From: Rebecca Bartlett
Nashville
An elephant is not a hard shot to kill. Very large and not stealthy. It does not take much skill to stop one dead in its tracks. This is just one of the reasons I find them hard to be considered a trophy.
An elephant is much more intelligent than a gazelle (deer) and many other animals that are commonly hunted. Ethical hunters are fair, often need-based and observe legitimate practices of conservation of species.
Being a timeless symbol of the deep bonds of love for family, gentle grace, sentimentality, resiliency, bravery and hallowed stature as part of the unity of all that is most majestic, the elephant also is headed for extinction on the endangered species list due to poaching. A mother will carry her calf for at least 18 months before it’s born. Baby elephants. What could be sweeter?
There are things of this world that are mighty in many ways and should not die by a gun for pleasure in sport, such as the eagle, for example. Lo and behold, the Trump administration has just reversed a ban to allow hunters to bring home their elephant trophies from Zimbabwe. To condone this crime is to let the spirit of our land, stewardship and morality atrophy. It goes beyond politics.
