The American Humane Society has launched a campaign to stamp out the sport hunting of elephants in Zimbabwe, even though the elephant population there has been growing for a long time now—precisely because the government's recognition of hunting rights has made the animals into economic assets. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) is leading an effort to cut off U.S. funds for Campfire, the program that allows partnerships between hunters, villagers, and wildlife officials.

But the local environment has in fact been suffering from an overpopulation of elephants, with herds growing at an annual rate of 5 percent. Noting the ever-accumulating piles of tusks from elephants as they die off, Zimbabwe's president Robert Mugabe has also denounced the world-wide ban on the ivory trade as "colonialist." Matusadona National Park warden Zephania Muketiwa also warns that elephant overpopulation threatens the survival of other wildlife in the region, including the endangered black rhino.

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