Expected Announcement From U.S. FWS Will Close Elephant Imports From Zimbabwe, Tanzania

African Wildlife Conservationists, U.S. Hunters Advocate for Elephant Sustainability

Washington, D.C. – On May 7 and 8, African conservation officials and advisors traveled to Washington, D.C. to demand that the U.S. government reverse its recent decision to ban sport-hunted elephant imports from Tanzania and Zimbabwe.

Secretary General Edson Chidiyza of Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife, along with fellow wildlife conservation advisors from Tanzania and Zimbabwe met with the U.S. Department of Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the U.S. State Department to demand a reversal of this arbitrary change in U.S. import policy. They pointed out in the meetings that the ban will have a tremendous negative impact on wildlife conservation in their countries.

“As hunters, we have been the most significant funders for wildlife conservation and management in Africa, more so than any other tourists over the past 50 years,” said SCI President Craig Kauffman. “I find it distressing and shameful that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has made a scientifically baseless decision that will financially devastate the people and communities that depend on safari hunters for their livelihoods.”

Despite the fact that 800,000 families in Zimbabwe depend on the safari hunting industry, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) bureaucracy freely admitted they instituted their ban on sport-hunted elephants from Zimbabwe and Tanzania without any basis in scientific data. This admission that “anecdotal evidence” was the basis for their decision was made in their own announcement of the ban, then repeated by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Dan Ashe on May 7th and subsequently repeated by FWS Deputy Director Steve Guertin on May 8th. Even Assistant Secretary for Fish, Wildlife, and Parks Nominee Rhea Suh echoed the lack of scientific justification they had for their policy decision.

“As an American conservationist, I’m proud that our entire system of wildlife management in North America is based on science. Yet somehow, the U.S. government felt compelled in their decision to ban sport-hunted elephant imports to the U.S. without any data or consultation with local officials. We will be requesting an oversight hearing by the U.S. House of Representatives in the coming weeks to investigate the arbitrary nature of the decision making process,” said SCI Foundation President Joe Hosmer.

The following conservation officials were in Washington, D.C. to fight against this decision: Director General Edson Chidiyza, Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife; Director General Charles Jonga, CAMPFIRE Foundation, Chairman Emmanuel Fundira, Safari Operators Association of Zimbabwe; Ms. Adri Kitshoff, Chief Executive Officer of Professional Hunters Association of South Africa and Secretary General of Outfitters and Professional Hunters’ Associations of Southern Africa; Chairman Louis Muller, Zimbabwean Professional Hunters and Guides Association; Secretary General Mike Angelides, Tanzania Professional Hunters Association also representing Tanzania Hunting Operators Association; Board Member Piet Fourie, Tanzania Professional Hunters Association; and Wildlife Management Specialist Rowan Martin.



Source: Safari Club International (SCI)

Sport-Hunted Trophies
On April 4, 2014, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced a suspension of imports of sport-hunted African elephant trophies taken in Tanzania and Zimbabwe during calendar year 2014. UPDATE as of 4/21/14: We have received a number of requests for additional information on the science and rationale that support these decisions. To address these requests, we have posted the required ESA and CITES findings to our website. Please see attached pdf version of these findings.

Zimbabwe- Endangered Species Act enhancement finding
Tanzania- CITES non-detriment finding; Endangered Species Act enhancement finding



Source: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

Great news I hope it gets reversed.

SCI President Craig Kauffman Addresses Senate Democratic Steering and Outreach Committee on Sportsmen’s Issues

Washington, DC - On May 14, Safari Club International (SCI) President Craig Kauffman joined with other leaders from the hunting and conservation community to meet with the United States Senate Democratic Steering and Outreach Committee at the U.S. Capitol. Senator Mark Begich (D-AK) led the discussion along with 15 of his Senate colleagues. The meeting served as an opportunity to discuss legislative priorities for hunters and anglers for the remainder of the 2014 legislative session.

“SCI was presented with a unique opportunity to continue highlighting the baseless policy decisions made by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which recently banned the importation of sport-hunted elephants from Tanzania and Zimbabwe. The FWS decision affects more than 800,000 families in Zimbabwe and it undercuts the anti-poaching funding on over 60% of Tanzania’s lands, so I asked them how they would resolve this situation to protect the communities of Africa that depend on revenue from international hunters,” said SCI President Craig Kauffman. “The response from the Senators present was underwhelming, but SCI will continue fighting to have this ban repealed as soon as possible, in any way possible, so that the communities of Zimbabwe and Tanzania are not further harmed by the FWS decision.”

Senators who attended the DSOC meeting included: Majority Leader Harry Reid (Nev.), and Senators Debbie Stabenow (Mich.), Mark Udall (Colo.), Tom Udall (N.M.), Sheldon Whitehouse (R.I.), Jeff Merkley (OR), Richard Blumenthal (Conn.), Michael Bennett (Colo.), Chris Coons (Del.), Kay Hagan (N.C.), Jon Tester (Mont.), John Walsh (Mont.), Amy Klobuchar (Minn.), Mary Landrieu (La.) and Joe Manchin (W.Va.).

About:
The Senate Democratic Steering and Outreach Committee is dedicated to fostering dialogue between Senate Democrats and leaders from across the nation. Each year, the Steering Committee hosts numerous meetings with advocates, policy experts, and elected officials to discuss key priorities and enlist their help in the development of the Senate Democratic agenda. The Committee serves as a liaison between Senate Democratic offices, advocacy groups, and intergovernmental organizations. It is one of three Democratic Leadership Committees in the Senate and is chaired by Senator Mark Begich (AK) and vice chaired by Senator Jeanne Shaheen (NH).



Source: Safari Club International (SCI)

I am a resident of Louisiana, I wrote to Senator Mary Landrieu and asked for her help. If enough of our legislatures hear from us it might make a difference. If they do it to the other countries it only makes it easier to do here. This is not just a hunting issue for the US, but a gun and a constitutional one also.

Why All Hunters Should Care About Ban on Elephant Trophies

DALLAS -- Relatively few hunters will ever hunt an elephant. But every hunter who supports science-based wildlife conservation and management has reason for concern about the Obama administration’s recent ban on importing lawfully hunted elephant trophies.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced in April that elephants hunted in Tanzania and Zimbabwe in 2014 may not be imported to the U.S.

Citizens who are ignorant of the differences between legal hunting and illegal poaching, “May have cheered the ban,” said Dallas Safari Club (DSC) Executive Director Ben Carter, “given all the recent headlines about elephant poaching, wildlife trafficking and the federal government destroying its confiscated stockpile of smuggled ivory.”

“Even most sportsmen, who usually are offended when they’re treated like poachers, didn’t pay much attention, as if the ban would affect only those few hunters interested enough, and wealthy enough, to actually hunt an elephant,” he added.

But Carter said the ban sets a dangerous precedent for hunting and conservation overall.

Here’s why:

1. Lack of Data – The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said the move was meant to protect elephant populations, but cited only anecdotal evidence of problems while acknowledging a lack of reliable information. Fact is, elephants in certain areas of Zimbabwe (and Botswana) are overpopulated and destroying their own habitat. DSC has offered to help the agency collect the data it needs to consider an informed reversal of the rule. The agency has not responded.

2. Removing Conservation Funding – Sustainable-use hunting is the foundation beneath a proven conservation system that pays for biologists to monitor elephant populations, water for elephants in arid habitats, law enforcement to protect elephants from poachers, and much more. Obstructing hunting de-funds this system.

3. Political Influence – The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is a world leader in conservation, but this ban seems so arbitrary and capricious – so unscientific – that DSC suspects it followed outside political influence. The timing of the rule relative to midterm elections also is suspect. Conservation’s forefathers fought to build a model based in science and free of coercion and political agendas. Breakdowns cannot be tolerated.

4. Bad PR – Legal, regulated, ethical hunting is unrelated to illegal poaching and trafficking. Yet, more and more, all are lumped together in the rhetoric of politicians and bureaucrats. This ban is just the latest example. Obama and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service voice concern over elephant poaching – and then actively thwart lawful hunting? At best, it’s a lost opportunity for federal leaders to explain long-successful, science-based, sustainable-use conservation.

5. Lawsuits and Divisiveness – Environmental and animal-rights extremists pioneered the profitable tactic of suing the federal government over procedural trivialities, gouging taxpayers for reimbursement of legal fees, and then using frivolous rulings as a basis for fundraising and membership drives. Hunters, by and large, haven’t needed such schtick. We have science, history and rapport on our side, and DSC encourages the sporting community to continue to take the high road with partners in conservation. Whenever possible, better to overwhelm agencies with useful biological data than with court cases.

6. Locals Matter – A tool for sustaining and managing wildlife, safari hunting also is vital to rural communities in Africa. Livelihoods are supported economically – and lives are supported literally, as hunting provides protein to hungry people. Each lawful elephant hunt provides a tremendous amount of each.

7. Africa Isn’t America – U.S. citizens are accustomed to federal intervention through the Endangered Species Act. But there is no similar legislation or funding or expectation in Africa. The species that thrive are those with tangible, measurable value. If hunting goes away, what incentive does a rancher find for keeping herds of grazing gemsboks? Or cattle-eating lions? Or elephants? The old saying, “if it pays, it stays,” is still true on the Dark Continent. This is on-the-ground conservation reality is too often ignored by ill-conceived initiatives like the Obama administration’s recent ban.



Source: Dallas Safari Club (DSC)

DSC Continues Strategy to Reverse Ban on Elephant Trophies

DALLAS -- With independent lawsuits predictably stalling and failing in court, the Dallas Safari Club (DSC) continues to pursue an aggressive but more cooperative approach to reversing a U.S. ban on importing ivory from lawfully hunted elephants from Tanzania and Zimbabwe in 2014.

Along with its partners, DSC is providing the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service with the data it needs to assuage concerns about regulated elephant hunting in the two African nations.

For example, elephants in areas of Zimbabwe are severely overpopulated and destroying their habitat. Regulated hunting provides needed management. DSC is hopeful that this and other evidence will help the agency see that broad-brush actions such as nationwide bans have no basis in science or law and are bad public policy.

Combating criminal ivory traffickers by regulating legal hunter-conservationists, DSC officials say, is an ill-conceived, knee-jerk response by regulators or, more probably, politicians looking for photo-ops so they appear to be doing something about the abhorrent problem of elephant poaching.

“Regulating the lawful, in order to change the behavior of the unlawful, always fails,” said Ben Carter, DSC executive director.

Carter added, “DSC considered legal remedies but concluded that suing the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is likely to be costly, slow and ultimately unsuccessful. Just as importantly, lawsuits can be counterproductive if they needlessly alienate those who otherwise are charged with the responsibility, and would cooperate, to resolve your issue.”

However, others did institute legal action. The court denied the plaintiffs’ motion for preliminary injunction against the ban. The entire lawsuit was not dismissed but is under advisement. If the case is allowed to move forward at all, it will drag out far more than a year – longer than the stated ban.

DSC believes the court’s initial ruling validates the strategy of a diversified response from the hunter-conservationist community.

Along with providing the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service with additional information, DSC is working to bring officials from Tanzania and Zimbabwe to the U.S. to testify about the harmful effects on wildlife and people of the elephant ivory ban.

DSC also is keeping Congress informed of the issues.

Carter said, “We believe in using scientific resources and data to prove that this arbitrary and capricious ban is actually hurting elephant conservation, not helping it. We continue to believe the ban should be, and will be, reversed as soon as possible.”



Source: Dallas Safari Club (DSC)

Good to see DSC speaking out and taking some action.

Zimbabwe to Appeal to U.S. Congress as Ivory Ban Hits Hunting
By Brian Latham

Zimbabwe’s government will lobby a U.S. congressional panel in attempt to overturn a ban on ivory sales from the southern African nation that it says will damage its sport hunting industry.

The U.S. banned imports of ivory from Zimbabwe and Tanzania in February, citing uncertainty over whether the elephant populations were sustainable. As one of the so-called big five African animals elephants form an important part of Zimbabwe’s hunting industry, income from which had been forecast to grow by a third to $60 million this year.

Edson Chidziya, Director of Zimbabwe’s Parks and Wildlife Management Department, will travel to Washington next month to speak before a congressional panel, Zimbabwe’s environment minister Saviour Kasukuwere said in a telephone interview from the capital, Harare, today.

“Discussions are at an advanced stage and I think the Americans will make a decision that supports the efforts we’ve made in Zimbabwe,” he said.

The visit to Washington follows a trip made by Chidziya in May to lobby against the ban. Many of the tourists who hunt in Zimbabwe are from the U.S. and ship their trophies, including elephant tusks, home. The cost of shooting an elephant, including guide fees and trophy shipping, is about $30,000.

Zimbabwe’s parks department says the country, which is slightly larger than the U.S. state of Montana, has an elephant population of about 100,000. Only neighboring Botswana, with an estimated 120,000, has more of the pachyderms.

The southern African nation has a stockpile of about 70 metric tons of ivory taken from elephants, and a five tons of rhino horn, on which there is a global ban on trade.



Source: www.businessweek.com

I'm reading the Safari Times and it says the quota for Tanzania was 200 elephants but only 60-70 where exported. Zimbabwe had a quota of 500 elephants.
Both countries had SUPER CONSERVATIVE LIMITS, there was zero reason for the ban!
When is someone going to admit this was an emotional reaction?

SCI Keeps Pressure On FWS To Reverse Ban On Elephant Importation

Elephant1firstforhunters040714Washington, DC – Today, the House Natural Resources Sub-Committee on Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans, and Insular Affairs held a hearing on U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) policies regarding the importation of sport hunted elephants and other lawful ivory trade. Safari Club International (SCI) was represented by Air Force Veteran Scott O’Grady who highlighted the impact that the importation ban has on conservation in Africa Former Congressman Jack Fields and Itai Hilary Tendaupenyu, principal ecologist of the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority also testified as to the important role that hunting plays in conservation and the devastating effect that the importation ban is having on conservation funding in Zimbabwe.

“Today’s hearing before the sub-committee gave hunter-conservationists the opportunity to express how important sustainable wildlife management is in Africa and around the world,” said SCI President Craig Kauffman. “SCI is proud of the Members of Congress who understand that funding generated by hunting is absolutely essential to conservation in Africa.”

On April 4, 2014 the FWS banned the importation of sport hunted elephants from Tanzania and Zimbabwe. The FWS’s decision is having serious impacts on the ability of Zimbabwe and Tanzania to conserve and protect their elephants from poaching. As intended by the FWS, the bans are discouraging U.S. hunters from visiting these countries to hunt elephants. Fewer U.S. hunters result in less hunter-generated funds for elephant conservation and community projects. In Zimbabwe the social and infrastructure programs in the most rural parts of the country will be financially gutted. The loss of hunter revenues will affect over 770,000 families in Zimbabwe. The FWS decision also devastates anti-poaching funding on over 30% of Tanzania’s lands and which are managed exclusively by safari hunting companies for wildlife. U.S. hunters represent 60% and 90% of clients in Zimbabwe and Tanzania respectively. Without the financial contributions from U.S. hunters, there will be a vacuum of anti-poaching enforcement which will be filled by those who seek to illegally exploit wildlife.

Former Congressman and author of the African Elephant Conservation Act of 1989, Jack Fields testified today. He provided an overview of his experience during the 1980’s to pass legislation to curtail international poaching while maintaining the existing funding avenues provided by U.S. hunters.

OGrady Test PrepAir Force Veteran Scott O’Grady’s testimony focused on his recent experience traveling and hunting in Zimbabwe. Scott discussed the anti-poaching personnel who were on the ground throughout Zimbabwe, and how those anti-poaching teams were exclusively funded by hunters. He detailed for the committee that without hunter dollars, there was little in the way of economic incentives to conserve wildlife in Zimbabwe.

Itai Hilary Tendaupenyu is a wildlife ecologist from Zimbabwe’s Parks and Wildlife Management Authority. He was able to give highly detailed accounts on Zimbabwe’s current wildlife management programs. He also discussed those programs that are being harmed because of the April 4th decision by the FWS.

“Like all of my fellow hunters, I was shocked by the U.S. FWS decision on April 4th. I was even more shocked when I learned that neither Tanzania nor Zimbabwe were contacted by the FWS prior to this financially devastating decision. If other countries could wield such a devastating influence on America’s wildlife, then I can only imagine what the response would be here at home. I hope that the U.S. FWS sees the errors of its ways and reopens sport hunted elephant imports so that the countries of Tanzania and Zimbabwe can get their wildlife conservation programs back up and running,” concluded Air Force Veteran Scott O’Grady.

About SCI’s Strategy to Overturn the Importation Ban: SCI thanks members of the Sub-Committee on Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans, and Insular Affairs for holding the June 24th congressional hearing to highlight these clear overreaches by the FWS. Safari Club International is leading the effort to reverse the FWS ban on importation of sport hunted elephants from Tanzania and Zimbabwe. Immediately following the announcement on April 4th of the ban, SCI contacted both Tanzania’s and Zimbabwe’s wildlife management agencies. Within a very short timeline both countries had filed formal complaints through their respective U.S. embassies due to the incredible financial impact the ban would have on their wildlife and their people. SCI members visited their Congressional representatives in force on SCI’s May 8, 2014 Lobby Day and encouraged their government officials to request a reversal of the importation bans. As a result of these meetings over 20 Members of Congress signed a “Dear Colleague” letter that letter asking the FWS to immediately reverse their importation ban.SCI DC Staff

SCI has also filed a lawsuit against the FWS and has been joined by the NRA in this effort. The lawsuit seeks an expeditious reversal of the bans for both countries. The suit’s long-term goals are to deprive the FWS of the ability to repeat this tactic for elephant importation from Zimbabwe and/or Tanzania for 2015. In addition, SCI and NRA’s suit is intended to prevent the FWS from imposing similar bans for other countries and/or other species.

Collectively, SCI’s strategies are the best and most comprehensive actions currently being undertaken by any individual or entity to protect sustainable use conservation in Africa and around the world.

All of today’s witnesses will be available for interviews upon request.



Source: Safari Club International (SCI)

AFRICAN ELEPHANT: US IMPORT SUSPENSION FOR HUNTING TROPHIES FROM ZIMBABWE AND TANZANIA
by Gerhard Damm

On 4th April 2014, the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USF&WS) announced a suspension on imports of sport-hunted African elephant ivory taken during calendar year 2014 in Tanzania and Zimbabwe. In Tanzania, USF&WS cited catastrophic elephant population declines resulting from uncontrolled poaching, questionable management practices, a lack of effective law enforcement and weak governance. For Zimbabwe the Service relied on what was called “available, though limited data which indicated [sic] a significant elephant population decline”. Ironically, the Service mentioned in the same announcement that “legal, well-regulated sport hunting, as part of a sound management program, can benefit the conservation of listed species by providing incentives to local communities to conserve the species and by putting much-needed revenue back into conservation”.

Estimates of the elephant population in Zimbabwe (listed on CITES Appendix II) put the total number at over 100,000 individuals. Professor Nigel Leader-Williams in a letter to Science magazine pointed out already in 2011 that controlled hunting was beneficial for Zimbabwe’s elephants. “Implementing trophy hunting has doubled the area of the country under wildlife management relative to the 13% in state protected areas, thanks to the inclusion of private lands” Leader-Williams said. “As a result, the area of suitable land available to elephants and other wildlife has increased, reversing the problem of habitat loss and helping to maintain a sustained population increase in Zimbabwe’s already large elephant population.”

In Tanzania elephant are listed on CITES Appendix I. The elephant poaching situation in the country is bad, with the number of elephants in Selous and Ruaha reportedly having dropped from 74,416 in 2009 to 33,084 in 2013. Nevertheless, the Tanzania National Ivory Action Plan was judged largely positive and on track by the CITES Secretariat (SC65 Doc. 42.2) and will be discussed at the CITES Standing Committee in July. Already in December 2013 a mission to the Selous Game Reserve (SGR) by the UNESCO World Heritage Center and IUCN concluded that “voices questioning hunting are becoming louder at a time of a poaching crisis … [however elephant] hunting can make a significant contribution to conservation through revenue generation [and] through the presence of actors with an incentive to maintain the resource underpinning their business. Given the substantial contribution of hunting revenues to the management and conservation of SGR [Note: the retention scheme by which the SGR can retain 50% of hunting income for management and conservation], the banning of hunting in SGR would be ill-advised and counterproductive.

The USF&WS decision came without prior consultations with representatives of the two countries, elephant specialist scientists in Africa, or experts from international hunting associations. Yet, US President Obama had stated in July 2013 during a Joint Press Conference with Tanzanian President Kikwete that his new executive order explicitly requested “to better organize U.S. government efforts [so] that we can cooperate further with the Tanzanian government and others”. The USF&WS apparently also did not consult with the International Conservation Caucus Foundation (ICCF). This organization educates US policy makers on international issues of natural resource management throughout the legislative process. ICCF represented by ICCF Vice Chairman [and CIC Vice President] Dr. Kaush Arha had signed a Memorandum of Understanding in Dar es Salaam in March 2014 with Tanzanian Minister of Natural Resources and Tourism Lazaro Nyalandu and UNDP’s Philippe Poinsot. These partners, including the Global Environment Facility and World Bank held a summit in May 2014 to combat wildlife crime and advance wildlife conservation. CIC members John J Jackson III (Conservation Force) and Dr. Ali Kaka also participated on invitation of Minister Nyalandu.

The International Council for Game and Wildlife Conservation (CIC) is concerned that the unilateral banning of elephant trophy imports to the US from both countries was made arbitrarily, with disregard for science and the rural citizens in the affected countries, and with ignorance of on-the-ground realities of conservation in Africa. USF&WS should have first consulted with African, US and international partners as well as the major international hunting associations on adaptive elephant management processes and best practice parameters in elephant conservation and sustainable use. What has to be jointly looked at are: adequate and motivating benefit-sharing with hard-pressed rural residents, expansion of poaching control at grass-root level, transparent reinvestment of revenues in elephant conservation and surveys, strict compliance with sustainable use principles, scientifically sound and independently set quotas and periodic reviews of age limits, minimum tusk weights and lengths. A blanket import ban is counterproductive.

The CIC is at the forefront in combatting wildlife poaching and trafficking. The recent Global Summit “Hunters United against Wildlife Crime”, held on the 24 April in Milan, Italy during the 61st CIC General Assembly, adopted the Milan Declaration Hunters United Against Wildlife Crime. The members of the Collaborative Partnership on Sustainable Wildlife Management (CPW) consisting of 12 member global organizations also held its third meeting in the fringes to prioritize actions in its core working areas which include legal hunting as well as wildlife crime.

“Hunters have their boots on the ground in most of the heavily threatened areas in Africa, and are for many years funding dedicated anti-poaching efforts in cooperation with conservation and law enforcement bodies” said CIC President Lozé at the conclusion of the Milan Summit.

The CIC calls on the USF&WS to lift the elephant trophy suspension. “[This] suspension on import of elephant trophies from Tanzania and Zimbabwe is not a solution, but a problem for elephant conservation”, said CIC President Bernard Lozé in Brussels during the launch of the EU Platform on Coexistence with Large Carnivores in June. “Revenue loss from trophy hunting and, consequently underfunding of wildlife sectors will undermine the capacity of governments to undertake conservation work including population counts and law enforcement, and will deprive rural communities and community-based conservation programs from one of their few legal sources of income”, Lozé added, “the USF&WS action constitutes an unilateral and uninformed decision that will have disastrous effects on elephants and other wildlife in both countries”.

FWS Ignores Science In Upholding Elephant Ban

Washington, D.C. - Safari Club International (SCI) and millions of hunter conservationists worldwide are shocked and disappointed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) decision to continue the ban on the importation of elephants from Zimbabwe for the rest of 2014.

“Like my fellow hunters, I am disappointed in the FWS decision to persist in upholding a ban that has no sound basis in science and undermines conservation,” said SCI President Craig Kauffman. “This administration continues to talk publicly about the benefits of hunting while siding with anti-hunting extremists time after time. SCI’s Washington team will do everything within its power to reverse this misguided and baseless policy.”

This decision comes months after SCI, Zimbabwe, and others provided data and detailed responses to questions submitted by the FWS. Both Zimbabwe and SCI provided extensive information supporting Zimbabwe’s adaptive elephant management plan and regulated hunting program. The information demonstrates that Zimbabwe’s management works, U.S. hunters are part of the solution, and the elephant population is not drastically declining as alarmists would have you believe.

Removing the U.S. hunter from Africa’s great outdoors will permanently handicap communal wildlife administrators in their fight against poachers and result in significantly less money for conservation and rural development.

- Problems with poaching in Zimbabwe will be exacerbated by this ill-advised importation ban.
- International hunters are the first line of defense for conservation, management, and anti-poaching throughout Africa.
- History has proven that, when wildlife has no value to local residents and businesses, poaching will increase.

The following examples show how hunter-derived revenue is critically important to the rural economy of Zimbabwe:

- In Zimbabwe, hunter-derived revenue contributes between 60-90% of the annual budget for the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority. This funding is critical to on-the-ground anti-poaching efforts.
- In many areas, the fees paid by international hunters are immediately reinvested in community projects through a community-based natural resources management program called CAMPFIRE.
- An average of 90% of CAMPFIRE revenue annually comes from hunting. Elephant hunting contributes more than 70% of CAMPFIRE’s annual revenue. On average $2 million per year in net income directly benefits local communities, and most of this is derived from the lease of hunting rights to commercial safari operators in 49 CAMPFIRE hunting concessions.



Source: Safari Club International (SCI)

Feds to ‘Re-evaluate’ Elephant Policy After Mid-Term Elections

DALLAS -- The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says it will wait until after mid-term elections to “re-evaluate” a controversial new policy on elephant hunting. But conservation groups including Dallas Safari Club (DSC) worry that political gamesmanship in America is already compromising sustainable elephant management in Africa.

Yesterday, the agency promised a December review of a suddenly announced ban on importing elephants lawfully hunted in Zimbabwe (and Tanzania) in 2014.

Since the April announcement, DSC has criticized the ban as a politically motivated stunt that would only hinder wildlife conservation and rural communities in Africa. Seeking a reversal, DSC and its partners began providing data and info to help the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service fully understand the situation on the ground in the affected countries.

But the agency on July 23 confirmed the ban and, in the next-to-last paragraph, the suspicious timeline for revisiting it – adding to concerns that politics are trumping science, according to DSC Executive Director Ben Carter.

“Basically, this agency is taking a timeout from science-based conservation policy,” he said.

“All signs point to politics, because science, facts, on-the-ground expertise and even common sense aren’t moving the needle with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,” said Carter. “By effectually banning lawful hunters, this administration is de-funding a system proven to protect elephants where they are threatened, and manage elephants where they are overpopulated.”

He added, “This agency has offered nothing to replace the lost revenue, knowledge or leadership that hunters provided for elephant conservation in Zimbabwe and Tanzania. It has opened a gate for poachers because now there is less stewardship of a valuable resource.”

Carter said the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service also ignored the Wildlife and Hunting Heritage Conservation Council, a federally recognized advisory body of respected conservation organizations such as Ducks Unlimited, The Nature Conservancy, National Wildlife Federation, Wildlife Management Institute and other groups, universities and agencies. The council had identified flawed processes, logic and data used to formulate the ban.



Source: About Dallas Safari Club (DSC)

Well that ain't good….

Fish & Wildlife Service Upholds Elephant Import Ban
Washington, D.C. - Safari Club International (SCI) and millions of hunter conservationists worldwide are shocked and disappointed by the decision by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to continue the ban of elephant trophy imports from Zimbabwe.

"Like my fellow hunters, I am disappointed in the FWS decision to persist in upholding a ban that has absolutely no basis in science," said SCI President Craig Kauffman. "The fact is this administration continues to publicly talk about the benefits of hunting while siding with anti-hunting extremists time after time. SCI's Washington team will do everything within its power to reverse this misguided and baseless policy."

This decision comes after months of both SCI and Zimbabwe providing data and answers to the laundry list of questions submitted by the FWS. Both Zimbabwe and SCI provided tomes of information that supported Zimbabwe's elephant management plan and regulated hunting program. Sadly, this data demonstrated that Zimbabwe is actually facing an overpopulation of elephants and not the drastic decline that alarmists would have you believe.

Removing the U.S. hunter from the landscape of Africa's great outdoors will permanently handicap communal wildlife administrators in their fight against poachers and result is significantly less money for conservation and rural development.

Problems with poaching in Zimbabwe will be exacerbated by this ill-advised ban by the FWS.
International hunters are the first line of defense for conservation, management, and anti-poaching throughout Africa.
When wildlife has no value, hundreds of years of history prove that it will most certainly be slaughtered indiscriminately.
Examples of how hunter derived revenue are critically important to the rural economy of Zimbabwe:

In Zimbabwe hunter derived revenue contributes between 60-90% of the annual budget for the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority. This funding is critical to on the ground anti-poaching efforts.
The fees paid by international hunters are immediately reinvested in community projects through the CAMPFIRE program.

An average of 90% of CAMPFIRE revenue annually comes from hunting. Elephant trophy hunting contributes more than 70% of CAMPFIRE's annual revenue. On average $2 million per year in net income directly benefits local communities, and most of this is derived from the lease of sport hunting rights to commercial safari operators in 49 CAMPFIRE hunting concessions. Further income is generated from sales of hides and ivory, tourism leases on communal land, and other natural resource management activities.



Source: http://www.theoutdoorwire.com/story/1407285176sh5th4cc8t3

The US Senate is a maze of people who hear but do little. The list of those at the meeting does not give me a lot of confidence that anything will happen to reverse

U.S. Ivory Ban ‘Assures More Elephants Are Killed’

DALLAS -- During a visit to Dallas, Tanzania’s top wildlife official told the Dallas Morning News that the U.S. ban on importing ivory would not curb illicit trafficking. Instead, the move “benefits the poachers. It only assures that more elephants will get killed.”

Lazaro Nyalandu, minister of Tanzania Natural Resources and Tourism, was in Dallas for an Aug. 7 meeting with Dallas Safari Club (DSC) and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

Topics included the African nation’s efforts to slow poaching. The group exchanged ideas on ways to stop illegal activities and conserve species such as elephants, rhinos and lions. But law enforcement is expensive. The U.S. ban translates to drastic cuts in revenue from licensed, regulated, sustainable hunting. Reduced funding means less law enforcement in wildlife areas.

DSC offered to help fund additional game wardens, training and equipment in Tanzania. The club currently grants more than $1 million annually for wildlife conservation causes worldwide.

“We have criticized the ivory ban as a setback for conservation,” said Ben Carter, DSC executive director, “but the mainstream media is often quick to dismiss the opinions and expertise of hunters, as if our only knowledge of wildlife is how to hunt it. Like everyone else, we want these species to thrive. So it’s good to see Minister Nyalandu’s words gaining traction in the news – and hopefully in the minds of all thinking people who share our concerns about poaching.”

Read the Dallas Morning News article here.

Nyalandu and his colleagues had just attended the Aug. 4 U.S.-Africa Leaders’ Summit in Washington D.C. to discuss the concerns behind President Obama’s “National Strategy for Combating Wildlife Trafficking.” The document identifies three priorities: 1.) Strengthening law enforcement, 2.) Reducing demand, and 3.) Building international cooperation and partnerships. For 2014, Obama pledged more than $60 million to support these efforts.

But Tanzanian officials say no funding from the U.S. government has been received so far, and that licensed, regulated, sustainable hunting is a reliable source of conservation funding.

Nyalandu recently revoked all hunting concessions and licenses issued to Green Mile Safari Co. following evidence of egregious ethical and legal violations. DSC urged and praised the move.

Also representing Tanzania at the DSC meeting were Dr. Freddy Manongi, Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority; Dr. Simon Mduma, Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute; Ms. Devotha Mdachi, Tanzania Tourism Board; Pascal Shelutete, Tanzania National Parks; and Imani Nkuwi, chief of staff for Nyalandu.

Joining Carter on behalf of DSC were Chris Hudson, president, and several DSC members. Also attending were Texas Parks and Wildlife Department officials as well as staff members of Sen. John Cornyn and Congressman Pete Sessions.



Source: Dallas Safari Club (DSC)

It's good to hear that a government minister is communicating the facts! Cheers to him!

Continued education from these people could sway opinion. Let's hope.

The USFWS had noting to do with instituting the import ban.
I guarantee you it came straight from the White House.
Everyone there hates guns and hunters, and this was an easy way to screw us and bypass Congress.