Donald Trump has agreed to allow legally hunted elephant trophies to be imported to the United States from two African countries.

President Trump’s administration has reversed a Barack Obama-era ban on the remains of elephants killed in Zimbabwe and Zambia entering the US, arguing it can actually boost conservation efforts.

The US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) determined that “the hunting and management programs for African elephants will enhance the survival of the species in the wild”.

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

African elephants are listed as threatened under the US Endangered Species Act with their population declining by 111,000 in the last decade due in large part to poaching, the WWF says.