As hunters hold immense clout in the Trump administration and most of the council’s members are advocates of the sport, critics worry the board will protect their hobby, not the animals

Jake Bullinger

Tue 17 Jul 2018 11.58 BST
First published on Tue 17 Jul 2018 11.00 BST

Donald Trump Jr on a Zimbabwe hunting trip.
Donald Trump Jr on a hunting trip in Zimbabwe. Photograph: Hunting Legends

Donald Trump has called big-game trophy hunting a “horror show”, despite his own sons’ participation in elephant and leopard hunts, and in 2017 he formed an advisory board to steer US policy on the issue.

But rather than conservation scientists and wildlife advocates, it is composed of advocates for the hunting of elephants, giraffes and other threatened, charismatic species. And observers say that since Trump took office, court rulings and administrative decisions have in fact made it easier for hunters to import…