Delta Bans Big-Game Trophies as Cargo After Cecil’s Killing

“Effective immediately, Delta will officially ban shipment of all lion, leopard, elephant, rhinoceros and buffalo trophies worldwide as freight”, according to an announcement made by the global air carrier.

Delta will also review policies on accepting other hunting trophies with government agencies and other organizations that support legal shipments, the airline said.

Delta, the only United States airline that offers direct flights to South Africa, just put up a big roadblock for American hunters hoping to bring home animal trophies.

The ” refers to lions, elephants, rhinoceroses, leopards and Cape buffalos – the “most harmful animals to hunt on foot”.

The airline’s policy change follows outrage over the killing of Cecil, a tagged African lion, by an American hunter in Zimbabwe.

Before Delta’s ban, the airline’s policy required “absolute compliance with all government regulations regarding protected species”, it said.

Zimbabwe has requested the extradition of Walter Palmer, the Minnesota dentist who shot the lion.

South Africa Airways put the embargo in place in April after “incidents of false declarations and submission of falsified paperwork for the cargo of a few searching trophies”. “Delta has set a great example, and no airline should provide a get-away vehicle for the theft of Africa’s wildlife by these killers”, the statement reads. The petition has attracted 394,000 signatures since then. They include Lufthansa, British Airways and Emirates.

Asked whether Cecil’s death or the petition had a role in the trophy ban, Delta spokesperson Morgan Durrant said the corporation had no further comment.