To the editor:
New York’s proposed “Cecil’s Law,” which would ban “trophies” from lions, leopards, rhinoceroses, and elephants, shows that the state shared the disgust that the rest of the world felt upon hearing that beloved lion Cecil suffered for nearly two days before finally succumbing to his injuries, all to become a trophy in Walter Palmer’s den.
Much of the megafauna in Africa is threatened. National Geographic’s Dereck Joubert estimates that there are only about 20,000 lions left in Africa. Just 50 years ago, there were 450,000 — a 95 percent decline. Trophy hunters, usually American, kill about 600 of these lions every year. They also kill about 5,000 leopards. There are only 50,000 left. The current population of African elephants is about 300,000, and up to 40,000 are killed every year. It isn’t hard to see that at this rate elephants won’t be around much longer.
Passage of Cecil’s Law would protect threatened species and make a strong statement that such cruelty is not welcome in New York.
Michelle Kretzer
The PETA Foundation
Norfolk, Va.
