Delta Air Lines banned shipments of lion, leopard, elephant, rhinoceros and buffalo trophies on its aircraft on Monday amid international outrage over the killing of Zimbabwe's most famous lion by a American hunter.
The No. 2 U.S. passenger carrier is the only American airline to fly directly between the United States and Johannesburg.
Delta said in a statement the ban was effective immediately.
A roiling debate over species conservation has followed the killing in Zimbabwe of 13-year-old Cecil the lion by Minneapolis dentist and trophy hunter Walter Palmer, as well as a second lion killing by an American dentist, Jan Seski of Pittsburgh.
Authorities in Zimbabwe have launched investigations into both killings.
Palmer said he killed the lion in a hunt he believed was legal. Seski has made no public statement.
Before Delta's ban, the airline's policy required "absolute compliance with all government regulations regarding protected species," it said.
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