by Karen Mehall Phillips - Friday, June 19, 2020
The NRA is pleased to report a major win for hunters, hunting and wildlife conservation this week culminating a six-year-old court case that could have ended the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (USFWS) science-based permitting policy for the importation of endangered and threatened wildlife species. On Tuesday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. District Court upheld the USFWS’ 2018 policy permitting importation of these species on a case-by-case basis.
The long-running case began in 2014 when the Obama administration interrupted the legal permitting process in efforts to end importations based on disruptive, unsubstantiated claims with no basis in wildlife science. The NRA and SCI challenged the move in court to put an end to the previous administration’s arbitrary importation ban. Not only did the ban remove the benefits and incentives of legal, regulated hunting but it hindered wildlife conservation efforts in numerous African nations.
Fueled by emotion rather than the facts regarding legal, regulated hunting—as American hunters have come to expect—several animal-rights extremist groups fought against the NRA and SCI but lost at every turn. Common sense ultimately won the day as Wednesday’s decision marked the fourth ruling and win in hunters’ favor. All four rulings were unanimous, so hopefully this latest action settles the matter once and for all.
As this NRA Hunters’ Leadership Forum website shares repeatedly, wildlife-management decisions based on the truth about hunting mark a win for hunters and wildlife every time. Contrary to the lies put forth by animal-rightists, hunting is essential to wildlife conservation efforts in Africa.
Please share with non-hunters that hunters’ dollars and hunting operations conserve large expanses of habitat, contribute to counter-poaching efforts and directly restore healthy wildlife populations—including those of endangered species. As this site notes, wildlife conservation becomes increasingly challenging as African economies grow. Considering hunting’s inherent economic incentives for conservation and ability to hold its ground economically with other land uses, it remains a sound way to keep wildlife habitats intact and help to make sure wildlife does not become extinct.
As American hunters have witnessed, it often takes time to undo the damage brought about by previous administrations and those who do not understand hunting. Today is clearly a good day for the NRA, SCI and every other hunter-backed wildlife conservation organization and every American hunter as we embrace this long-awaited win.