California Bans Trophy Imports

He hunted and shot an elephant in South Africa.

For this, a trophy hunter from California (USA) has now found himself in the crosshairs — of PETA and politicians alike. After the animal rights organization published a video showing Aaron Raby killing the pachyderm, the California Senate passed a new piece of legislation.

This (Senate Bill 1175) prohibits recreational hunters from bringing a trophy of their "kill" back home.

«It is time to wake up and recognize that we are in the middle of a mass extinction», said Senator Henry Stern (D-Canoga Park), who wrote the bill and guided it through the Senate.

Aaron Raby, a crane operator from Los Angeles, had paid $30,000 for the safari, including the right to shoot an elephant. He also paid $10,000 to have the animal's head, including its tusks, stuffed and mounted as a trophy for his wall at home. Raby is furious about the actions of politicians in his state, who want to ban him from importing the elephant's head: "I don't understand why they're interfering in my business. I didn't break any existing laws — everything was completely legal. They only passed this hunting trophy law because they're all crybabies who are against hunting.“

Recreational hunter boasted about hunting videos on social media

Peta had obtained the hunting video featuring Raby and shared it with the public. It shows a young elephant walking through what is known as the "death zone" in Kruger National Park — an area where big game may be shot. Raby fires his rifle at the elephant's head, after which the animal falls to its knees. The hobby hunter then moves closer and fires at least four more times at the animal's head. The bull elephant breathes heavily and repeatedly attempts in vain to stand up. How long the death struggle lasted is not known, according to the Berliner Kurier.

Before setting his social media account to private following a wave of online backlash, Raby had boasted about his hunting adventures in North America, Africa, Europe, and Russia. His page was filled with slaughtered wildlife. The elephant was the last of the "Big 5" that Raby had killed, following a lion, a rhinoceros, a buffalo, and a leopard. Raby defends his bloody passion: «We pay a lot of money for this, which benefits the local residents. Elephants also regularly destroy crops, and lions kill livestock. What we do is good for everyone!“

There is no evidence that trophy hunting provides these benefits, and even if it did, it raises the question of whether killing and dismembering such creatures justifies these goals. Moreover, corruption in many countries and regions often makes it impossible to know where the money goes, to whom, and how the hunts are regulated.

An even greater problem, said Chelsea Batavia, a conservation biologist at Oregon State University, is ethics.

«We know that these animals are intelligent, have emotional capacities, and lead complex social lives», she said. Even if proponents could demonstrate that trophy hunting benefits conservation, she added: «Do the ends justify the means?«

The debate must be seen in the context of colonialism, in which European traditions were and continue to be imposed on Africans. What is needed, she said, are alternative conservation measures that are not handed down from above or from outside, but are supported and embraced by local communities.

Should Governor Gavin Newsom sign the bill, Raby says he will leave the state immediately: «They simply have no idea about animals and hunting. Instead, we're portrayed as bloodthirsty monsters and attacked online and in person. I've genuinely had enough!“