The Trump administration is set to allow the importation of body parts from African elephants shot for sport, contending that encouraging wealthy big-game hunters to kill them will aid the vulnerable species.

Key points: The change marks a shift in policy from a 2014 ban imposed by the Obama administration

The change marks a shift in policy from a 2014 ban imposed by the Obama administration It applies to the remains of African elephants killed between January 2016 and December 2018

It applies to the remains of African elephants killed between January 2016 and December 2018 The number of African elephants has shrunk from about 5 million a century ago to about 400,000 remaining

The US Fish and Wildlife Service said in a written notice that permitting elephants from Zimbabwe and Zambia to be brought back as trophies will raise money for conservation programs.

The change marks a shift in efforts to stop the importation of elephant tusks and hides, overriding a 2014 ban imposed by the Obama administration. The new policy applies to the remains of African elephants killed between January 2016 and December 2018.

"Legal, well-regulated sport hunting as part of a sound management program can benefit certain species by providing incentives to local communities to conserve those species and by putting much-needed revenue back into conservation," the agency said in a statement.

But White House spokesperson Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the decision had not yet been finalised.

"There hasn't been an announcement that's been finalised on this front … until that's done I wouldn't consider anything final," she told reporters when asked about the policy shift.

The move was quickly praised by groups that champion big-game trophy hunting, including Safari Club International and the lobbying arm of the National Rifle Association. The two groups had sued to challenge the ban in court.

"By lifting the import ban on elephant trophies in Zimbabwe and Zambia, the Trump administration underscored, once again, the importance of sound scientific wildlife management and regulated hunting to the survival and enhancement of game species in this country and worldwide," said Chris Cox, executive director of the National Rifle Association's Institute for Legislative Action.

"This is a significant step forward in having hunting receive the recognition it deserves as a tool of sound wildlife management, which had been all but buried in the previous administration."

But conservation groups blasted the move as further imperilling an already endangered species.

"I'm shocked and outraged," said Elly Pepper, a deputy director of the National Resources Defence Counsel.

"I expect nothing less from our President, and if he thinks this is going to go down without a fight, he's wrong."

The group, which does not oppose all hunting, is considering bringing legal action to block the policy change, Ms Pepper said.

African elephant classified as threatened

President Donald Trump's two adult sons are avid trophy hunters.

A photo of Donald Trump Jr holding a knife and the bloody severed tail of an elephant he reportedly killed in Zimbabwe in 2011 sparked outrage among animal rights activists.

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Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, who oversees the Fish and Wildlife Service, recently installed the arcade game "Big Buck Hunter Pro" in the employee cafeteria at the agency's Washington headquarters, a move he said would promote wildlife and habitat conservation.

In June, the department removed longstanding protections for grizzly bears near Yellowstone National Park, a step to potentially allow them to be hunted.

The world's largest land mammal, the African elephant has been classified as threatened under the US Endangered Species Act since 1979.

Illicit demand for elephant ivory has led to devastating losses from illegal poaching as the natural habitat available for the animals to roam has also dwindled by more than half.

As a result, the number of African elephants has shrunk from about 5 million a century ago to about 400,000 remaining. That number continues to decline each year.

According to the United Nations, as many as 100,000 African elephants were killed between 2010 and 2012. For forest elephants, the population declined by an estimated 62 per cent between 2002 and 2011.

AP