USSA Takes on Fish and Wildlife Service Regarding CITES Trophy Hunting Reform
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USSA Takes on Fish and Wildlife Service Regarding CITES Trophy Hunting Reform





For many years, international trophy hunters have complained about the heavy handed treatment they have received at U.S. ports as a result of the way that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service regulates the international treaty that protects endangered species.

In fact, the Service has been widely accused of having a bias against hunting, because of its actions. Whether bonafide anti-hunting sentiment exists at the Service or the apparent attitude of the agency has come as a result of overzealous and not-very-artful law enforcement or miscalculation of public sentiment regarding hunting, the fact remains that few in the international hunting community see the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as a fast friend of our sport.

In a new campaign designed to bring ease to the process of importing hunting trophies, the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance is working to amend the way that CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, is administered by the U.S. government. The effort is dubbed the International Hunters’ Rights Campaign.

An opportunity has presented itself, thanks to the Service’s promulgation of regulations in April that seek to amend various ways it regulates CITES. Some of the Service’s proposed changes are very good. We’re not so happy about others.

Our campaign to affect positive change will call on the Bush administration, the service itself and federal lawmakers who hold sway with the service to make certain that international trophy hunters, who are the heart and soul of worldwide conservation efforts, receive the best treatment possible.

The U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance is focusing on eight areas of the Service proposal.

First, the good news…

We applaud the service for re-defining the way that the exporting, range states will be able to make “no detriment” findings to establish quotas and permit export of trophies. The service will now recognize the existence of “sustained use” management programs as factors in making no detriment findings. Because hunting is wholly dependent on the concept of sustained use management, this is a major victory for hunting throughout the world.

The Service is also working to make more clear and user-friendly the series of documents it requires for import and export of CITES-listed species. We would like to see it go another step and establish a long-promised office and help-line, similar to the service provided by the IRS, which would exist to aid overseas hunters in obtaining, completing and filing documents.

There are areas of concern, however, and hunters throughout the nation should join in the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance campaign to make sure that the new set of rules does not more adversely affect trophy hunters than ever before.

In two parts of the proposed regulations, the Service addresses its desire to see the import of CITES-listed hunting trophies as completely “non-commercial.” In one section, it requires that no manufactured or handcrafted items, such as elephant hair bracelets, be permitted for import unless the hunter can prove that the raw materials came from their sport hunted trophy. That shouldn’t be a problem, except the Service never quite explains how someone should go about proving it!

In another area, the regulations state that the practice of donating trophies (for instance, in the form of finished taxidermy) to museums and other educational institutions, would result in no tax deduction for the value of the item to the donor. The Service believes this practice is merely a form of “commercialization.” How is the donation of taxidermy, certainly an art form, any different than the donation of a painting or sculpture?

Quite beyond that, the entire area of tax policy is the domain of the Internal Revenue Service, not our nation’s fish and wildlife agency! There is no evidence of adverse impact on any species or population anywhere in the world as a result of this practice. To the contrary, we can foresee a real adverse effect on conservation education in the U.S. and conservation programs in range states any time economic incentive is taken away!

The U.S. has been accused of ecological imperialism on a number of fronts. International hunters have been embarrassed by such imperialism, as the Service has frequently refused to honor quotas and other scientific determinations made by range states. True enough, there have been horror stories of wealthy Americans and Europeans greasing the palms of local war lords to raise export quotas of listed species, but these instances have been very few and far between -- and many years ago, to boot.

Our position is simple: The U.S. should accept the scientific conclusions of range states unless we are in possession of evidence that their conclusions are incorrect or fraudulent. This is the way that the U.S. State Department and other federal agencies deal with similar matters and our Fish and Wildlife Service should operate no differently.

The Service also seeks to impose a new rule on U.S. citizens traveling to non-CITES member nations. Under the proposal, if you took a CITES-listed species in a nation in which hunting was perfectly legal and exported it to a nation that, under its laws, permitted such export, you would be in violation of U.S. law! We completely oppose this draconian measure. And, so should you!

The U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance’s International Hunters’ Rights Campaign kicks off now! If you would like to make a contribution or otherwise help, contact me at the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance, 801 Kingsmill Parkway, Columbus, Ohio, 43229-1137. Phone (614) 888-4868. Email me at rstory@ussportsmen.org.

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