SCI Kicks Up Its Game To Protect Hunting

[AfricaHunting.com]

On February 1, the Board of Directors of Safari Club International changed its headquarters designation from Tucson, Arizona to Washington, DC. The purpose of the move is to focus and intensify SCI's efforts on all forms of advocacy to protect the freedom to hunt, in coordination with other hunting organizations.

SCI's CEO Rick Parsons will relocate to the SCI office on Capitol Hill in early April. SCI has advocacy, Litigation and communication units in that building. The SCI Foundation, which owns the building, houses its conservation department there. Parsons has a degree in International Law and has specialized in wildlife conservation issues. While working with the U.S. Government, he helped to draft and implement the global treaty (called CITES) that regulates trade in wildlife so as to prevent extinctions. Parsons has been with SCI since 1985. He has hunted in Virginia, Michigan, Texas and South Africa.

At the same Board meeting, the SCI Board applauded the new Advocacy Communications program of SCI that emphasizes an aggressive approach to outbound communication based on the theme of hunter pride. The goal of the program is to provide information about hunting to the vast majority of people who are neutral on the issue. The information will be designed to change the conversation by giving these neutrals something new to consider about hunting.

The decision to designate Washington, DC as SCI's headquarters and to relocate the CEO was made in the midst of SCI's 46th Annual Hunters' Convention. The Convention is an extraordinary global gathering of the SCI family and hunting world. In all, 1,100 exhibitors from the U.S. and all over the world showed their hunting opportunities and hunting gear to more than 20,000 attendees.

There were seminars on hunting technique, ethics, legal issues and a host of other topics. There were side meetings with government delegations from Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Zambia, Namibia, South Africa, China and Kazakhstan, to name some. There were evening events featuring fundraising auctions to support the work of SCI and its sister organization, the SCI Foundation.

Between them, SCI and the Foundation put more than $3.5 Million on the ground annually for wildlife conservation, anti-poaching, education and humanitarian efforts related to hunting. SCI also funds a wide variety of advocacy activities in the U.S. and globally. Next year's Convention will be in Reno, Nevada on January 9-12, 2019.



Source: Safari Club International (SCI)

 

[BSO Dave]

I'm sure the dentist who still has tire tracks on his back from the SCI bus that ran him over will be ecstatic to hear this news. The SCI is all over the road with their identity and what they are and are not advocating as of late. Their first priority should have been to clarify their message in hopes of unifying the membership and ending their hypocrisy. No need to move to DC for that.

Regardless, I sincerely hope that they can move forward aggressively promoting ALL hunters' rights. They need to be initiating the conversations, and not hiding in defense of them. Hopefully, this move and new strategy is not too little too late.

 

[CAustin]

The key is promoting hunting in the right places. Hope the move will benefit us all.

 

[browningbbr]

I'm sure the dentist who still has tire tracks on his back from the SCI bus that ran him over will be ecstatic to hear this news. The SCI is all over the road with their identity and what they are and are not advocating as of late. Their first priority should have been to clarify their message in hopes of unifying the membership and ending their hypocrisy. No need to move to DC for that.

BSO Dave has encapsulated the issue that many of us have with SCI. This incident was the reason that I quit SCI. It contradicted their stated mission of being "for hunters". Ending the hypocrisy would be reason enough for me to rejoin.

 

[wesheltonj]

So your going to move the CEO to DC - BFD. Where are they going to put him (old office still empty?), their building is a converted house that already has staff. And what is he going to do - host cocktail parties? They already have lobbyist and lawyers in the building of which he was one. Sounds like he does not want to live in Tucson anymore.

 

[Hogpatrol]

Well, the OP sure has received a lot of positive replies.

 

[LivingTheDream]

I debate back and forth on quitting. I feel they are becoming more lobbyists first and foremost. That is worth something I guess. But they don't really have a clear message anymore, and drop the ball on the PR front.

 

[Hogpatrol]

My 2¢, No organization is perfect and they all stumble once in a while BUT without the lobbyists in D.C. any entity, group or vested interest not represented there is dead meat.

 

[Philip Glass]

I learned something new at SCI about Dr. Palmer and the lion incident. SCI tried to contact Dr. Palmer many times but he never got back in touch with them. He NEVER called in and told his side of the story. It’s hard to support someone who is accused of a crime or wrongdoing of some sort if there is no communication and no defense presented.
This was news to me and shows SCI did what it had to do under the circumstances.
I think the move to DC will be a good one. We must defend our rights. The new PR messaging will be good as well. I hope that I can contribute someday in someway to these PR efforts.
Philip

 

[mdwest]

I dunno.. it’s possible that Dr. Palmers attorney told him to not say anything to anyone.. if that were the case I wouldn’t have said anything either..

It’s also possible (probable) that he was under intense pressure and stress and just wasn’t up to having what he knew was going to be a difficult call with SCI leadership and/or attorneys...

We will never have all the facts or details...

SCI could have gone public and said “we are withholding making any decisions until the investigation on this matter is complete”

Instead they went public and stated they were suspending both Dr. Palmer and the PHs membership until the investigation was complete.

That hardly sounds like “first for hunters” to me..

That sounds a lot more like “first for SCI”...

 

[K-man]

I learned something new at SCI about Dr. Palmer and the lion incident. SCI tried to contact Dr. Palmer many times but he never got back in touch with them. He NEVER called in and told his side of the story. It’s hard to support someone who is accused of a crime or wrongdoing of some sort if there is no communication and no defense presented.
This was news to me and shows SCI did what it had to do under the circumstances.
I think the move to DC will be a good one. We must defend our rights. The new PR messaging will be good as well. I hope that I can contribute someday in someway to these PR efforts.
Philip

I understand your position, but respectfully disagree on defending someone's actions to SCI. Our society has become a "guilty until you prove your innocence" mentality, not just in hunting. Look at the current accusations about sexual harassment. All it takes now is a quick post on the internet and someone's life is forever changed, guilty or not. I would never support illegal activities, but as in this case, it appears Dr. Palmer did not need to defend himself. SCI acted in their own interests, not the member's. I am a board member of Home Builders and we have a member accused of theft and imprisoned pending trial. We cannot allow the accusation force us to end his membership until a court has ruled without incurring possible legal action onto the organization.

 

[johnnyblues]

I simply think SCI is just a name. Are they really defending hunters? Where is the massive PR campaign against antis? The antis have gained so much ground in recent years in the court of public opinion and yet SCI has largely remained silent. Do you realize how hard it is to get back public opinion once it becomes engrained in their minds. If they were to respond immediately on attacks to our sport maybe just maybe some folks would say ok wait a second. I m sure in Washington they do work on issues but to me it seems quite slow to see benefits for hunters. I have not been a member for some time and don't see myself going back unless they prove to me they are getting real results. There just seems to be so many issues unresolved. Just my opinion.

 

[firehuntfish]

You are spot-on with your comments @BSO Dave.... I had questioned the value of my membership with the SCI on a few occasions prior to the Dr. Palmer incident. Their handling of his predicament was the last straw for me... It was the opposite of what should have been done. I am sorry to disagree @Philip Glass, but the position and "strategy" the SCI took was an indefensible, horribly miscalculated PR move that blew up in the face of every hunter on the planet.

As @mdwest , stated, if anything, they should have at least taken no position until the investigation was completed. Dr. Palmer was assuredly advised by his legal counsel not to comment given the overnight volatility of the situation. His restraint from comment did not warrant or provoke the knife in the back he got from the SCI. If there was any obligation not met, it was on the part of the SCI to refrain from judgement until the facts were clear. Their slogan should be changed to: "First for Hunters... Unless you are accused, tried, and convicted by the world court and biased media by which your alleged actions are unpopular and misunderstood..."

I am no longer a member of the SCI because I too believe they are more of a political lobby group than a true hunters'rights/conservation organization. Does some of what they do have value? Sure, but, selective defense is really no defense at all. Their opportunity to do the most good for hunters' world-wide is being squandered. The reality of it is that sending a blue bag full of soccer balls to some poor village kids doesn't even the scales of public opinion when a cute, cuddly lion with a name and a collar has been lured from his home with bait to be "murdered". Hunting in general is a dynamic, multi-faceted concept in this ridiculous new world, and in my opinion, there is no longer room for appeasement on our part. The SCI and every other hunting/conservation group needs to change the game plan to play a little offense if we are to survive.

 

[Therack]

I don’t feel like my rights as a hunter are being protected when SCI comes out against certain types of captive bred hunting. More like my rights are slowly being eroded.

 

[LivingTheDream]

@johnnyblues you are spot on, for over two years we have been talking about a PR firm. I would like to see them get out in front more given the resources they have.

Lobbying is important and without it we would probably be dead in the water on a lot of issues. I think SCI really has an opportunity to make a difference with Zinke and this administration, if they don't take advantage of it we might be in trouble in the future. Hopefully, they can rally people behind the SAVES Act and pass it on the DL so as not to create anytype of backlash, but they should have a PR firm ready for that.

As far as Dr. Palmer and their response, when I talked to someone who is connected with the higher ups (he might even be a higher up) at SCI about it in a hunting camp a few months after it happened, his immediate response to me was that he should not have ever been a member since he had a hunting violation and it is in the bylaws...I kind of phased out. It reminds me a bit of a Rodger Goddell approach where protect the brand not necessarily the members.

I will keep my membership for now but if for some reason leopard imports get banned, I will cancel my membership immediately and make a bigger donation to conservation force. Just my 2 cents, I hope this move gives SCI the ability to make a bigger impact for hunters.

 

[Hogpatrol]

@johnnyblues you are spot on, for over two years we have been talking about a PR firm. I would like to see them get out in front more given the resources they have.

They don't have a PR firm on contract? I hope that's not true. If it is, the entire executive board needs to be removed and a new younger, aggressive one versed in social media and internet methods to attack the anti-s should be elected or installed.
From my perspective, SCI should be on almost total offense against the anti-s and sorry, but a feel good website for the members doesn't get it. This is 2018, not 1968. Doug Pederson didn't win the Super Bowl by playing defense. He went for the throat. So should SCI and all the other pro-hunting organizations.

 

[Royal27]

They don't have a PR firm on contract? I hope that's not true.

They do, for SCI.

JB has vocally supported a PR firm that supports all hunters and helps to get the message out, much more than what SCI does.

 

[wesheltonj]

SCI biggest problem is they can't decide what they want to be, so they try to be everything to everyone and fail at most. Perhaps Conservation Force should take over the lawsuits and lobbying and leave the trade show and awards to SCI.

 

[Philip Glass]

They don't have a PR firm on contract? I hope that's not true. If it is, the entire executive board needs to be removed and a new younger, aggressive one versed in social media and internet methods to attack the anti-s should be elected or installed.
From my perspective, SCI should be on almost total offense against the anti-s and sorry, but a feel good website for the members doesn't get it. This is 2018, not 1968. Doug Pederson didn't win the Super Bowl by playing defense. He went for the throat. So should SCI and all the other pro-hunting organizations.

Whoa hold on a minute! SCI does have a PR firm and I spoke to the man who owns it at the Saturday banquet. Yes they can do more but let’s not get off track here.

 

[Philip Glass]

I can be critical too but I have received much help from both DSC and SCI along with Conservation Force as it relates to my lion permit. I am a life member of both DSC and SCI and believe we should all be members as there is much work being done. I hope that we can go on offense and this is what I have told everyone we must do. We have only played defense up to this point.
Philip