WASHINGTON (AP) — Photos and video taken by an animal welfare activists at a recent trophy hunting convention show an array of products crafted from the body parts of threatened big-game animals, including boots, chaps, belts and furniture labeled as elephant leather.
Vendors at the Safari Club International event held last week in Reno, Nevada, were also recorded hawking African vacations to shoot captive-bred lions raised in pens. The club has previously said it wouldn’t allow the sale of so-called canned hunts.
The hidden camera footage was released Friday by the Humane Society of the United States. Both federal and state laws restrict the commercial sale of hides from African elephants, which are protected under the Endangered Species Act.
A Safari Club spokeswoman did not respond to messages seeking comment.
