Change.org Petition: Emergency Petition - Stop Leopard Trophy Imports!

Trophy hunting is causing Africa’s leopard population to decline, and scientists are concerned. Trophy hunters lure in leopards by setting out decaying prey, like impalas, and then wait to shoot them. The Center for Biological Diversity is calling on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to make immediate changes to protect the leopards. Join the Center for Biological Diversity in taking a stand against trophy hunting, and sign the petition. Emergency Petition: Stop Leopard Trophy Imports! 52,896 have signed Center for Biological Diversity’s petition. Let’s get to 75,000!

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Leopards are one of the “Big 5” rare species sought by trophy hunters alongside elephants, rhinos and lions. To kill elusive, shy leopards, hunters draw them in by hanging a rotting impala from a tree and then lie in wait to gun them down. It’s sickening, and it needs to end. We need your action right now to stop the import of African leopards killed by trophy hunters. Sign a petition to help save leopards. Scientists fear leopard populations in Africa are plummeting. The animals are losing their habitat and prey, they die in conflicts with humans, their skins are coveted for illegal trade, and they’re being gunned down by trophy hunters. Americans bring home more than half of all leopard trophies worldwide — averaging almost 300 leopards each year shot in cold blood as decoration for living-room walls or social media feeds. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service must take the following actions: Stop permitting leopard trophy imports until the agency knows how dire the leopard’s decline is. We don’t know how many leopards remain and how many are dying each year for trophies or for their skins. Until the Fish and Wildlife Service has the basic, hard facts on leopards, it must not permit trophy hunters to import these imperiled cats’ parts.  Uplist the African leopard under the Endangered Species Act from threatened to endangered. U.S. law restricts the import of trophies from endangered species. The dangers posed to this species by trophy hunters and rampant habitat destruction can’t be ignored: The animals must be protected by the full power of the Act. Shooting threatened wild animals like leopards, elephants and lions for sport is barbaric, jeopardizes their existence and threatens biodiversity worldwide. We’re in the midst of a heartbreaking mass extinction, with 1 million species at risk. If we don’t act now, Africa’s leopards could be gone from the wild in our lifetimes. That’s why the Center for Biological Diversity is fighting in the courts and the halls of Congress to shut down the sick wildlife trade that’s a major driver of the extinction crisis. We need you with us to win. Join the fight: Sign our emergency petition and share it to stop the United States from driving Africa’s leopards and other rare species extinct.

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