"Put big game trophy decision on hold until such time as I review all conservation facts," President Donald Trump tweeted Friday night. | Jose Castanares/AFP/Getty Images Trump reverses hunting trophy decision, says he will review

President Donald Trump on Friday reversed his own administration's decision to allow hunters to import elephant hunting trophies from two African countries, saying he will perform a review before making changes.

Earlier this week, the Fish and Wildlife Service announced it would allow imports of wildlife trophies, including elephants, from Zimbabwe and Zambia. The move sparked immediate outcry from conservation groups and even some of President Trump's most staunch supporters.


"Put big game trophy decision on hold until such time as I review all conservation facts," Trump tweeted Friday night. "Under study for years. Will update soon with Secretary Zinke. Thank you!"

After Trump's tweet, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke released a statement confirming the decision.

"President Trump and I have talked and both believe that conservation and healthy herds are critical. As a result, in a manner compliant with all applicable laws, rules, and regulations, the issuing of permits is being put on hold as the decision is being reversed," the statement from Zinke reads.

Early Saturday, Trump retweeted prominent media figures who'd expressed their support for the policy reversal.

The original announcement made late Wednesday at the African Wildlife Consultative Forum in Tanzania received immediate backlash from conservationists and wildlife supporters, including groups like the Natural Resources Defense Council and Conservation International.

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Fox News host Laura Ingraham, a vocal supporter of the president, also tweeted her opposition to the measure. "I don't understand how this move by @realDonaldTrump Admin will not INCREASE the gruesome poaching of elephants. Stay tuned," Ingraham tweeted Thursday.

The National Rifle Association’s Institute for Legislative Action had applauded the move.

The decision, pending further review, would have reversed an Obama-era 2014 decision to ban all imports of elephant trophies from Zimbabwe and Zambia.

Put big game trophy decision on hold until such time as I review all conservation facts. Under study for years. Will update soon with Secretary Zinke. Thank you! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 18, 2017





Environmental groups applauded Trump's decision to review the policy change.

"It's great that public outrage has forced Trump to reconsider this despicable decision, but it takes more than a tweet to stop trophy hunters from slaughtering elephants and lions," said Tanya Sanerib, senior attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity, in response to Trump's apparent change of heart. "We need immediate federal action to reverse these policies and protect these amazing animals."

A spokesperson for the Center for Biological Diversity also noted that the Fish and Wildlife Service already began issuing permits to import trophies from lion hunting. That began over a month ago, according to ABC News.

During a press briefing Friday, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the decision to reverse the ban came after a review that showed the original criteria for establishing it — insufficient data from Zimbabwe and Zambia on whether or not they were effectively managing wildlife — indicated that “both Zambia and Zimbabwe had met new standards, strict international conservation standards that allowed Americans to resume hunting in those countries.”

Sanders added that “a ban on importing elephant ivory from all countries remains in place,” emphasizing that the process of the review of the ban’s criteria started under the Obama administration, which Trump also noted in his tweet.

The White House did not immediately reply to a request for comment.