--- title: Cecil the Lion: Lawmakers Draft 'CECIL Act' to Curb Trophy Hunters description: U.S. congressmen joined the chorus of outrage over the killing of Cecil the Lion, announcing a new bill on Friday canonical: https://time.com/3981032/cecil-lion-bill-trophy-hunters/ author: Dan Kedmey article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-07-31T22:36:18.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:58:19.625Z article:section: Politics og:title: U.S. Lawmakers Draft 'CECIL Act' to Curb Trophy Hunters og:description: It's named for Cecil the lion og:url: https://time.com/3981032/cecil-lion-bill-trophy-hunters/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte4b7f3deedf372c4/69885d71cd68483e180a110e/cecil-the-lion-zimbabwe.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3120 og:image:height: 1755 og:image:alt: Zimbabwe Lion Killed cecil og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: U.S. Lawmakers Draft 'CECIL Act' to Curb Trophy Hunters twitter:description: It's named for Cecil the lion twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte4b7f3deedf372c4/69885d71cd68483e180a110e/cecil-the-lion-zimbabwe.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # U.S. Lawmakers Draft 'CECIL Act' to Curb Trophy Hunters > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=8c0c955f-9fdc-4fa4-8cc3-2ec510904cd8&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Know Right Now: Who's Actually Killing Zimbabwe's Wildlife? [Watch (HLS stream): Know Right Now: Who's Actually Killing Zimbabwe's Wildlife?](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/FkRHU6Xe.m3u8) (1:05)  _Published 2015-07-29. Disasterous land reforms, the destruction of property rights and widespread poverty have contributed to the steep decline in Zimbabwe's wildlife._  by [Dan Kedmey](https://time.com/author/dan-kedmey/)  ## Dan Kedmey Jul 31, 2015 10:36 PM UTC  In this undated photo provided by the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Cecil the lion rests in Hwange National Park, in Hwange, Zimbabwe. In this undated photo provided by the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Cecil the lion rests in Hwange National Park, in Hwange, Zimbabwe. Andy Loveridge—AP  by [Dan Kedmey](https://time.com/author/dan-kedmey/)  ## Dan Kedmey Jul 31, 2015 10:36 PM UTC U.S. lawmakers joined the chorus of outrage over the [killing of Cecil the lion](http://time.com/3979922/cecil-the-lion-zimbabwe/) on Friday, announcing a bill that would stop people from importing “trophies” gleaned from hunting potentially endangered animals. The [bill](http://www.menendez.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/CECIL%20Animal%20Trophies%20Act.pdf), Conserving Ecosystems by Ceasing the Importation of Large (CECIL) Animal Trophies Act, would make it illegal for trophy hunters to bring back parts of any species proposed or listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act of 1973. “Let’s not be cowardly lions when it comes to trophy killings,” Senator Bob Menendez said in a public statement, adding that the legislation is “a necessary and prudent step that creates a disincentive for these senseless trophy killings and advances our commitment in leading the fight to combat global wildlife trafficking.” The bill is co-sponsored by Senators Cory Booker, Richard Blumenthal and Ben Cardin. The proposed legislation comes after an [outpouring](http://time.com/3980435/betty-white-cecil-lion-killer/) of rage against a Minnesota dentist who paid $55,000 to slay the lion during a hunting excursion in Zimbabwe. African lions are not considered endangered species, but last year the United States Fish and Wildlife Service proposed placing them on a list of threatened animals. ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] [ BLANK_AUDIO ] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3981032/cecil-lion-bill-trophy-hunters/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3981032/cecil-lion-bill-trophy-hunters/"},"headline":"U.S. Lawmakers Draft 'CECIL Act' to Curb Trophy Hunters","datePublished":"2015-07-31T22:36:18.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:58:19.625Z","description":"It's named for Cecil the lion","url":"https://time.com/3981032/cecil-lion-bill-trophy-hunters/","keywords":["Congress","cecil the lion"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte4b7f3deedf372c4/69885d71cd68483e180a110e/cecil-the-lion-zimbabwe.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Dan Kedmey","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/dan-kedmey/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte4b7f3deedf372c4/69885d71cd68483e180a110e/cecil-the-lion-zimbabwe.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Zimbabwe Lion Killed cecil","caption":"Zimbabwe Lion Killed cecil","creditText":"Andy Loveridge—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/congress/","name":"Congress"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3981032/cecil-lion-bill-trophy-hunters/","name":"U.S. Lawmakers Draft 'CECIL Act' to Curb Trophy Hunters"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Know Right Now: Who's Actually Killing Zimbabwe's Wildlife?","description":"Disasterous land reforms, the destruction of property rights and widespread poverty have contributed to the steep decline in Zimbabwe's wildlife.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/FkRHU6Xe/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-07-29T08:27:28.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/FkRHU6Xe.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3981032/cecil-lion-bill-trophy-hunters/","duration":"PT1M5S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3981032/cecil-lion-bill-trophy-hunters/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```