Africa is known for its iconic wildlife, one of the most notable being the African elephant. It’s the lesser endangered of the elephant genus, with around 400,000 individuals still remaining, reported by World Wildlife Fund. But it is still listed as an endangered species, and populations are consistently declining.

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According to The Guardian, around 20,000 elephants are annually killed for their tusks to be sold to the ivory trade. The Independent claims this number is around 40,000 killed annually. Regardless, the losses have been drastic, with Congo losing 90 percent of its wild elephant population and up to 74 percent in parts of Zimbabwe. The international trade of ivory was made illegal by the UN Convention on Internal Trade in Endangered Species, often referred to as CITES, but this has only made the illegal trade more prevalent. In 2011, 23 metric tons, the equivalent of 2,500 elephants of ivory was seized from poachers trying to trade their trophies. Most of the poachers and their ivory, however, are never caught. In 2011, more elephant tusks were seized than any year since 1989, when CITES made the trade illegal.

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Because elephants are an endangered species, they are listed on the Endangered Species Act and therefore any import of elephants or elephant parts must be deemed beneficial to their conservation. During the Obama presidency, the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service banned the import of elephant trophies from certain African countries in hopes of potentially reducing poaching. This ban, however, has recently come into consideration for reversal by the Trump administration. The argument being made is that legally hunting endangered species can sometimes help their conservation. The idea is to legally allow hunters to pay a large fee to shoot a specific number of elephants, and in turn use that money for the conservation of the species and to help local communities. However, according to National Geographic, most of this money never goes to local villagers, and wealthy hunting areas are being seized by corrupt governments. Legally allowing some hunting also does not stop illegal poaching, so the conservation benefits that exist are slim, if any.

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The situation brings up the importance of supporting international conservation efforts such as CITES. The convention aims for further protection for around 5,800 animal species and 30,000 plant species, and ensures that the international trade of these specimen is outlawed. While poaching does continue, groups such as the International Fund for Animal Welfare has provided anti-poaching and wildlife crime training in numerous African countries. The international controversy of recalling the trophy ban will most likely only ensure more programs such as this come into existence, to attempt to prevent the looming extinction of not only elephants, but so many other species threatened by poaching and the spread of misinformation about hunting for conservation.