It is hard to keep up with all the environmental issues coming out of Washington. Curious about the new International Wildlife Conservation Council, I decided to look into it further and am appalled at where our taxpaying dollars are going and the abuse of power. The International Wildlife Conservation Council is funded by $250,000 taxpaying dollars that we pay. This is for transportation and per diem. While it doesn’t seem like $250,000 is a lot of money, it is more the principle of wasted dollars that we pay so the wealthy can shoot endangered animals.
Trump-appointed Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke received $10,000 from Safari Club International for his 2016 congressional campaign
Here is the kicker. The Federal Advisory Committee Act requires government boards to be balanced in terms of points of view and not ‘improperly influenced by special interests.’ Now if 15 out of 17 representatives are big game hunters, members of the NRA, Safari Club, hunting TV shows and hunting outfitters.. I question how is that balanced?
Associated Press. “Appointees include celebrity hunting guides, representatives from rifle and bow manufacturers, and wealthy sportspeople who boast of bagging the coveted ‘Big Five’.” elephant, rhino, lion, leopard and Cape buffalo.
HuffPost “other approved permits went to hunters including Philip Glass, a Texas rancher and Trump donor who took a $100,000 trophy safari in Zimbabwe that was filmed in a documentary, and Kent Greenawalt, who has donated around $100,000 to Republican candidates and committees.”
Board Members of the IWCC: 10 of the 16 members of the council are representatives of Safari Club International
1.) Bill Brewster(RET, Oklahoma Congressman) board’s chairman. Served on the boards of Safari Club International and the National Rifle Association. Both of these groups that have sued the Fish and Wildlife Service to expand the list of countries from which trophy kills can be legally imported.
2.) Paul Babaz: a Morgan Stanley investment adviser from Atlanta, President of Safari Club.
3.) Erica Rhoad: Lobbyist and former GOP congressional staffer. Director of Hunting Policy, National Rifle Association
4.) Chris Hudson:. This man is from the Dallas chapter of the Safari Club who auctioned off the chance to shoot a critically endangered black rhino in Namibia. The auctioning was sold for $350,000. He was then allowed to bring his trophy back to the United States. Black Rhinos are considered critically endangered.. How is that conservation?
5.) Steven Chancellor: Republican fundraiser and chairman of American Patriot Group and Safari Club member. The Humane Society obtained hunting records in 2015 which showed that Chancellor logged nearly 500 kills – including at least 18 lions, 13 leopards, six elephants and two rhinos. In 2016, records showed that Chancellor filed for a federal permit to bring home the skin, skull teeth and claws from another male lion he intended to kill in Zimbabwe. which at the time was subject to an import ban imposed by the Obama administration.
Steven Chancellor, an Indiana businessman “who raised more than $1 million for Republican candidates at a fundraiser at his home headlined by Trump in 2016,
6.) Peter Horn: Ex-vice president of the Safari Club International Conservation Fund and a vice president for Beretta (gun manufacturer). He co-owns a hunting property in New York with Donald Trump Jr., an infamous big game hunter. In 2011 a photograph of Donald Trump Jr holding a knife and a severed elephant tail went viral.
Elephant numbers are decreasing and are listed as vulnerable.
7.) Keith Mark: A hunting guide and with a TV show, whose Twitter page shows himself with Trump Jr. and Zinke, with trophy animals. 8.) Terry Maple; Tourism, outfitter, and/or guide industries related to international hunting.
9.) Gary Kania: Vice president of the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation and a member of the International Wildlife Conservation Council and an alternate member of the Sport Fishing and Boating Partnership Council (SFBPC). Another hunter.
10.) Jeffrey Crane: (Alternate Member) President, Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation. He also has a professional hunter’s license and guided hunts for big game animals. ‘Serves as the Chairman of the Hunting and Shooting Sports Conservation Council (HSSCC), a federal advisory council that reports to the Secretaries of Agriculture and the Interior. He is a past Chairman of the American Wildlife Conservation Partners (AWCP), the largest coalition of hunting conservation organizations. He is a Boone and Crockett member, a member of the Government Affairs Committee for Safari Club International (SCI) and served as Vice-Chairman of Hunting and Wildlife Conservation Committee for the National Rifle Association (NRA). Additionally, he is a Board Member of the Council to Advance Hunting and the Shooting Sports.”
12.) Olivia Opre: Another hunter who has killed over 90 different species. Via her Extreme Huntress: Olivia’s greatest passion is to educate the public about the important role hunters’ play as stewards of nature and humanitarians. Because of her sincere appreciation for wildlife, and enthusiasm to help promote conservation, she is involved in the hunting industry in many capacities. She is a full-time international hunting, fishing & adventure consultant for World of Hunting Adventure’ She has hunted nearly 100 unique species -from red stag to Cape buffalo and many animals in between. Needless to say, she has been there and done that making her a compelling advocate for the hunting industry. Subsequently, Safari Club International named her the 2014 Diana Award winner -the most prestigious accomplishment bestowed upon a woman hunter.
13.) Denise Welker; Another Safari Club member and hunter. Google image search and you can find her with her kill shots of trophy animals. She is also a winner fo the Safari Club Diana Award winner,
14) Cameron Hanes: From the archery and hunting sports industry. See his and his hunting trophies on his website:
15.) Jenifer Chatfield, whose father a zoo owner, who also was expelled from the American Zoological Association when it was found out that he was importing rare animals and then selling them on, sometimes even to game farms. She is a non hunter.
16.) John Jackson, president of Conservation Force; Per the website: “Regulated hunting has been the cornerstone and most important conservation development in the 20th Century and continues to be the leading contributor to conservation as man enters the 21st Century. Hunting is an exceptional form of sustainable use that has been proven to create conservation stakeholders, to stimulate conservation incentives and generate operating revenue for conservation budgets; hence, is one of the foremost forces for conservation.’
17.) Mike Ingram: Another hunters that engaged in international and/or domestic hunting conservation
18.) Terry Maple: Professor & Atlanta Zoo Director Emeritus
I Just Have to Eco You
37 permits for lions trophies from Zimbabwe and Zambia were issued since October, when they were first allowed.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has given 33 American hunters a total of 38 permits to import lion trophies since 2016. (Wine Water Watch)
Trophy hunters imported over 1.26 million trophies into the United States of America in the 10 years from 2005 to 2014 (Wikipedia)
From 2005 to 2014 the top ten trophy species imported into the United States were:
From 2005 to 2014 the ‘Big Five’ trophy species imported into the United States, totaling about 32,500 lions, elephants, rhinos, buffalo, and leopards combined, from Africa were:
This is the Press Release: WASHINGTON: U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke announced the creation of the International Wildlife Conservation Council. The Council will provide advice and recommendations to the Secretary of the Interior. It will focus on increased public awareness domestically regarding conservation, wildlife law enforcement, and economic benefits that result from U.S. citizens traveling abroad to hunt.
“Built on the backs of hunters and anglers, the American conservation model proves to be the example for all nations to follow for wildlife and habitat conservation,” Secretary Zinke said. “The conservation and long-term health of big game crosses international boundaries. This council will provide important insight into the ways that American sportsmen and women benefit international conservation from boosting economies and creating hundreds of jobs to enhancing wildlife conservation.”
The Council will advise the Secretary of the Interior on the benefits that international recreational hunting has on foreign wildlife and habitat conservation, anti-poaching and illegal wildlife trafficking programs, and other ways in which international hunting benefits human populations in these areas.
The duties of the Council will be solely advisory and will include, but not be limited to:
Develop a plan for public engagement and education on the benefits of international hunting.
Review and make recommendations for changes, when needed, on all Federal programs, and/or regulations, to ensure support of hunting as:
An enhancement to foreign wildlife conservation and survival;
An effective tool to combat illegal trafficking and poaching;
An economic engine and job-creating force for local communities.
Develop strategies to benefit the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s permit office in receiving timely country data and information so as to remove barriers that impact consulting with range states.
Recommend removal of barriers to the importation into the United States of legally hunted wildlife.
Ongoing review of import suspension/bans and provide recommendations that seek to resume the legal trade of those items, where appropriate.
Review seizure and forfeiture actions/practices and provide recommendations to regulations that will lead to a reduction of unwarranted actions.
Review the Endangered Species Act’s foreign listed species and interaction with the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna, with the goal of eliminating regulatory duplications.
Recommend streamlining/expedite process of import permits.
You may submit comments and/or nominations by any of the following methods:
Mail or hand-carry nominations to Joshua Winchell, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Wildlife Refuge System, 5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803; or Email nominations to: joshua_winchell@fws.gov
The Council will meet approximately two times annually, and at such other times as designated by the Designated Federal Officer. The Council will terminate 2 years from the date the Charter is filed, unless, prior to that date, it is renewed in accordance with the provisions of Section 14 of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA).
The Council will not meet or take any action without a valid current charter. The Council is established in furtherance of 43 U.S.C. 1457, the Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956 (16 U.S.C. §§ 742a-742j), and other Acts applicable to specific bureaus. This Council is regulated by the FACA, as amended, 5 U.S.C. Appendix 2.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
The council provides advice and recommendations to the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) regarding the benefits that result from United States citizens traveling to foreign nations to engage in hunting.
Meeting Agenda Held
The council will convene to discuss issues that include:
1. International wildlife conservation strategies;
2. U.S. ports of entry—importation security and customer service,
On top of this: In May of 2018, Zinke forms another group The Hunting and Shooting Sports Conservation Council
“America’s hunters and recreational shooters have a champion in Secretary Ryan Zinke,” said Chris W. Cox, executive director of the National Rifle Association’s Institute for Legislative Action. “Zinke is fighting for our sportsmen and women to have greater access to our public lands. I am pleased to work with the Trump Administration’s new Hunting and Shooting Sports Conservation Council to make it easier for Americans to enjoy our public lands.”
“I am honored to be nominated to this important federal advisory committee that will address issues and advance policies that benefit America’s hunters, recreational shooters, and other outdoor enthusiasts,” said Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation President Jeff Crane.
Senior Vice President and General Counsel for the National Shooting Sports Foundation Lawrence G. Keane. “Comprised of national leaders throughout the hunting and recreational shooting communities, the HSSCC is widely regarded as one of the most effective and productive federal advisory committees across the federal government. As a member, I will work diligently to promote policies that expand and enhance access and opportunities to hunting and recreational shooting for all Americans. I am deeply appreciative of Secretary Zinke and Secretary Perdue for this extraordinary opportunity.”
The other thing that is questionable is why did the US lift bans of some African big-game trophies such as elephant tusks and lion hides. Approvals to granted on an individual basis. Who makes these decisions to kill or import or made by a case by case basis of which, who is to know how they are made? The information must be obtained through the long process of the Freedom of Information Act.
My issues, is that not only is this new council unbalanced, it is full of big game hunters and the rich. Who else can afford to pay $80,000 to bag a lion? What is they just gave the $80, 000 to help prevent poaching? You don’t need to bag an animal and a trophy wall for conservation purposes.
