SCI Moves Feds Forward on Elephant Imports From Zimbabwe: USFWS Revises Decision and WILL Allow Retroactive 2014 Imports

Safari Club International (SCI) is encouraged by the United States Fish and Wildlife (USFWS) decision today to revise the April 4, 2014, finding that suspended imports of elephants from Zimbabwe and Tanzania for 2014. Under the revision elephant trophies legally taken from Zimbabwe from January 1, 2014 until April 4, 2014 will be allowed to be imported. The hunter will just need to be able to demonstrate to USFWS Office of Law Enforcement that the hunt occurred before that date in order to import the trophy.

SCI is hopeful that this revision is just the first step in a process of rescinding of the suspension of elephant trophy imports from Zimbabwe and Tanzania. This haphazard decision to suspend imports based on “anecdotal evidence” will have a profound negative impact on elephant conservation. The Director of CAMPFIRE Association of Zimbabwe and noted conservationist, Charles Jonga, has stated that this suspension “poses an unprecedented threat to all future conservation efforts of the African Elephant in rural areas of Zimbabwe”.

SCI continues to request that USFWS completely lift the suspension before the millions of dollars hunters invest in conservation in Africa completely dry up, and as a result exponentially increases poaching in the process due to loss of critical enforcement in the field

Great 1st step!

OK - tried to educate myself... it turns out these muppets report into Sally Jewell, the Secretary of the Interior (ex CEO of REI)

Question is: is there an angle to get her to see the business aspect for African communities, and over-rule de facto greenie thinking?

no. REI is as green as it gets. if you doubt it, go into an REI store and mention you are buying gear for a hunting safari. i did just that when shopping for equipment for my Cameroon DYI hunt. you would have thought i had leprosy or TB. and this store is in the CA central valley-a bastion of conservatism in a sea of fruits, nuts and flakes....

Have coffee coming out my nose, and onto keyboard... thanks!

quote:

Originally posted by jdollar:
no. REI is as green as it gets. if you doubt it, go into an REI store and mention you are buying gear for a hunting safari. i did just that when shopping for equipment for my Cameroon DYI hunt. you would have thought i had leprosy or TB. and this store is in the CA central valley-a bastion of conservatism in a sea of fruits, nuts and flakes....

I've been to that store. I'll need to remember to mention to them that
we need to hunt buffalo to save the buffalo.
Hunting an animal in order to save its species is one of life's ironies, like burning forest areas to save a forest.
Tourist elephant hunting is the most practical method to preserve sustainable wildlife habitat for elephants and friends!
Sustainable, regulated hunting also aids the battle against poaching. . . .
Forbidding elephant hunting will doom the elephant and its habitat and all the wildlife therein.

We've got to get these into one-liner soundbites for people to smell the coffee.