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Airlines Ban Big Game Trophies from Cargo After Cecil the Lion Death

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Updated: | Originally published: ;

The international indignation ignited by the death of Cecil the lion in Zimbabwe last month is persuading some airlines to consider their policy on the shipment of big-game carcasses and body parts (known in hunting parlance as “trophies”).

On Monday, Delta, United Airlines and American Airlines announced that they would no longer allow such shipments.

Delta — which can get you to Lagos, Accra, Dakar and Johannesburg from Atlanta or New York — has been the subject of a major online campaign. It capitulated Monday, issuing a statement saying it would “officially ban shipment of all lion, leopard, elephant, rhinoceros and buffalo trophies worldwide as freight.”

United followed suit, telling NBC News that it too would enact a ban. American Airlines also tweeted its own prohibition on transporting big game trophies:

United noted that it “hasn’t had many big-game shipments” — a statement that TIME cannot independently confirm, though the New York Times reports that the lion’s share of non-African hunters on the continent come from the U.S. Fifteen thousand Americans go on African hunting holidays each year, and “the vast majority want to take trophies of their kills home,” conservationists told Reuters in June.

South African Airways, British Airways, Lufthansa and Emirates have all stopped freighting such trophies.

Here Are Famous People Posing With Animals They've Killed

Theodore Roosevelt Dead Rhino
After serving as President of the United States in 1909, Teddy Roosevelt went on an 11-month, 2,500-mile safari. The expedition was funded as a scientific expedition by the Smithsonian Institution, according to the Theodore Roosevelt Association. On the trip, Roosevelt trapped or shot over 11,000 animals, including elephants, hippos, and white rhinos.Corbis
Prince Harry crouches over a water buffalo he shot and killed in South America in 2004.
troy-gentry-bear
Troy Gentry, of the country singing duo Montgomery Gentry, killed this captive black bear in Minnesota in October 2004. He was sentenced to three months of probation and a $15,000 fine and was banned from hunting in Minnesota for five years.
Donald Trump hunt
Donald Trump, Jr., posing with a buffalo in Zimbabwe during a safari trip in 2012.Hunting Legends Africa
eric trump hunt
Eric Trump, son of Donald Trump, posing with a buffalo in Zimbabwe during a safari trip in 2012.Hunting Legends Africa
Justin Tuck, defensive end for the Oakland Raiders, told Outdoor Life about his enjoyment of the challenge of bow hunting. He also discussed his big game trip to Africa, where he shot a hartebeest, zebra, wildebeest, hyena and water buffalo.
glen-mcgrath hunt
Glenn McGrath, Australian international cricketer, posing with an elephant in Zimbabwe during a safari trip in 2008.Hunting Legends Africa
Miranda Lambert poses with a deer. She also was shown to kill an Alligator during an appearance on the Sportsman Channel's "Country Boys Outdoors,” in 2010.

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