Leopards are at risk of extinction from habitat loss, lack of prey, persecution by humans, poaching for the illegal fur trade, and unsustainable trophy hunting.
The United States is a major driver of the leopard trophy trade. On average we import nearly 300 leopard trophies per year — over half the trade.
The Center for Biological Diversity and allies filed a lawsuit to save these animals. The suit challenges the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s approval of leopard trophy imports from Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Mozambique and Zambia into the U. S.
“Federal officials are dishing out leopard import permits right and left without knowing how trophy hunting harms this highly imperiled species,” Tanya Sanerib, the Center’s international legal director, said . “We’re going to ensure that the United States fulfills its obligation to guarantee that leopard imports don’t threaten the survival of the species.”
