http://www.9news.com/article/n...lephant/73-545910304


Evergreen man fined for killing vulnerable African elephant


An Evergreen man reportedly killed a vulnerable African elephant and then tried to take its ivory to South Africa. In a plea agreement, he's agreed to pay a fine and return the ivory.

Author: Jacob Rodriguez
Published: 10:02 PM MDT April 25, 2018
Updated: 11:06 PM MDT April 25, 2018


Paul Ross Jackson, 63, of Evergreen, will pay $25,000 for violating the Endangered Species Act for shooting and killing an African elephant inside the Gonarezhou National Park in Zimbabwe in 2015, according to the Department of Justice.

Jackson worked with a South African-based professional hunter, someone in New York who helped make the hunt happen, and several Zimbabwe-based hunting businesses when he tried to get the elephant's corpse transported to South Africa so he could sell 26-27 kilograms of ivory tusk, the Department of Justice Said.


The government of Zimbabwe blocked Jackson's first attempt to get it out of their country on the grounds that he lived in Colorado and not South Africa, so he tried to get documentation to make it look like he lived in South Africa, the DOJ said.

According to a plea agreement, Jackson agreed not to hunt anything threatened or endangered anywhere in the world for the next four years. He's also agreed to work with the U.S. Wildlife Conservation Commission to try and get the ivory back to the government of Zimbabwe.

U.S. Attorney Bob Troyer said in a news release that when hunters violate the laws of foreign countries just for an unethical trophy, they don't just undermine conservation efforts, they break the law.

https://www.justice.gov/usao-c...-species-act-related


Department of Justice
U.S. Attorney’s Office
District of Colorado
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, April 25, 2018



EVERGREEN MAN PLEADS GUILTY AND IS SENTENCED FOR VIOLATION OF ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT RELATED TO AFRICAN ELEPHANT HUNT
Defendant Killed an African Elephant inside Zimbabwe’s Gonarezhou National Park and then Made Efforts to Export it to South Africa


DENVER – Paul Ross Jackson, age 63, of Evergreen, Colorado, pleaded guilty on April 24, 2018, to violating the Endangered Species Act announced U.S. Attorney Bob Troyer and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Office of Law Enforcement (FWS-OLE) Special Agent in Charge Steve Oberholtzer. The defendant was also immediately sentenced to pay the maximum fine of $25,000 by U.S. Magistrate Judge Scott T. Varholak.

According to court documents, including the stipulated facts contained in the defendant’s plea agreement, the defendant violated Zimbabwe’s Parks and Wild Life Act when he shot and killed an African Elephant inside Gonarezhou National Park in the spring of 2015. The defendant, working with a South-Africa based professional hunter, a New-York based export facilitator, and several Zimbabwe-based hunting businesses, gave instructions to have the elephant exported to South Africa, where he hoped to sell in foreign commerce 26 and 27 kilogram ivory tusks. When the government of Zimbabwe initially blocked the defendant’s effort to export the elephant to South Africa, on the ground that the defendant lived in Colorado and not South Africa, the defendant worked with others to try to obtain documentation that he was a resident of South Africa.

In a plea agreement, the defendant agreed to a four-year worldwide hunting ban that prohibits the hunting of any species designated as threatened or endangered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The defendant also agreed to work with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to return the ill-gotten ivory to the government of Zimbabwe.

“When American hunters violate the laws of foreign countries in the unethical pursuit of trophies, they don’t just undermine the conservation efforts that make hunting possible. They break the law,” said U.S. Attorney Bob Troyer. “Our prosecutors, working closely with Fish and Wildlife agents stationed around the globe, are committed to holding poachers accountable so that elephants and other threatened and endangered species can be appreciated by future generations.”

“The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is committed to protecting imperiled species around the globe from poaching and trafficking,” said Steve Oberholzer, the Special Agent in Charge of the Mountain-Prairie Region. “When a U.S. citizen unlawfully kills a protected species in another country or attempts to smuggle wildlife products, we work with that nation under our federal statutory authorities to investigate the incident and bring that person to justice. These cooperative law enforcement efforts strengthen and protect America’s borders while ensuring the conservation of cherished wildlife species."

The case was investigated by FWS-OLE.

The defendant is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Bryan D. Fields and Suneeta Hazra.

####

Won't take long to stretch this case and ban US hunters from shooting any elephants.

I am very surprised at how low the fine is.

Something here does not sound right at all.

Who were the Zimbabwe based hunting businesses advising mentioned in the article?

Not 100% sure how the actual laws work, but I heard (maybe this is BS) that a hunter can be found guilt by the USFWS of breaking game laws in another country.

Is this a thing?

quote:

Originally posted by Big Wonderful Wyoming:
Not 100% sure how the actual laws work, but I heard (maybe this is BS) that a hunter can be found guilt by the USFWS of breaking game laws in another country.

When the hunter enlisted the aid of the New York export facilitator that made the U.S. a situs of the criminal activity and therefore subject to prosecution in the U.S. Also, if the species in question has status under the U.S. Endangered Species act then the U.S. authorities have standing to prosecute -- just as they have standing to prosecute someone in, say, Germany for attempting to transport prohibited items to North Korea in violation of sanctions.

I've never heard of the U.S. attempting to prosecute someone for a simple violation of a foreign country's hunting regulations unless it also involved either the Endangered Species act or an attempt to transport illegally obtained trophies into the U.S.

quote:

Originally posted by Big Wonderful Wyoming:
Not 100% sure how the actual laws work, but I heard (maybe this is BS) that a hunter can be found guilt by the USFWS of breaking game laws in another country.

Is this a thing?

I thought that US hunters who violated game laws in other countries could be prosecuted under the Lacey Act.

quote:

Originally posted by Fjold:

quote:

Originally posted by Big Wonderful Wyoming:
Not 100% sure how the actual laws work, but I heard (maybe this is BS) that a hunter can be found guilt by the USFWS of breaking game laws in another country.

Is this a thing?

I thought that US hunters who violated game laws in other countries could be prosecuted under the Lacey Act.

Correct.

However, historic precedent is that it is not done unless import is attempted.

That may change.

An American citizen can be charged in the U.S. under the Lacey Act for a violation committed in a foreign country, but I believe the standards for conviction are higher than for a domestic violation. As Doctor Easter pointed out, attempt to import is usually involved. A friend of mine was harassed by the U.S. Attorneys' office for over a year for an alleged violation that he never committed. It sounds like this case involved a great deal of stupidity, glad that he was brought to justice, but I agree with Saeed that the punishment seems a bit light. Perhaps there might be a statutory limit on the fine?

Oops, I just re-read the article, and it says that the maximum fine is $25k.

quote:

Evergreen man fined for killing vulnerable African elephant

I just hate this sensationalized headline, it is a lie!

NO CRIME was committed in the killing of this elephant. The crime was in trying to import the parts!

It is misleading and wrong! This is a large problem with what is wrong with our news today.

THis is an intentional and subtle method to criminalize the killing rather than what the true crime actually is.

It’s not a crime to kill it inside the park?? Think again or better yet, read the report more closely. This asshole is a poacher who tried to export tusks to RSA and sell them there.

Was the elephant import ban in effect then? If so, was he trying to import Zim. elephant saying it was taken in SA?

quote:

Originally posted by JTEX:

quote:

Evergreen man fined for killing vulnerable African elephant

I just hate this sensationalized headline, it is a lie!

NO CRIME was committed in the killing of this elephant. The crime was in trying to import the parts!

It is misleading and wrong! This is a large problem with what is wrong with our news today.

THis is an intentional and subtle method to criminalize the killing rather than what the true crime actually is.

Per the DOJ, not some "news" agency:

According to court documents, including the stipulated facts contained in the defendant’s plea agreement, the defendant violated Zimbabwe’s Parks and Wild Life Act when he shot and killed an African Elephant inside Gonarezhou National Park in the spring of 2015.

I'd like to know the names of the RSA PH and the Zim companies.

Not everything posted on AR is "Fake News"!

quote:

Originally posted by Bwana1:
Was the elephant import ban in effect then? If so, was he trying to import Zim. elephant saying it was taken in SA?

The import ban is irrelevant. Per his own stipulated agreement in court docs, he poached the elephant in a park, attempted to export it to RSA, and attempted to sell the tusks there. READ THE AGREED LEGAL STIPULATIONS ABOVE! It ain’t rocket science if you can read.No fake news here. Kathi’s post is directly from the DOJ.GOV WEBSITE!

I guess I can’t understand folks who do this kind of thing.

While I like my mounts, I don’t feel any need to play games there. Why hunt in a park and then try and play games with import?

Frankly, you will get caught.

Why ruin your life?

Wouldn't it be difficult to hunt in a park in Zimbabwe even if he wanted to? Why would someone try to sell his poached tusks in a foreign country and take a huge risk if he could afford to hunt elephant in the first place?

quote:

It’s not a crime to kill it inside the park?

Apologies folks. Missed that part......

.

quote:

Originally posted by shootaway:
Wouldn't it be difficult to hunt in a park in Zimbabwe even if he wanted to? Why would someone try to sell his poached tusks in a foreign country and take a huge risk if he could afford to hunt elephant in the first place?

Possibly a Nat Park sanctioned Ration bull?
A few extra $$ and he may have been offerd the tusks? Who knows??

Lesson Number 1: DO NOT, under any circumstances, hunt in Zimbabwe with a South African PH. That in and of itself is illegal and the PHs who practice it are dodgy. (The "Zimbabwean businesses" referred to may have been Zim PHs who were paid to come along and do nothing just to legitimise the hunt, but while the presence of a Zim PH as a front man may make the excursion technically legal, it is still a dodgy practice, and you won't find any ZPHGA or PHASA members involved, only crooks.)

Lesson Number 2: Hunting in Zimbabwe's national parks is illegal.

Jackson is lucky. If he had been convicted here, he would have gone to prison for 9 years.

quote:

I thought that US hunters who violated game laws in other countries could be prosecuted under the Lacey Act.

I'm no expert on this (and thankfully have no personal experience!). However, I believe that the Lacey Act is limited to prosecution across state lines within the U.S., not to prosecution for game law violations in other countries. It is the importation or attempt to import illegal game or trophies which triggers the violation of U.S. law and therefore falls under the purview of U.S. prosecutors. Of course, the U.S. can always extradite a person for prosecution in another country, but other countries rarely choose to go to that trouble and expense except for extraordinary violations.

http://dallas.culturemap.com/n...n-elephant-poaching/


Dallas Safari Club hastily scrubs VP guilty of killing elephant

By Teresa Gubbins
4.30.18 | 4:30 pm



Paul Ross Jackson, a former director of the Dallas Safari Club, pleaded guilty on April 24 to shooting and killing an African elephant, and will pay a $25,000 fine.

A resident of Colorado, Jackson violated the Endangered Species Act in 2015 when he shot and killed an elephant in Zimbabwe, inside the Gonarezhou National Park. Jackson worked with a professional hunter based in South Africa to poach the elephant, with the intent to sell his ivory tusks.

According to the Humane Society of the United States, once word leaked about Jackson's plea agreement, the Dallas Safari Club hastened to erase his name from their website.


On April 26, he was listed as a vice president. By April 27, he'd been downgraded to "director," and then his name disappeared altogether. Ross Johnson who? Never heard of the guy. Hum dee dum, hum dee dum.

The Department of Justice found that Jackson also fabricated documentation to make it look like he lived in South Africa, in order to bypass the laws in Zimbabwe.

In addititon to the $25,000 fine, Jackson has agreed to a four-year prohibition on the hunting of any species designated as threatened or endangered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS). He also has to return the tusks to the government of Zimbabwe.

And DSC should have removed him. He is a convicted poacher - a thief and nothing more.

You just have to love the headline.

It was 'vulnerable?' Maybe it was a mentally challenged elephant. Or had recently broken up with its significant other.

On my next safari, I will tell my PH: First off, make sure any elephant we consider shooting doesn't have a collar. AND FOR DAMN SURE don't let me shoot an ele that looks vulnerable in any way.

The South African PH's name is Carl Night and he was conducting this hunt through Nixon.

quote:

Originally posted by Kathi:
http://dallas.culturemap.com/n...n-elephant-poaching/


Dallas Safari Club hastily scrubs VP guilty of killing elephant

By Teresa Gubbins
4.30.18 | 4:30 pm



Paul Ross Jackson, a former director of the Dallas Safari Club, pleaded guilty on April 24 to shooting and killing an African elephant, and will pay a $25,000 fine.

A resident of Colorado, Jackson violated the Endangered Species Act in 2015 when he shot and killed an elephant in Zimbabwe, inside the Gonarezhou National Park. Jackson worked with a professional hunter based in South Africa to poach the elephant, with the intent to sell his ivory tusks.

According to the Humane Society of the United States, once word leaked about Jackson's plea agreement, the Dallas Safari Club hastened to erase his name from their website.


On April 26, he was listed as a vice president. By April 27, he'd been downgraded to "director," and then his name disappeared altogether. Ross Johnson who? Never heard of the guy. Hum dee dum, hum dee dum.

The Department of Justice found that Jackson also fabricated documentation to make it look like he lived in South Africa, in order to bypass the laws in Zimbabwe.

In addititon to the $25,000 fine, Jackson has agreed to a four-year prohibition on the hunting of any species designated as threatened or endangered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS). He also has to return the tusks to the government of Zimbabwe.

Do you blame them? Hell, I would want him gone as well.

quote:

Originally posted by cow-trader:
The South African PH's name is Carl Night and he was conducting this hunt through Nixon.

Wow!

quote:

Originally posted by larryshores:

quote:

Originally posted by Kathi:
http://dallas.culturemap.com/n...n-elephant-poaching/


Dallas Safari Club hastily scrubs VP guilty of killing elephant

By Teresa Gubbins
4.30.18 | 4:30 pm



Paul Ross Jackson, a former director of the Dallas Safari Club, pleaded guilty on April 24 to shooting and killing an African elephant, and will pay a $25,000 fine.

A resident of Colorado, Jackson violated the Endangered Species Act in 2015 when he shot and killed an elephant in Zimbabwe, inside the Gonarezhou National Park. Jackson worked with a professional hunter based in South Africa to poach the elephant, with the intent to sell his ivory tusks.

According to the Humane Society of the United States, once word leaked about Jackson's plea agreement, the Dallas Safari Club hastened to erase his name from their website.


On April 26, he was listed as a vice president. By April 27, he'd been downgraded to "director," and then his name disappeared altogether. Ross Johnson who? Never heard of the guy. Hum dee dum, hum dee dum.

The Department of Justice found that Jackson also fabricated documentation to make it look like he lived in South Africa, in order to bypass the laws in Zimbabwe.

In addititon to the $25,000 fine, Jackson has agreed to a four-year prohibition on the hunting of any species designated as threatened or endangered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS). He also has to return the tusks to the government of Zimbabwe.

Do you blame them? Hell, I would want him gone as well.

I think that it may have been more proper to release a public statement saying that because of the conviction he was removed from their membership. It would look more like were doing it to in support of ethical and legal hunting.

I agree.

Originally posted on April 28th and updated today.

http://dscnewscenter.org/2018/04/dsc-board-update/

quote:

Originally posted by DrScott:
Originally posted on April 28th and updated today.

http://dscnewscenter.org/2018/04/dsc-board-update/

quote:

Originally posted by DrScott:
Originally posted on April 28th and updated today.

http://dscnewscenter.org/2018/04/dsc-board-update/

Excellent