Safari Club International President Paul Babaz today issued a statement that points out the lunacy of a bill that has been introduced into the U.S. House of Representatives that, if passed into law, would harm the very wildlife it purports to want to help – all in the name of vilifying hunters and hunting. President Babaz’ statement notes:
“As expected, Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) has reintroduced an unserious wildlife bill designed to restrict importations from Africa in the highly mistaken belief that Washington, D.C. politicians and bureaucrats know best how to manage wildlife in range countries. The truth of the matter is they do not. It is African range countries that best know how to manage their wildlife populations.
“Rep. Grijalva’s legislation will no more protect wildlife in Africa than pigs will fly. In fact, targeting hunting or hunters will have the opposite effect and will lead to more species loss and more poaching. Sadly, this bill specifically targets the importation of species that have seen the greatest benefit from well-regulated hunting programs.
“Regulated trophy hunting helps wildlife and local economies, while attacks on hunting result in harm to the very animals that we all want to save. The evidence of this is clear and it is why many African and
Asian countries use hunting to conserve wildlife and some African countries are considering lifting their restrictions on hunting.
“Safari Club International and other wildlife conservation groups will not back down. SCI strongly opposes Rep. Grijalva’s blatant attack. Hunters are standing tall and are prepared to defend the basics of wildlife conservation science. We look ahead with great eagerness for any opportunity to defend our hunting heritage.
“It is interesting to note that support for Grijalva’s bill by his House colleagues has plummeted by half every time it has been introduced. Those willing to examine facts know what this bill is: a clueless, anti-science hack bill written to raise money from fringe, anti-hunting radicals.”
