Trophy-hunting foes sue to shut down
Trump wildlife board
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[August 02, 2018]
By Jonathan Stempel
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Animal advocacy groups
filed a lawsuit on Wednesday to shut down U.S. President Donald Trump's
board advising on federal rules for importing big game, saying it is
stacked with trophy hunters and politically connected donors and cannot
serve the public interest.
The lawsuit said the "deceptively named" International Wildlife
Conservation Council actually promotes the hunting of and importing of
body parts from "imperiled species" such as African elephants, lions and
rhinos.
It said the 17-member council, created last November by Interior
Secretary Ryan Zinke, violates a 1972 federal law designed to curb White
House use of "secretive" advisory panels to set national policy, and
should lose its powers and charter.
A spokeswoman for the Interior Department referred a request for comment
to the U.S. Department of Justice, where a spokeswoman declined to
comment.
The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court in Manhattan by the
Natural Resources Defense Council, the Center for Biological Diversity
and the Humane Society, all non-profit.
They said the council caused harm by inhibiting their ability to
publicly debate and contribute to federal wildlife policy.
Zinke, a hunter and former Montana congressman, has said the council
would advise on the benefits of international recreational hunting, and
how American hunters "benefit international conservation from boosting
economies and creating hundreds of jobs to enhancing wildlife
conservation."
The council's mission included providing advice on removing import
barriers for legally hunted wildlife, streamlining the permitting
process and lifting unneeded import bans, as well as combating illegal
trafficking and poaching.
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A male African elephant mock-charges in the Okavango Delta in
Botswana, March 25, 2005. REUTERS/Thomas White
According to federal records, council members include Paul Babaz,
president of Safari Club International; Erica Rhoad, director of
hunting policy at the National Rifle Association; and Steven
Chancellor, a Republican fundraiser.
The White House has sent mixed signals on the importing of big game.
On March 1, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reversed an Obama-era
ban to allow the importing of trophies such as elephant tusks and
lion hides, extending prior administration approval for imports of
elephant parts from Zambia and Zimbabwe.
But it also conflicted with a Nov. 19, 2017 tweet, after the Zambia
and Zimbabwe approval, in which Trump said he would be "very hard
pressed to change my mind that this horror show in any way helps
conservation of Elephants or any other animal."
Trump's adult sons are also trophy hunters.
The case is Natural Resources Defense Council et al v Zinke et al,
U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 18-06903.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Richard Chang
and David Gregorio)
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