September 6, 2007 "In The Crosshairs"
September 6, 2007
2008 SCI Convention Site Launched and Ready!!
To attend the 36th annual SCI Convention in Reno on January 23-26, 2008 visit http://www.showsci.com/. It’s the one-stop locale for the Ultimate Hunter's Market. You can register for the show, find a hotel, preview thousands of auction items, look for your favorite exhibitor on the massive and newly expanded show floor and much, much more. Visit http://www.showsci.com/ today. We look forward to seeing all of you in Reno!!
Left Out in Tajikistan
SCI has learned that some hunters are not being issued CITES permits to import Marco Polo sheep from Tajikistan for the upcoming Fall hunting season. Apparently, the government of Tajikistan has issued a new list of approved hunters for Marco Polo sheep and other animals. This list differs from the one given to our Fish & Wildlife Service a few months ago and some hunters are finding themselves left off despite paying for their hunt and travel in full. The FWS, apparently fed up with all the changes from the government of Tajikistan, made a decision to use the new list as the final permanent list and that left some hunters out in the cold. SCI is looking into this matter and will report back if and when we receive additional information.
The Plot Thickens in Tanzania
SCI continues to follow the situation in Tanzania. The latest update from our South Africa office indicates that the fee increases are not just affecting the hunting sector. Apparently increases in tourism fees have now spread to other parts of the tourist sector. Nine other tourism associations have now, along with TAHOA, entered into negotiations with the government to contest the new fee increases. SCI is monitoring the situation in Tanzania and will be providing any new updates via In the Crosshairs and our website, www.tanzaniahunt.org.
California Moves One Step Closer to Banning Lead
“The California Senate on Tuesday approved a bill to prohibit deer hunters from using lead ammunition in areas where California condors roam. The action means that, after the Assembly restates its approval within a few days, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will have to decide whether a law is needed to protect the endangered condor from the growing risk of lead poisoning. The measure would require hunters to use bullets made of copper or some other nontoxic material. Conservationists, backed by the principal manufacturer of copper ammunition, say that nonlead bullets perform just as well and are available in sufficient supply to meet the demands of California hunters. The measure is opposed by hunting and firearms groups, which argue that copper ammunition is more expensive and not available for every caliber of rifle used by deer hunters. The Senate approved AB 821 on a 23-15 vote along party lines, with majority Democrats in support. It now returns to the Assembly, which passed the bill earlier this year but now must give final approval to minor changes that were included in the version approved by the Senate. The California Fish and Game Commission is considering enacting a regulatory ban that would accomplish the same goal.” For the full story, click here (Source: Ventura County Star)
New Jersey Bear Issue in Court
On September 4, 2007, SCI's litigation team appeared in Appellate Court in New Jersey to argue SCI’s challenge to the illegal way in which New Jersey 's Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection erased black bear hunting seasons from the state's bear management strategies. The three Appellate Division judges who presided over the hearing posed questions about the legality of the Commissioner cancelling the bear hunts and the status of bear management at present and for the future. Currently, because New Jersey has no black bear management policies in place, there can be no bear hunt in 2007. At the close of the hearing, the court promised to rule on the matter promptly. We will keep you posted on new developments as they arise.
D.C. Wants High Court to Hear Gun Case
The city of Washington, D.C. has appealed its case banning guns to the Supreme Court, “setting up what legal experts said could be a test of the Second Amendment with broad ramifications. The high court has not ruled on the Second Amendment protection of the right to keep and bear arms since 1939” but D.C. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty and D.C. Attorney General Linda Singer said “they expect the court to hear a case they called crucial to public safety. In a 2 to 1 decision in March, a panel of judges for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled that the city's prohibition against residents keeping handguns in their homes is unconstitutional. In May, the full appeals court declined a petition from the city to reconsider the panel's decision. Some gun control advocates have cautioned that a defeat in the Supreme Court could lead to tough gun laws being overturned in major cities, including New York, Chicago and Detroit . Fenty said the District had no choice but to fight because more guns in homes could lead to increases in violent crime and deadly accidents. Gun rights advocates welcomed the chance to take the fight to the high court. A central question the D.C. case poses is whether the Second Amendment protects an individual's rights to keep and bear arms.” (Source: Washington Post)
Operation Outdoorsmen Overseas
The Kentuckiana chapter of SCI has set up a program to help the families of those serving overseas. Realizing that there were approximately 500 military families stationed at the Ft. Knox military base that have at least one parent serving in the war, the chapter estimated that there were 50 youngsters that would have hunted this fall if that parent were home. In response to this need, the Chapter created Operation Outdoorsmen Overseas in an attempt to provide as many of these youth as possible with an opportunity to hunt this fall. The Chapter’s Board members are lining up hunting properties and qualified adult mentors to take these youngsters on a hunt during one of the youth deer hunting weekends. Board members have coordinated with Ft. Knox and will be providing volunteers to take some of these youngsters hunting during the Ft. Knox Youth season as well as bringing the youngsters off post for the KY and IN special youth weekends. To the extent necessary, the Chapter will also make available to the young hunters youth sized rifles and shotguns. For information on this particular hunt or how to set one up with the military establishment near you, contact Col. Martin F. Levendoski, Special Assistant to the Commanding General, Ft. Knox, KY at marlin.levendoski@us.army.mil or Kentuckiana chapter member Mike Ohlmann at info@mikescustomtaxidermy.com.