Outdoor commentary and legislative issues.
This from www.Humanewatch.org…
The Humane Society of the United States has gotten poor marks from charity watchdogs for its use of donor money, and one recent telemarketing campaign shows why. In a final accounting filed by HSUS telemarketing firm Donor Care Center, a fundraising campaign that raised over $200,000 from people who thought they were helping animals had a net return of negative 78 percent over the past year. Read more
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June 25, 2014
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Call to Action for Scientific Wildlife Managment
We need your help!
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Washington, DC – Yesterday, 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.” Read more
(Columbus, OH) – Charity Navigator, the nation’s largest and most-utilized evaluator of charities, has stripped their rating of the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and other animal rights groups and replaced them with a “Donor Advisory” warning.
Charity Navigator rates organizations from one to four stars, with four being the highest rating possible. According to Charity Navigator, a “Donor Advisory” means that “serious concerns have been raised about this charity which prevents the issuance of a star rating.”
The move comes after Feld Entertainment, Inc., operator of the Ringling Brothers Circus, recovered $15.75 million in attorney fees from HSUS and their codefendants who include Born Free USA/Animal Protection Institute, Fund for Animals, Animal Welfare Institute, and the American Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) as reported by USSA in early June. Read more
(Columbus, OH) – Skull Bound TV, a popular hunting and fishing show on The Sportsman Channel, has been shut out of their Facebook page for 24-hours with no access to add new content after a standard post was said to not follow “Facebook Community Standards.”
The post in question showed a 7-foot black bear harvested on a do-it-yourself hunt by Jim Kinsey, director of the show, after “one of the most incredible hunts of our lives” according to Jana Waller, host of Skull Bound TV.
The post made by Waller showed Kinsey sitting proudly behind his legal harvest. Read more
June 13, 2014
Washington, D.C. – This week, Charles Jonga, Director of the Community Areas Management Program for Indigenous Resources (CAMPFIRE) in Zimbabwe came to Washington as a guest of the SCI Foundation. He discussed the necessity of community involvement in wildlife management before the Presidential Advisory Council on Wildlife Trafficking (Advisory Council) and shared how hunting is an integral source of funding for CAMPFIRE programs. Additionally, Director Jonga addressed over 150 U.S. Congressional staffers at the International Conservation Caucus Foundation to inform policy makers on CAMPFIRE’s anti-poaching efforts, and to demonstrate the negative impacts created by the recent U.S. ban of elephant imports.
“The CAMPFIRE program benefits over 750,000 households across Zimbabwe. I was very thankful for the opportunity to speak, so that I could articulate just how severe an impact would occur if U.S. government policies continue to undermine our funding base,” Jonga said. “Organizations such as CAMPFIRE rely on American hunters as a primary revenue source to fund anti-poaching programs. The current ban will severely cut CAMPFIRE’s budget and our ability to protect elephants.” Read more
This from www.Humanewatch.org
It’s been a little while since we checked in on the federal lawsuit facing the Humane Society of the United States. No, not the racketeering lawsuit accusing HSUS of illegal witness payments—HSUS settled that one with its co-defendants for almost $16 million last month. We’re referring to another lawsuit, this one filed by Daniel Christensen, a hunting dog breeder in South Dakota whom HSUS “raided” in 2009.
In that case, HSUS assisted in the seizure of dogs from Christensen’s property. KELO TV reported at the time of the seizure that “Many of their [the dogs’] new handlers are from the Humane Society of the United States.” Scotlund Haisley, then the head of HSUS’s “rescue” team, told the media that “Under the request of the local authorities, we will now continue to provide care and medical treatment for these animals awaiting the judicial system.”
The judicial system spoke—and it threw out the warrant that HSUS used to seize the dogs (which was obtained by a local animal control officer). Christensen then sued Haisley, HSUS, and others for allegedly violating his rights. Read more
DALLAS — Dallas Safari Club (DSC) is continuing its financial support of a Texas A&M University effort to build a DNA repository of African game species. The growing bank of DNA samples can be used to track the genetic heritage and health of wildlife. DSC has awarded grants for this effort since 2011. “Biologists say this program is an insurance policy for the future of wildlife,” said Ben Carter, DSC executive director. “And it’s passionate, generous hunters, mainly from the U.S., who are making it go.” Read more
In a landmark settlement, Feld Entertainment, Inc., operator of the Ringling Brothers Circus, has recovered $15.75 million in attorney fees from the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and their codefendants. The settlement stems from a lawsuit filed against Feld Entertainment in 2000 alleging mistreatment of federally protected Asian elephants.
In order to establish “standing” to sue, the plaintiffs (HSUS, Born Free USA/Animal Protection Institute, Fund for Animals, Animal Welfare Institute (AWI), and the American Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) and individual citizen, Tom Rider) had to show that a member of their organizations had a personal stake in the case, such as a direct personal connection with the elephants. Those groups pointed to Tom Rider as their key witness. Rider, a former elephant trainer for Feld Entertainment, submitted sworn affidavits alleging the personal connection needed to file the lawsuit.
During the course of the lawsuit, Feld Entertainment uncovered evidence that some of the groups, with the assistance of their attorneys at the Meyer, Glitzenstein and Crystal law firm, were secretly paying Rider’s living expenses and had submitted false information regarding those payments. In total, the payments amounted to $190,000. In response, Feld Entertainment sued HSUS and the other groups under federal anti-racketeering laws known as the RICO Act. Read more
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: Read more