Zinke: ‘The only thing I’ve hunted in Africa is terrorists’

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke on Tuesday pushed back against a photo circulating on the internet that purported to show him with a hunted elephant amid backlash on a decision to lift a ban on importing elephant trophies.

“The only thing I’ve hunted in Africa is terrorists,” Zinke tweeted.

The only thing I’ve hunted in Africa is terrorists. #GotEm #NoBaggingLimit pic.twitter.com/9ez0lcuq5L

— Secretary Ryan Zinke (@SecretaryZinke) November 21, 2017

The Trump administration said last week it determined a ban on the import of trophies from elephants hunted in Zimbabwe and Zambia was no longer necessary, reversing an Obama-era ban on such imports.

{mosads}

After the department said the ban would be lifted, a photo began circulating on social media purporting to show Zinke posing with a dead elephant. Zinke is not the man in the image, and the photo was first posted in 2016.

Amid a flurry of criticism, President Trump tweeted Friday that he was putting the decision to lift the ban on hold.

On Sunday, he appeared to cast doubt on the decision lifting the ban, calling the practice of trophy hunting a “horror show” that he is unsure helps elephant conservation. The administration is expected to announce a final decision on the issue this week.