Canada’s national airline will no longer transport big game sport trophies world-wide as freight.
Air Canada said Tuesday the ban–effective immediately–applies to lions, leopards, elephants, rhinoceros and water buffaloes.
Historically, such shipments have been extremely rare because Air Canada does not operate flights to Africa.
The Air Canada ban will also apply to polar bears, but the company says it will continue to transport some Canadian animal trophies, such as elk, deer, black bears or grizzly bears, animals most likely to be legally hunted in Canada.
The trophy hunting of exotic animals has drawn world-wide attention recently following the shooting of Cecil the lion in Zimbabwe last month by American dentist Walter James Palmer.
Zimbabwean authorities have said they will seek the Dr. Palmer’s extradition, alleging he shot the lion with a bow and arrow illegally.
Air Canada joins at least a half dozen other airlines that have banned the transportation of big-game trophies in the past two weeks, including Air France, Delta, United, American Airlines and Qantas.
Other airlines, including Emirates, Lufthansa and British Airways, brought in a similar ban in April.
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