--- description: President Donald Trump lifted a ban on elephant trophies and the internet is spreading photos of Donald Trump Jr.'s post-elephant kill pose. title: People Are Upset That President Trump Lifted an Elephant Trophy Ban image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc1a096334af1443b/6988d800bc6cfcf50e3e2797/trump-jr-trump.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Newsfeed](/tag/time-section-newsfeed/) ## Newsfeed Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # People on Twitter Are Upset That President Trump Lifted an Elephant Trophy Ban by [Ashley Hoffman](/author/ashley-hoffman/) ## Ashley Hoffman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Updated: Dec 13, 2023 12:14 AM CUTPublished: Nov 16, 2017 3:49 PM CUT  Donald Trump Jr. (R) watches his father Republican U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump leave the stage on the night of the Iowa Caucus in Des Moines, Iowa on Feb. 1, 2016. Donald Trump Jr. (R) watches his father Republican U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump leave the stage on the night of the Iowa Caucus in Des Moines, Iowa on Feb. 1, 2016.Jim Bourg—Reuters by [Ashley Hoffman](/author/ashley-hoffman/) ## Ashley Hoffman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Updated: Dec 13, 2023 12:14 AM CUTPublished: Nov 16, 2017 3:49 PM CUT The Trump Administration’s decision to lift a ban on importing elephant kill trophies spurred outrage on Twitter, with many users sharing an old photo of [Donald Trump Jr.](http://time.com/4975821/trump-jr-kimmel-weinstein/ "undefined") holding an elephant tail after a hunt. Back in 2012, [Donald and Eric went trophy hunting in Zimbabwe](http://time.com/3990496/donald-trump-children/ "undefined"), killing an elephant and cheetah among other large animals, facing passionate and [longlasting backlash](http://time.com/3990496/donald-trump-children/ "undefined") once the [photos surfaced](http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/pics-rump-adult-sons-hunting-game-africa-resurface-article-1.2308107 "undefined"). So when the [it was reported](http://abcnews.go.com/US/trump-admin-reverse-ban-elephant-trophies-africa/story?id=51178663 "undefined") that President Trump reversed the Obama-era ban on hunters importing trophies of elephants killed in Zimbabwe and Zambia during government-approved expeditions, critics moved quickly to recirculate the photo. Elephants are listed as endangered, but an Endangered Species Act stipulation lets the government give people permits to import trophies if there’s evidence that the “hunting actually benefits conservation for that species.” “Legal, well-regulated sport hunting as part of a sound management program can benefit the conservation of certain species by providing incentives to local communities to conserve the species and by putting much-needed revenue back into conservation,” a [Fish and Wildlife spokesperson said in a statement](http://abcnews.go.com/US/trump-admin-reverse-ban-elephant-trophies-africa/story?id=51178663 "undefined"). Animal rights activists were not happy. “It’s a venal and nefarious pay-to-slay arrangement that Zimbabwe has set up with the trophy hunting industry,” Wayne Pacelle, president and chief executive of the Humane Society, told [the Washington _Post_](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/animalia/wp/2017/11/15/trophies-from-elephant-hunts-in-zimbabwe-were-banned-in-the-u-s-trump-just-reversed-that/ "undefined"). Both of Trump’s sons have defended hunting. “Anyone who thinks hunters are just ‘bloodthirsty morons’ hasn’t looked into hunting,” Donald Jr. told [_Forbes_](https://www.forbes.com/sites/frankminiter/2012/04/09/tmz-is-wrong-about-donald-trump-jr-and-safari-hunting/2/&refURL= "undefined") in 2012\. “If you wait through long, cold hours in the November woods with a bow in your hands hoping a buck will show or if you spend days walking in the African bush trailing Cape buffalo while listening to lions roar, you’re sure to learn hunting isn’t about killing.” That didn’t stop people from being incensed by the ban lift, many suggesting that his sons’ love of the hunt influenced the President. > [](https://twitter.com/Weinsteinlaw/status/930959251312447489) > [](https://twitter.com/JamesMelville/status/931136047118942208) > [](https://twitter.com/StopExOrd13792/status/931028225706348544) > [](https://twitter.com/DancingTheMind/status/931118136811835393) > [](https://twitter.com/ChelseaClinton/status/931141203659239425) > [](https://twitter.com/BiologistDan/status/931181499155611648) > [](https://twitter.com/jeremynewberger/status/931152857709056002) **Correction**: The headline of the original version of this story incorrectly described the ban Trump reversed. It was a ban on hunters importing trophies of elephants legally killed in Zimbabwe and Zambia, not a ban on poaching, which is illegal. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5027350/donald-trump-elephant-ban-jr/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5027350/donald-trump-elephant-ban-jr/"},"headline":"People on Twitter Are Upset That President Trump Lifted an Elephant Trophy Ban","datePublished":"2017-11-16T15:49:49.000Z","dateModified":"2023-12-13T00:14:41.000Z","description":"President Donald Trump lifted a ban on elephant trophies and the internet is spreading photos of Donald Trump Jr.'s post-elephant kill pose.","url":"https://time.com/5027350/donald-trump-elephant-ban-jr/","keywords":["Newsfeed","animals","politics","viral","Donald Trump","Donald Trump Jr."],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc1a096334af1443b/6988d800bc6cfcf50e3e2797/trump-jr-trump.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Ashley Hoffman","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/ashley-hoffman/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc1a096334af1443b/6988d800bc6cfcf50e3e2797/trump-jr-trump.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Donald Trump Jr. watches his father Republican U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump leave the stage on the night of 2016 Iowa Caucus in Des Moines","caption":"Donald Trump Jr. watches his father Republican U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump leave the stage on the night of 2016 Iowa Caucus in Des Moines","creditText":"Jim Bourg—Reuters","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":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5027350/donald-trump-elephant-ban-jr/","name":"People on Twitter Are Upset That President Trump Lifted an Elephant Trophy Ban"}}]}] ```