Delta bans shipment of hunting 'trophies'

NEW YORK -- Delta Air Lines had a major change of heart about shipping hunting trophies, announcing Monday afternoon it no longer would accept lion, leopard, elephant, rhinoceros and buffalo trophies.

As recently as May, the Atlanta-based airline had said it would continue to allow such shipments -- as long as they were legal. At the time, some international carriers prohibited such cargo.

The move comes after an American dentist killed a well-known lion named Cecil in Zimbabwe last month in an allegedly illegal hunt.

The dentist, Walter James Palmer, lives in Minnesota, a major hub for Delta.

Delta has the most flights of any U.S. airline to Africa. Several foreign airlines announced similar bans last week.

Delta would not answer questions about why the decision was made now and how many hunting trophies it has shipped in recent years. The company issued a 58-word statement noting before Monday's ban, "Delta's strict acceptance policy called for absolute compliance with all government regulations regarding protected species."

Henry Harteveldt, a travel industry consultant, noted the airline probably was responding to pressure after the news of Cecil's killing. The airline was the subject of a petition on change.org to ban such shipments.

"I don't think there was much of this shipment taking place, so there is minimal revenue loss and big PR gain for them," he said.