INQUISITR.COM / News & Politics

U.S. Senator Introduces ‘Cecil’ Act In Attempt To Curb Trophy Hunting

By Dustin Wicksell
Published on: 03:24 PST, Aug 1, 2015

The impact of Cecil the lion’s death is being felt even in the Unites States Capitol, as lawmakers introduced a bill on Friday aimed at curbing the kind of trophy hunts that resulted in the death of the beloved lion.

Democratic Senator Robert Menendez unveiled a bill that would expand upon the Endangered Species Act of 1973, broadening its import and export restrictions. Currently, the Act applies to animals that are considered either endangered or threatened, yet under Menendez’s plan, it would be altered to include species which have been proposed as additions to either list, as AFP reports.

Such an expansion would have directly impacted the killing of Cecil. Last October, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed adding the African Lion to its list of endangered species, though it has yet to take action to finalize the proposal. The agency cited both habitat loss and human-lion interactions as contributing causes in the species’ decline.

Menendez’s bill was sponsored by three other Democrats: Cory Booker, Richard Blumenthal, and Ben Cardin. Titled the Conserving Ecosystems by Ceasing the Importation of Large (CECIL) Animal Trophies Act, it is a scant two pages long and would effectively ban the import of any part of an animal that is under consideration for inclusion on the list of endangered species, according to Time.

“Let’s not be cowardly lions when it comes to trophy killings… Cecil’s death was a preventable tragedy that highlights the need to extend the protections of the Endangered Species Act. When we have enough concern about the future of a species to propose it for listing, we should not be killing it for sport.”

The proposed legislation comes amid outrage over the high-profile killing of Cecil, a beloved lion in Zimbabwe, by American dentist Walter Palmer. Backlash against the lion’s death has reached a fevered pitch in some circles, forcing Palmer into hiding. As the Inquisitr previously reported, authorities in Zimbabwe are pushing to extradite Palmer, so that he might face charges in the death of Cecil the lion.

It remains unclear whether any Republican senators, who often position themselves as supporters of gun and hunter’s rights, will back the Cecil Act.

[Photo by Mark Wilson / Getty Images]

Share this article: U.S. Senator Introduces ‘Cecil’ Act In Attempt To Curb Trophy Hunting
More from Inquisitr