Feb 28, 2012 "In The Crosshairs"
February 28, 2012
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Releases New Guidance on the Importation of Trophies
Over the last few months, SCI staff has been working
diligently with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), importers
and other members of the regulated community to find a solution to a
recent spike in seizures of sport-hunted trophies. On Friday
February 24th, the FWS released a memo that clarifies the
instructions on tagging and marking leopard, Nile crocodile and
African elephant trophies. We commend the FWS for taking a first
step to help reverse the incidences of seizures due to paperwork and
procedural problems with importation. SCI will continue
to work with the FWS to solve importation problems that interfere
with trophy importation by many SCI members. The FWS’s full
memo is attached and SCI strongly encourages our members who are
planning on hunting any of these three species to read through the
entire memo and to provide a copy to their Professional Hunter,
Outfitter and/or Taxidermist or whoever else might be involved in
the preparation and exportation of these trophies.
One particular source of trophy importation problems
relates to the tags and/or tusk markings required for the
importation of CITES Appendix I trophies. In some
circumstances the trophy is taken in one year and imported in a
different year. In those circumstances, the tags and/or tusk
markings must include different information about the quota from
which the animal was taken than must appear on the CITES export
permit document. The attached memo provides specific
information to cover the requirements for these circumstances.
One particularly significant statement in the memo
appears in its last line where the FWS explains that, “Sport-hunted
trophies imported into the United States that do not comply with the
marking, tagging or CITES document requirements are subject to
refusal of entry
or seizure.” With this sentence, the FWS acknowledges that refusal
of entry is a potential strategy that hunter/importers can request
to avoid trophy seizures. If and when a hunter/importer is
faced with procedural or paperwork deficiencies concerning the
importation of the trophy, the
hunter/importer may ask for the FWS to refuse entry
of the trophy and to return the trophy to the country of export.
A refusal of entry is not a means of fixing existing paperwork
flaws. Instead it requires the hunter/importer to restart the
exportation process with new exportation and importation documents.
While it may be expensive to ship a trophy back to Africa and to
seek new documentation, in many cases this cost and effort will be
far more reasonable than losing a trophy to seizure. It is
important to understand that the FWS is unlikely to elect to refuse
entry unless the hunter/importer
specifically asks for that option.
For this reason, SCI strongly recommends that hunter/importers who
are facing a possible seizure ask that
their trophy be
refused entry rather than
seized. Hunters/Importers should retain the attached FWS memo
and show it to the FWS border official if any question arises.
If you have any questions please contact Bill McGrath
wmcgrath@safariclub.org
or the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
lawenforcement@fws.gov.