JAN, 2013 "In The Crosshairs"
January 9, 2013
Safari Club
International’s 41st Annual Hunters’ Convention
is right around the corner! We can’t wait to see you all there.
Follow @SafariClubIntl on
twitter using #SCI2013 to stay up
to date on seminar information, auction times, and other
opportunities during the show! If you still haven’t registered, time
is running out. Visit
www.showsci.org for more information. Don’t forget to
register a twitter account and
follow @SafariClubIntl today!
SCI Hunter Defense Fund
Working To Keep Hunters Afield: Ammoland "recently had
the opportunity to interview Nelson Freeman of Safari Club
International (SCI) about the organizations dedication to protecting
the freedom to hunt, lobbying and advocacy work, and the new
Super-PAC, Hunter Defense Fund (HDF). He was kind enough to answer
questions on the subject. Question: With hunting increasingly
under attack, what is Safari Club International doing to help keep
hunters in the field? Answer: Safari Club is the only
pro-hunting organization with an office in Washington, D.C. On a day
to day basis, we speak with members of Congress and their staff to
outline the threats we see to hunting in North America and
internationally." (Source: AmmoLand.com) To read the full interview,
please visit http://bit.ly/VQ0XH4
SCI Foundation
Honored to Benefit from Media Event: Tucson, Ariz. –
Safari Club International Foundation (SCI Foundation) is grateful to
once again be the benefactor of the Shooting, Hunting, and
Outdoor Trade (SHOT)
Show Media Day at the Range™. (www.media-day.com)
Media Day at the Range™ takes place Monday, January 14, 2013 at the
Boulder Pistol & Rifle Range in Boulder City, Nevada with over one
thousand members of the outdoor and hunting media in attendance. To
read more about SHOT Show Media Day at the Range™ and Safari Club
International Foundation, please visit
http://wp.me/p2AKuX-69
SCI’s Kim Rhode
Honored As Top Athlete: SCI Life Member and Olympic
Gold Medalist Kim Rhode is among six athletes
USA Shooting is recognizing as Athlete Of The Year for 2012.
Recipients are recognized not only for their shooting ability, but
also for how they conduct themselves and represent the shooting
sports industry. SCI sponsors five-time Olympian Rhode who this year
set a U.S. Olympic record of five medals in five consecutive Olympic
Games. To read more, please visit SCI HuntForever Blog
at http://wp.me/p2zaih-V1
SCI Enjoys Victory in Rocky Mountain National Park Elk
Case: On January 9, the Tenth Circuit
Court of Appeals issued a ruling highly favorable to SCI’s
interests. The Court affirmed the legality of the National
Park Service’s use of “qualified volunteers,” as agents for culling
the elk overpopulation on Rocky Mountain National Park. These
volunteers often include members of the hunting community who are
willing to offer their expertise and time to assist in wildlife
management. WildEarth Guardians went to federal court in
Colorado to challenge this approach, insisting that the NPS instead
should have introduced a population of wolves to the park to manage
the elk overpopulation. SCI joined the case as an intervenor
defendant to support the volunteer program. After the Colorado
District Court ruled in SCI’s and the NPS’s favor, WildEarth
appealed. The victory in the Tenth Circuit will hopefully encourage
the NPS to enlist the aid of volunteers from the hunting community
in the management of wildlife overpopulations that have become a
problem at many of our nation’s National Parks. Currently, the
NPS is running a very successful volunteers program on Theodore
Roosevelt National Park to reduce that park’s elk overpopulation.
SCI will continue to recommend the use of volunteers for wildlife
management to assist in future NPS management planning.
SCI Helps Secure Partial Victory in Wisconsin Wolf Hunt
Litigation: On Friday, January 4, 2012, a
Wisconsin Dane County Circuit Court ruled that hunting wolves with
hounds may proceed in the state and lifted an injunction he had
previously imposed to stop the use of dogs to hunt wolves. SCI, who
intervened in defense of the Wisconsin DNR’s authorization of wolf
hunting with hounds, helped achieve that victory. SCI
participated in the oral argument held in court in Madison,
Wisconsin on January 4th. Although this year’s wolf
season has closed, the judge’s ruling will benefit efforts to hold
future wolf hunts in the state. Despite finding hunting with
hounds legal, the court rejected state emergency regulations
pertaining to the training of dogs for wolf hunting. SCI is
participating in the case in collaboration with the Wisconsin Bear
Hunters, United Sportsmen of Wisconsin and USSAF. The DNR and
Wisconsin Board of Natural Resources are currently in the process of
developing a permanent set of regulations pertaining to training.
Crosshairs will provide you with news of future developments. To
read more on Judge Anderson’s ruling, please visit
http://bit.ly/WpYqlk
Despite Setback, SCI Seeks Ways to Continue Efforts to
Object to ESA Settlements : On January 4,
2013, the D.C. Circuit upheld a lower court’s ruling denying SCI’s
attempt to intervene in a case involving two massive ESA
settlements. SCI is exploring its legal options to continue to
challenge these settlements. The settlements, between the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service and two anti-hunting groups – the Center
for Biological Diversity and WildEarth Guardians – restructure the
Service’s entire listing program for the next four years. SCI
opposes the settlements because they illegally eliminate the
Service’s authority to continue to make warranted-but-precluded
(candidate species) findings under the ESA for 260 species,
including three game species (greater sage grouse, lesser
prairie-chicken, and New England cottontail). Because of these
settlements, the Service has proposed a rule to list the lesser
prairie-chicken as a threatened species and must make a final
decision by May 2013. Such a listing would end state-regulated
hunting and undermine current conservation efforts. Stay tuned
to future Crosshairs for developments on this litigation.
Affiliate Spotlight
Texas Wildlife Association:
"The Texas Wildlife Association (TWA) is a statewide
membership organization that serves Texas wildlife and its habitat,
while protecting property rights, hunting heritage, and the
conservation efforts of those who value and steward wildlife
resources. The Texas Wildlife Association was formed in 1985 by a
group of ranchers, wildlife managers and hunters dedicated to the
conservation, management, and enhancement of wildlife and wildlife
habitat on private lands. Texas is 95 percent private land, and over
two-thirds of the United States is privately owned. Texas hunters,
anglers, wildlife watchers and conservationists recognized the
necessity of working cooperatively with private landowners on
wildlife, habitat and conservation issues. TWA is pleased to provide
an electronic copy of the cover article from the January 2013 issue
of its feature publication, Texas Wildlife.
Click here to download “The Quest for Quail" by Eileen Mattei."
(Source: Texas Wildlife Association) To visit TWA's homepage, please
visit bit.ly/WoWwBP
U.S. News
Bank Of America Freezes Gun
Manufacturer's Account, Company Owner Claims: “Bank of
America has reportedly frozen the account of gun manufacturer
American Spirit Arms, according to its owner, Joe Sirochman. In a
Facebook
post dated December 29, Sirochman wrote the following: 'My name
is Joe Sirochman owner of American Spirit Arms...our Web site orders
have jumped 500 percent causing our Web site e-commerce processing
larger deposits to Bank of America. So they decided to hold the
deposits for further review. ‘After countless hours on the phone
with Bank of America, I finally got a manager in the right
department that told me the reason that the deposits were on hold
for further review -- her exact words were – 'We believe you
should not be selling guns and parts on the Internet.''(emphasis
added) Sirochman also wrote that he told the bank manager that ‘they
have no right to make up their own new rules and regs’ and that
‘[American Spirit is a] firearms manufacturer with all the proper
licensing.’ He also noted that he has been doing business with Bank
of America for over 10 years, but will now be looking for a new
bank.” (Source: CNSNews.com) To read more, please visit
http://bit.ly/VyZKEl
ASPCA Pays $9.3 Million in
Landmark Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus Settlement:
“VIENNA, VA - Dec. 28, 2012 – Feld Entertainment, Inc., the
producer of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey®
Circus, announced today that the company has reached a legal
settlement with the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty
to Animals (ASPCA) in connection with two federal court cases. Under
the settlement, ASPCA has paid Feld Entertainment $9.3 million to
settle all claims related to its part in more than a decade of
manufactured litigation that attempted to outlaw elephants in the
company’s Ringling Bros. ® Circus. This
settlement applies only to the ASPCA. Feld Entertainment’s
legal proceedings, including its claims for litigation abuse and
racketeering, will continue against the remaining defendants, Humane
Society of the United States, the Fund for Animals, Animal Welfare
Institute, Animal Protection Institute United with Born Free USA,
Tom Rider and the attorneys involved.” (Source:
RinglingBrosTrialInfo.com) To read more, please visit
http://bit.ly/11gQR8u
Field Reports: DNR Officials
Say Wolf Hunt Went Well: “Minnesota’s
inaugural wolf season ended Thursday when the late-season hunting
and trapping seasons closed. Minnesota Department of Natural
Resources officials closed the season because the harvest was
nearing the overall harvest target of 400. Hunters and trappers had
until 5 p.m. Friday to register wolves taken the last day; as of
midday Friday the harvest had exceeded the target, with 411 wolves
registered. Hunters had taken 147 wolves during the early wolf
season, which opened Nov. 3 and ran concurrently with the firearms
deer season. In the late hunting and trapping season, which opened
Nov. 24, hunters and trappers took 264 wolves as of midday Friday.”
(Source: DuluthNewsTribune.com) To read more about Minnesota’s
inaugural wolf hunt, please visit
http://bit.ly/VL8YNx
African News
Hong Kong Seizes $1.4
Million In Illegal Ivory In Third Big Seizure Since October:
“HONG KONG — Hong Kong authorities have made their third big
seizure of illegal ivory in three months, confiscating more than a
ton of elephant tusks worth $1.4 million, customs officials said
Friday. Customs officers seized 779 pieces of ivory weighing 1,323
kilograms (2,916 pounds) in a shipping container that arrived at
Hong Kong’s port from Kenya after passing through Malaysia. The
officers discovered the ivory after X-raying the container, which
was declared to be carrying architectural stones. Forty sacks
holding the ivory were found inside five wooden crates, hidden under
rocks. The investigation is still continuing. No one has been
arrested.” (Source: WashingtonPost.com) To read more about the
seizure, please visit http://wapo.st/VGxaDc
Namibia: Rare Rhino Poaching
a Concern: “A Namibian man, Tjetuura
Tjiumbua (42), is alleged to have killed a black rhino in the Kunene
region close to Khorixas, confirmed deputy commissioner, Edwin
Kanguatjivi, head of Nampol's public relations division in Windhoek.
Tjiumbua is suspected to have shot and killed the animal before
removing the horns valued at N$500 000. The calf which was with the
dead rhino was also found dead at the scene. If found guilty,
Tjiumbua could face up to 20 years in prison or be fined N$200 000.”
(Source:AllAfrica.com) To read more, please visit
http://bit.ly/WF4RSr
Zimbabwe: Nation Warned Over
Rhino Poaching: “Zimbabwe could face a
future without any more rhino, if urgent measures to tackle poaching
are not implemented. This was the warning of a leading
conservationist on Friday, who was reacting to news that four white
rhino had been killed by suspected poachers on New Years Day this
week. Johnny Rodrigues, the chairman of the Zimbabwe Conservation
Task Force, told SW Radio Africa on Friday that the poaching
situation is ‘disgusting,’ and one that is likely to get worse. ‘Our
(poaching) figures aren't at the stage where anyone is actively
trying to protect the animals. And the syndicates are in high gear,’
Rodrigues warned.” (Source: AllAfrica.com) To read more, please
visit http://bit.ly/XfpMh9