President Donald Trump on Twitter Sunday called elephant hunting a "horror show" and suggested he would permanently block the import of elephant trophies from two African nations.
His post comes days after the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said it would be issuing permits for elephant trophies following an announcement by the Trump administration last week that it was preparing to reverse the Obama-era ban.
Elephants are listed as endangered species under the Endangered Species Act, but a provision in the act allows the government to give permits to import the trophies if there is evidence hunting benefits the conservation of the species.
The FWS says the decision is part of a “robust United States conservation strategy," and that hunting elephants in Zambia and Zimbabwe would "enhance the survival of the species in the wild," but the move sparked outrage from many animal activists and lawmakers.
Trump wrote that he would be “very hard pressed to change my mind that this horror show in any way helps conservation of Elephants or any other animal.”
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