Black rhino hunter sues Delta Airlines for hunting trophy ban

Corey Knowlton, a big game hunter who paid $350,000 to kill a black rhino in Namibia, has sued Delta Airlines for refusing to transport his hunting trophy.

Delta Airlines was one of a long list of airlines who banned the transportation of big game hunting trophies in the wake of the Cecil the lion controversy—specifically, the ‘big five’ of lions, leopards, elephants, rhinoceroses and buffalo.

Like Walter Palmer, Cecil's hunter, Knowlton similarly received a storm of negative attention when the news broke that he had paid for the license to hunt the endangered rhino.

Knowlton’s lawsuit against Delta, made jointly with hunting clubs including Dallas and Houston Safari Clubs, claims that revenue from tourists' hunting in fact discourages poaching in Africa, and that Delta is obliged to abide by the strict system of global permits that allows the transport of hunting trophies.

(Source: Reuters)