THE PF government intends to legalise elephant hunting and sale of ivory, a senior government official has revealed. President Donald Trump last week lifted the ban on imports of elephant trophies from Zambia and Zimbabwe.

He has, however, put on hold his decision to lift the ban on ivory trade following protests from animal rights groups and even some conservatives after the administration decided to reverse an Obama-era rule barring such imports. President Trump and Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke on Friday night announced that the administration’s reversal of a ban on importation of elephant hunt trophies from Zimbabwe and Zambia has been put on hold until further review.

President Trump tweeted first, saying the ban would continue “until such time as I review all conservation facts”.

Hours later, Zinke elaborated: “President Trump and I have talked and both believe that conservation and healthy herds are critical,” he said in a statement. “As a result, in a manner compliant with all applicable laws, rules, and regulations, the issuing of permits is put on hold as the decision is being reviewed.”

But a senior wildlife officer, who sought anonymity, said the PF governments wanted to raise funds from ivory trade against conservation groups’ concern that this would lead to a rise in indiscriminate elephant poaching.

“We have information that the PF government wants to legalise the trade in ivory as proposed by President Trump who intends to allow ivory from our endangered elephants to be imported to the US, reversing a ban introduced by Barack Obama,” the government official said.

But when contacted, tourism minister Charles Banda said the decision was yet to tabled by Cabinet.

“It is still a cabinet issue, it will be tabled in the next cabinet meeting, so it’s pre-mature for me to be discussing this. It is a matter of cabinet,” Banda said.

However, Livingstone Tourism Association (LTA) chairperson Alexander Muthali has supported ivory trade “as long as it is done to keep the numbers of the elephants in check”.

Muthali said Zambia should analyse President Trump’s suggestion and see if it would add value to the country. He said the same should be done to lions so that Zambia can keep manageable numbers.

“My personal opinion is that we need to sell ivory so that we can raise funds for conservation purposes,” said Muthali.