https://www.timesunion.com/opi...hunting-12625256.php


New York should stop enabling Big 5 trophy hunting


By Priscilla Feral, Commentary Published 6:05 pm, Monday, February 19, 2018






The biggest take away from U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's decision at the end of 2017 to lift a ban on lion and elephant trophies imported from Zimbabwe and Zambia, and President Donald Trump's subsequent meaningless tweet, is that we cannot rely on fluid federal law to make sure Africa's Big 5 do not go extinct.

In fact, when it comes to trophy hunting of lions, elephants, leopards and black and white rhinos, federal law is not protective at all.

On Dec. 21, 2015, the Fish and Wildlife Service listed two lion subspecies as endangered and threatened under the Endangered Species Act. But overall the listing continued to promote trophy hunting because it allows for the importation of the body parts of the sport-hunted threatened lion species.

Additionally, while the July 6, 2016 near-total ban on commercial trade in African elephant ivory that went into effect in the U.S. looks good on paper, it still allows for two sport-hunted elephant trophies per hunter per year.

The African elephant population has plummeted by 30 percent in seven years, with just 350,000 left in the world where once there were millions. The lion population has dwindled by 42 percent, with just about 20,000 still roaming this earth.

That's why it is crucial that 2018 be the year New York passes Save Africa's Big Five, legislation drafted by Friends of Animals and cosponsored by Sen. Tony Avella, D-Queens, and Assemblyman Luis Sepulveda, D-Bronx, which would ban the importation, possession, sale or transportation in New York of the trophies of the African elephant, lion, leopard, and black and white rhinos.

New York, one of 18 U.S. designated ports of entry for animal trophies, is the busiest. From 2005 to 2014, 159,144 animals were imported as trophies — including 1,541 African lions; 1,130 African elephants and 83 pairs of tusks; 1,169 African leopards, and 110 African white rhinos and three pairs of horns.

Trophy hunters claim that without their money, African governments would have no money for conservation. Safari Club International states revenues from hunting generate $200 million annually in remote areas of Africa. Yet hunting interests neglect to admit that most of the money goes to trophy hunting operators/outfitters and government agencies, many of which are corrupt. A 2013 study reveals that a measly 3 percent of expenditures actually goes back to the local African communities for conservation.


Without the involvement of local people in conservation, it is impossible to reduce poaching, reduce human-animal conflict or to reduce agricultural encroachment on wildlife habitat.

So if the reason for trophy hunting is "conservation," but it is not contributing to conservation, it's time for New York to stop supporting a useless, grave industry.

Priscilla Feral is president of Friends of Animals, which was incorporated in New York in 1957. http://www.friendsofanimals.org

There we go again!

The bloody clueless, brainless idiots are having a go at hunting.

Imagine what can be achieved if they put their efforts into stopping poaching??!!

Don’t hold your breath, though!

Someone ought to tell the fidiot woman that there has been a "near-total ban on commercial trade in African elephant ivory" and incidentally all other elephant products since the 1980s not since "July 6, 2016"

FFS. The ignorance of the gutter press knows no bounds!

Talk about an agenda! Maybe we could give New York back to the British at the same time we give California back to Mexico.6

Welcome back, Steve. Haven't seen your posts in a while. Hope everything is going well in Portugal.

quote:

Originally posted by ijl:
Talk about an agenda! Maybe we could give New York back to the British at the same time we give California back to Mexico.6

Stuff that...... We don't want it! lol!

quote:

Originally posted by Dutch44:
Welcome back, Steve. Haven't seen your posts in a while. Hope everything is going well in Portugal.

We got hit by the firestorm in a massive way last year & have been playing catch up ever since but are getting there......... Other than that, retirement in Portugal is wonderful thanks.

https://www.google.pt/search?q...igB&biw=1366&bih=654