Airlines now banning ‘big game’ hunting trophies

But it is unclear how many, if any, they have been carrying in recent years.

Peter Fitzpatrick says such shipments have been extremely rare in the past because the company does not operate flights to South Africa, where big-game hunting is a booming industry.

American Airlines has said that it will no longer transport big game trophies, the latest carrier to announce such a policy since a popular lion named Cecil was killed by a recreational hunter in Zimbabwe. American Airlines and United Airlines soon followed.

Blumenthal said he was pleased with Delta’s announcement banning the so-called Africa Big Five, which includes lions, elephants, rhinos, leopards and buffalo. The dentist, Walter James Palmer, lives in Minnesota, which is a major hub for Delta.

The airline pushed out a tweet late Monday night saying, “Effective immediately, we will no longer transport buffalo, elephant, leopard, lion or rhino trophies”.

Yet in May, Delta said it would continue to allow such shipments.

The death of Cecil the Lion has sparked donations of more than £500,000 to an appeal founded by a team of conservation researchers. Around 60% of all trophies are shipped to the USA so this laudable decision will hopefully have a major impact on levels of trophy hunting.

The company only issued a 58-word statement noting that prior to Monday’s ban, “Delta’s strict acceptance policy called for absolute compliance with all government regulations regarding protected species”. Several foreign airlines announced similar bans last week.

“By refusing to play a role in the wildlife trafficking supply chain, Delta Air Lines can demonstrate the strong and ethical leadership that has made it such a successful and respected company”, the petition, addressed to Delta Airlines CEO Richard Anderson and other executives, reads.

“I don’t think there was much of this shipment taking place, so there is minimal revenue loss and big PR gain for them”, he said.