Kathi gets the credit for uncovering this. It just seems more newsworthy than being buried in SCI show thread given all the talk of DSC vs. SCI.


As of January 1, 2018, it is unlawful for any person within the state of Nevada to 'purchase, sell, offer for sale or possess with intent to sell any item that it, wholly, or partially, made of an animal part or byproduct derived from a shark fin, a lion of the species Panthera leo or any species of elephant, rhinoceros, tiger, leopard, cheetah, jaguar, pangolin, sea turtle, ray, mammoth, narwhal, walrus or hippopotamus.'

I realize that it probably doesn't effect more than 10 or so exhibitors but I wonder how much impact it would have on SCI ever moving out of Reno or Vegas.

Apparently an investigate reporter found several violations at the SCI convention which I am honestly suspect were out of ignorance but you would have though SCI would be aware of it and advise exhibitors.

Hippo teeth to start with

Stupid do-gooders. I would have expected that sort of thing from California or Massachusetts, but I would have expected more sensible behavior from Nevadans.

Problem is, is that Nevada is now run by almost 100% Democrats, from the Governor on down. Sad state of affairs on the law that was enacted, and I warned SCI, NRA, RMEF and others about it when it was being proposed and discussed in the legislature. We had fought it once before and defeated it. This time was different. The organizations named all waited until the very last minute to try and fight it and got few concessions on the bill that eventually passed. I knew the Democratic legislator that originally sponsored it and he told me that the bill and its origins were brought in from out of state people hoping to pass it as a poster child for other Western states. It has since also been enacted in Washington and other states as well, and in a more restrictive sense than the Nevada law. Nevada is being filled with Californians and other liberals escaping the shizz there, only to support the same damn issues when they get here. Hippo teeth? Forget that and focus on Mammoth! How can something that is 50 thousand years old and already extinct threaten anything, or affect anything living today that is also named in the law?! Total unadulterated B.S. And yes, there were, as an example, knife makers at the SCI show selling knives with mammoth tooth or mammoth tusk handles. I had literally warned the SCI organization about that very issue with their exhibitors when we were fighting the bill, so having exhibitors in perhaps violation of the law and having an investigative reporter report on it does not surprise me in the least.

Was it an initiative??

That’s how it happened in WA. A paid force of ignorant (literally, I met MANY of them outside the grocery stores) signature gatherers get the initiative on the ballot. The voters don’t really give a shit, they just read it for the first time when the ballot shows up, fill in the circle, and another asinine law goes into effect.

No, it was not an initiative. It was an outside source. I was told by Democratic legislator Moise Denis himself, that it was a woman who personally met with him and who offered up the exact bill to be passed. It failed the first go around as we fought it tooth and toenail, but it passed when it was brought up again when our legislature flipped to majority Democrat.

Good grief. That’s unreal.

quote:

any species of elephant, rhinoceros, tiger, leopard, cheetah, jaguar, pangolin, sea turtle, ray, mammoth,

At least it will protect the mammoths. ?????

Here is part of the Nevada law with the few specific exemptions noted:

NRS 597.905  Purchase or sale of or possession with intent to sell items made of part or byproduct of certain animals: Prohibition; exceptions; penalties.

1.  Except as otherwise provided in subsection 2, a person shall not purchase, sell, offer for sale or possess with intent to sell any item that is, wholly or partially, made of an animal part or byproduct derived from a shark fin, a lion of the species Panthera leo or any species of elephant, rhinoceros, tiger, leopard, cheetah, jaguar, pangolin, sea turtle, ray, mammoth, narwhal, walrus or hippopotamus.

2.  The provisions of subsection 1 do not apply to:

(a) Any activity undertaken by a law enforcement agency or officer pursuant to federal or state law.

(b) An antique that contains a de minimis quantity of an animal part or byproduct derived from any species listed in subsection 1, provided that the animal part or byproduct is a fixed component of the antique and the owner or seller of the antique establishes with documentation evidencing provenance of the antique that the antique is at least 100 years old.

(c) A musical instrument, including, without limitation, piano, string instrument and bow, wind instrument and percussion instrument, that contains a de minimis quantity of an animal part or byproduct derived from any species listed in subsection 1, provided that the owner or seller of the musical instrument:

(1) Possesses any certification or permit required by federal law for the sale of the musical instrument; and

(2) Establishes with documentation evidencing provenance that the musical instrument was legally acquired.

(d) A knife or firearm, or a component thereof, that contains an animal part or byproduct derived from any species listed in subsection 1 if:

(1) The animal part or byproduct:

(I) Is a fixed or integral part of the knife or firearm, or the component thereof; and

(II) Originated in or was legally imported to the United States; and

(2) The owner or seller of the knife or firearm, or the component thereof, establishes with documentation evidencing provenance that the knife or firearm, or the component thereof, was legally acquired; and

(3) All the requirements for the sale of the knife or firearm, or the component thereof, set forth in federal and state law are met.

(e) Sales authorized by the Department of Business and Industry to a bona fide scientific or educational institution of an item that contains an animal part or byproduct derived from any species listed in subsection 1, provided that the owner or seller of the item:

(1) Possesses any certification or permit required by federal law for the sale of the item; and

(2) Establishes with documentation evidencing provenance that the item was legally acquired.

(f) Any item that contains an animal part or byproduct derived from any species listed in subsection 1 for which the owner or seller has obtained any certification or permit required by federal law for the sale of the item or that is specifically authorized for sale by federal law, provided that all the requirements for the sale of the item set forth in federal or state law have been met.

(g) Any sport-hunted item that is legally obtained in accordance with federal law.

Items D, F and G are the concessions that were agreed to in order to supposedly protect the SCI convention exhibitors, as long as the exhibitors have the necessary documentation, (if any would be required by federal law-i.e. none that I know of to sell mammoth ivory or hippo ivory, etc.) required to back up the sale. At one point in the bill's presentation, they were also going to add Warthog ivory and/or 'other' ivory products (which could have been interpreted as elk ivories) as prohibitive as well. That fell out of the eventual law that passed. However, there is nothing to prohibit them from amending the law as time goes on to include such things as Warthog ivory, Giraffe bone,and/or 'other' ivory, etc.

UEG,

Thanks! I had been searching for the statute and couldn't find it and could only find references for the bill itself which is not always the statute.

The last exemption (g) is huge and I would suspect exempts most of the products at SCI conventions, if the Exhibitor has the paper work.

Can’t fix stupid for sure
Hell, many of them coming here and raising hell

Too close to California. Stupidity travels by diffusion, perhaps.

https://www.apnews.com/3bc8d67...4f25bc777af84e3a0643



Products made of threatened African wildlife sold at US expo

By MICHAEL BIESECKER and SCOTT SONNER
yesterday


This image provided by the Humane Society of the United States shows a painting on elephant hide for sale at the Safari Club International conference in Reno, Nev., on Jan. 9, 2019. Photos and video taken by animal welfare activists show an array of potentially illicit products crafted from the body parts of threatened big-game animals, including boots, chaps, belts and furniture labeled as elephant leather. The artist told the activists on a video they recorded that the painting was on elephant hide. (Humane Society of the United States via AP)



RENO, Nev. (AP) — Photos and video taken by animal welfare activists at a recent trophy hunting convention show an array of products crafted from the body parts of threatened big-game animals, including boots, chaps, belts and furniture labeled as elephant leather.

Vendors at the Safari Club International event held last week in Reno, Nevada, also were recorded hawking African vacations to shoot captive-bred lions raised in pens. The club has previously said it wouldn’t allow the sale of so-called canned hunts at its events.


The hidden camera footage was released Friday by the Humane Society of the United States. Both federal and state laws restrict the commercial sale of hides from African elephants, which are protected under the Endangered Species Act.

Nevada’s chief game warden confirmed to The Associated Press on Friday that an investigation is underway to determine if state law was violated.

Safari Club spokesman Steve Comus said Friday the group was also conducting an internal investigation after what he described as allegations based on “what appears to be an unauthorized visit” by the Humane Society. The group didn’t respond to written questions from the AP about what steps it takes to ensure exhibitors at its events are following the law.

The club denied a request earlier this month from the AP for a media credential to attend its annual conference, billed as the nation’s premier big-game hunting show.

“This hunters’ heaven has everything the mind can dream of and occupies more than 650,000 square feet of exhibit space,” the group’s web site boasts. “Six continents are under one roof where SCI members come to book hunts, rendezvous with old friends and shop for the latest guns and hunting equipment.”

Humane Society investigators purchased tickets to the conference and prowled the exhibit booths with concealed cameras. They recorded racks of clothing and other products made from the hides, bones and teeth of imperiled African wildlife.

“Making money off the opportunity to kill these animals for bragging rights is something that most people around the world find appalling,” said Kitty Block, acting president and CEO of the Humane Society of the United States. “It’s an elitist hobby of the 1 percent, and there is no place for trophy hunting in today’s world.”

The wares included oil paintings of big-game animals painted on stretched elephant skins, bracelets woven from elephant hair and an elephant leather bench. There was also a coffee table made from the skull of a hippopotamus and boxes filled with hippo teeth.


Under a state law passed in 2017, it is illegal in Nevada to purchase, sell or possess with intent to sell any item that contains the body parts of elephant, lion, rhinoceros, tiger, leopard, hippopotamus and other imperiled wildlife. A first offense is a misdemeanor that carries a fine up to $6,500 or an amount equal to four times the fair market value of the item sold, whichever is greater. Additional violations can be classified as a felony punishable by up to five years in prison.

Tyler Turnipseed, the state’s chief game warden, confirmed Friday that his office had opened an investigation as a result of the information and images provided by the Humane Society. He said that there is a learning curve when new laws are implemented and that state officials would work with the Safari Club “to try and prevent unlawful sales in future years.”

Though President Donald Trump has decried big-game hunting as a “horror show,” his administration reversed Obama-era restrictions on the importation of elephant and lion trophies for personal use or display. But federal law still prohibits the sale or use of the body parts from such international protected species for commercial purposes.

The Safari Club has actively lobbied the Trump administration to loosen restrictions on the importation of wildlife trophies, arguing that the fees paid to African countries by American hunters help to fund anti-poaching and conservation programs. A licensed two-week African hunting safari can cost more than $50,000 per person, not including airfare, according to advertised rates.

The AP reported last year that a federal advisory board created by then-Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to advise his agency on the issue was stuffed with big game hunters. At least seven of the 16 members of the International Wildlife Conservation Council are Safari Club members, including the group’s president.

In a February 2018 media release, the Safari Club said it would no longer support the practice of breeding lions in captivity so they can be shot for trophies, saying the practice “has doubtful value to the conservation of lions in the wild.” The club also pledged not to accept advertising from the operators of such canned hunts or allow such trips to be sold at its annual convention.

In the video released by the Humane Society of Friday, multiple vendors at the Safari Club conference were recording salesmen pitching hunts of captive-bred lions in South Africa, describing how the lions would be “placed” where they could be easily shot. Vendors also described hunts where lions were baited using the meat from giraffes or other animals, with one guide bragging that a customer had shot a lion in less than 90 minutes.

___

Associated Press investigative reporter Michael Biesecker reported from Washington.

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Follow Biesecker at http://twitter.com/mbieseck

The Brainless Society Of The United States!

They throw around words like "imperiled" and "threatened" and nobody ever challenges them about how exactly the game is threatened or imperiled.
It never ceased to amaze me as a native Californian that people would move out of that state because of all of the problems caused by the liberals and then proceed to vote in the same stupidity that they were running from.

I reckon that will be the nail in the coffin for SCI having its shows in Nevada.

Could be very true, especially if exhibitors feel that it is not worth the risk of exhibiting their legal wares at the SCI Convention and having to defend themselves with any necessary "provenance" paperwork for each and every item sold. Might also require those purchasing to demand the paperwork as well in order to evidence that the specific item or items purchased are legal and lawful and in order to avoid any legal issues or legal entanglements themselves. (Purchasers are named in the law, as are Sellers) I am sure that the sponsors of this law and their ilk would love nothing more than to see the SCI Convention move or go out of existence. Then they have won the battle. Maybe SCI should consider suing the State of Nevada over the law.