http://thehill.com/opinion/ene...ition-to-horror-show



Zinke blatantly disregards Trump’s opposition to ‘horror show’ elephant trophy hunting


BY TANYA SANERIB, OPINION CONTRIBUTOR — 06/17/18 01:00 PM EDT 89 THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY CONTRIBUTORS ARE THEIR OWN AND NOT THE VIEW OF THE HILL


Zinke blatantly disregards Trump’s opposition to ‘horror show’ elephant trophy hunting

Does President Trump actually run the Trump administration? It’s hard not to wonder given the growing gap between the president’s strong words on an issue he seems to care about — the trophy hunting of elephants — and the actual policies implemented by officials supposedly working for him.

On June 19, Atlanta will play host to the second meeting of the administration’s so-called International Wildlife Conservation Council.


This federal council was created by Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke — himself a trophy hunter — specifically to advise on the “removal of barriers” to importing trophies from gunned-down wildlife in Africa and elsewhere, as the council’s charter makes clear.


On Twitter, Trump has blasted trophy hunting as a “horror show.” It’s virtually the only conservation or humane issue that seems to register with him.

Yet, Zinke’s council is composed almost entirely of hunting guides, “celebrity hunters,” and people affiliated with pro-trophy hunting organizations, gunmakers and the National Rifle Association. Fifteen of the council’s 16 members have trophy hunting or gun ties.

That’s all too consistent with Zinke’s track record. Last November, the Interior secretary handed American trophy hunters a huge victory by reversing an Obama administration ban on importing elephant trophies from Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe’s elephant population continues to decline as a result of poaching, and the Obama-era ban came in part because of a lack of evidence that trophy hunting was contributing to conservation.

But the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which Zinke oversees, certified Zimbabwe as being well-positioned to protect its elephant population — even as a coup d’état roiled that nation’s government and tanks rumbled in the streets.

Zinke’s reckless decision provoked a fierce backlash from millions of Americans — including prominent Trump supporters like Michael Savage and Laura Ingraham.

Then the president himself joined the counter-attack, blasting his own government’s new policy and calling trophy hunting “terrible.” “I didn’t want elephants killed and stuffed and have the tusks brought back into this [country],” Trump remarked.

Zinke seemed to back down quickly, announcing that the issuing of new trophy imports was on hold.

But not long after, the Fish and Wildlife Service quietly decided to begin approving elephant and lion trophy imports on a case-by-case basis.

Botswana’s President Ian Khama quickly blasted America’s case-by-case importing approach, saying it will encourage elephant poaching. That’s devastating, since the Great Elephant Census recently documented that poaching claimed the lives of 140,000 elephants over seven years.

But Fish and Wildlife simply hunkered down and went dark, refusing to even reveal crucial information about the process, including how many import permits have been issued for which imperiled animals.

Meanwhile, Zinke’s new pro-trophy hunting committee has rolled merrily forward, in complete disregard of the president’s stated abhorrence of trophy hunting.

The Federal Register notice for the council’s Atlanta meeting gives only the barest hints of what will be on the agenda — something about ports of entry for imported trophies — but we should expect the worst from a body stuffed with people who profit from gunning down Africa’s besieged wildlife.

The president needs to wake up and smell the bloodsport. If Trump really wants to stop the slaughter of elephants and lions for trophies, he should shut down this biased thrill-kill council.

The bottom line is that presidential tweets aren’t enough. Africa’s imperiled elephants need American leadership who acts to protect them — not empty words and a bullet to the head.

Tanya Sanerib is legal director of the Center for Biological Diversity’s international program.

Well that was certainly well-balanced reporting... one minute she's beating Zincke up for going against Trump's wishes to halt all elephant hunting, then berating him for not allowing imports from Botswana according to their President(who shut down elephant hunting and created a poaching shitshow). If she only had a clue...

Boy....she sure loves the word "trophy" as some sort of disparaging addition to her claim.

Same old crap. Blaming hunters for the acts of poachers.
No comment on Trump's opinion.

MORE

quote:

gunned-down wildlife

Come on Tanya, tell us how you really feel!

Tanya Sanerib has just proven her utter stupidity!

And she is the legal director??

She must have have had a brain transplant from a cockroach!

Do you all realize that we can leave comments about her opinion?

“Wouldn't it be easier to just kill the trophy hunters?”


The above is one of the comments posted there.

http://www.biologicaldiversity...nting-06-18-2018.php



Media Advisory, June 18, 2018

Contact: Tanya Sanerib, (206) 379-7363, tsanerib@biologicaldiversity.org

After Trump Blasts Elephant Killing, Biased Trophy-hunting Panel to Meet in Atlanta

ATLANTA— The national controversy over trophy hunting for elephants and lions comes to Atlanta on Tuesday with the second meeting of a new federal wildlife advisory committee that the Trump administration stacked with trophy hunters and gun-industry representatives.

A representative of the Center for Biological Diversity, a national environmental group that opposes wildlife trophy hunting of imperiled species, will attend the meeting.

The Trump administration’s so-called International Wildlife Conservation Council is composed almost entirely of hunters and people affiliated with the National Rifle Association. Fifteen of the council’s 16 members have ties to trophy hunting or guns.

On Twitter Trump has blasted trophy hunting as a “horror show.” Yet the council was created by Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke specifically to advise the Trump administration on the “removal of barriers” to trophy imports, documents show.

“This panel was stacked with trophy hunters in defiance of Trump’s elephant-killing concerns, and we can’t trust these foxes to guard the henhouse,” said Tanya Sanerib, international program legal director at the Center. “To give elephants a shot at avoiding extinction, the president should shut down this biased thrill-kill council. We can’t leave wildlife import decisions in the hands of hunters with a vested interest in gunning down imperiled species.”

What: Meeting of the International Wildlife Conservation Council, a federal panel advising the Trump administration on the “removal of barriers” to wildlife trophy imports.

When: Tuesday, June 19, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Where: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Southeast Region Headquarters Building, 1875 Century Boulevard NE, Atlanta.

Who: A representative of the Center for Biological Diversity will attend to offer comment.

Background
In November 2017 Zinke formally reversed an Obama administration ban on importing elephant trophies from Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe’s elephant population continues to decline as a result of poaching, and the Obama-era ban came in part because of a lack of evidence that trophy hunting was contributing to conservation.

Zinke’s U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently decided to begin approving trophy imports on a case-by-case basis. Botswana’s President Ian Khama criticized America’s case-by-case importing approach, saying it will encourage elephant poaching. The Great Elephant Census recently documented that poaching claimed the lives of 140,000 elephants over seven years.

The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 1.6 million members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.

Enough is enough! Pro hunting organizations need to shut this anti trophy hunting movement down. They got nothing to back up all of their
Little hysterical claims, they just spew constant bull crap.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Kathi:
http://www.biologicaldiversity...nting-06-18-2018.php



Media Advisory, June 18, 2018

We can’t leave wildlife import decisions in the hands of hunters with a vested interest in gunning down imperiled species.”

Zimbabwe’s elephant population continues to decline as a result of poaching, and the Obama-era ban came in part because of a lack of evidence that trophy hunting was contributing to conservation.

The Great Elephant Census recently documented that poaching claimed the lives of 140,000 elephants over seven years.

I left a response to her opinion piece.

quote:

Originally posted by larryshores:
I left a response to her opinion piece.

Your response was about the only one with any substance.

There are some real foaming at the mouth jack asses making responses. Absolutely clueless people.

quote:

Originally posted by larryshores:
There are some real foaming at the mouth jack asses making responses. Absolutely clueless people.

Usual reaction from these stupid, clueless idiots on an Internet forum.

I have never lost an argument with any of these nut cases face to face.

Words of wisdom from GF.

When problems arise, you will usually find two types of people: whiners and winners. Whiners obstruct progress; they spend hours complaining about this point or that, without offering positive solutions. Winners acknowledge the existence of the problem, but they try to offer practical ideas that can help resolve the matter in a manner that is satisfactory to both parties.
George Foreman

Go Ryan Zinke

One thing we can do, esp on FB: look that person up on LinkedIn, find out what company he/she works for, and then tweet the comment, noting that it is hate speech. Write the company a letter.

A BofA exec in India was fired recently for hate speech.