The killing of Cecil the lion brought "trophy" kills and the companies - like UPS International and FedEx, according to The Dodo - that ship the dead animals to the front pages of the news. Jane Goodall, British primatologist and U.N. Messenger of Peace, recently wrote an open letter to Jim Barber, president of UPS International, urging the company to consider "a ban on transporting hunting trophies as soon as possible."
Read her full letter below as published on the Jane Goodall Institute's page:
"Dear Mr. Barber:
"In the wake of Cecil the Lion's cruel and untimely death, I am writing to you in the hope that UPS will join many of the world's major airlines* and impose a ban on transporting hunting trophies as soon as possible. As I'm sure you know, Cecil was illegally lured out of the safety of his protected territory at Zimbabwe's Hwange National Park. He was shot by a Minnesota dentist with a crossbow, left to suffer for 40 hours, shot again -- this time with a gun -- and killed. He was then beheaded and skinned, leaving his family of cubs fatherless and vulnerable. As lions attempt to take over a pride, they eliminate the genes of their rivals and because of Cecil's murder, one of his cubs has already been killed by a rival male.
"Cecil's story was special because he was an icon in Zimbabwe, but the story of suffering and impact on family is similar for hundreds of animals each year as a result of trophy hunters - who consider their behavior "sport". One of the goals of a trophy hunter is to take the head or other body parts of the animals he has killed and proudly exhibit them in his home for all his friends to admire. It would make a huge difference if it became more and more difficult to achieve this despicable goal.
"It would be wonderful if UPS would join the other companies who are now refusing to ship body parts of rhinos, elephants, lions, tigers and other wild animals. I am sure that you are as horrified as I am by this killing to gratify the ego. I look forward to hearing from you about this.
"Sincerely,
"Jane Goodall, Ph.D., DBE
"Founder, the Jane Goodall Institute &
"UN Messenger of Peace
"*The following airlines have imposed a ban: Delta, American Airlines, United, Air France, KLM, Emirates, Lufthansa, South African Airways, Singapore Airlines, Quantas Air. By now others may have followed suit."
In a letter to @UPS, Dr. #JaneGoodall calls to ban shipments of animal trophies. #CecilTheLion https://t.co/Kn4p9etBro pic.twitter.com/ngu3venWC6
— JaneGoodallInstitute (@JaneGoodallInst) August 28, 2015
Goodall is perhaps most famous for her time spent studying the Kasakela chimpanzee community in Tanzania's Gombe Stream National Park. Goodall observed the animals and gave them names, rather than numbers, which was unheard of in 1960. Goodall observed the chimps demonstrating "human behaviors" and discovered "it isn't only human beings who have personality, who are capable of rational thought [and] emotions like joy and sorrow," as she described in a PBS special.
For more on the death of Cecil the lion and the aftermath following his death, see the list of related articles below.
