that will boost conservation and other protections for African elephants transported into the country.
According to a press release from the Service, the changes announced on Friday “will strengthen protections of internationally traded live African elephants, increase transparency of the Service’s permit decision-making, and more closely align U.S. requirements with guidance from the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Fauna and Flora.”
“The Service values collaborative wildlife conservation around the world and is committed to improving international conservation law implementation,” stated Martha Williams, Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.
The changes require that countries that import elephants into the United States enact laws to increase conservation and protection, including prohibiting illegal trade, and that authorized imports of both live elephants and “trophies” contribute to conservation efforts rather than causing the species to decline.
It goes on to say that only facilities equipped to house and care for elephants when they arrive in the US should receive them.
Finally, the rule specifies import regulations regarding sport hunting and permit requirements.
In 2017, the Trump administration overturned an Obama-era ban on importing endangered African elephant corpses. This comes as the Biden administration strengthens many of Trump’s animal protection policy reversals.
“Our actions today will help support a range countries’ efforts to manage and conserve African elephant populations and will further protect African elephants that are imported to the United States,” she said. “We are optimistic that with this final rule and by continuing to work in partnership with range countries, wild African elephant populations will be sustainable into the future.”
According to the organization, the wild African elephant population has decreased from around 26 million at the end of the 18th century to an estimated 415,000 today.
