SHUT DOWN SAFARI CLUB INTERNATIONAL SCI
- by: Ruth McD
- recipient: Barrack Obama, President of the United States
While the slaughter of African wildlife has been elevated to the global stage as never before, there is a larger story behind Cecil’s death that has largely been overlooked by the media. That story is the role played by Safari Club International (SCI), a stealthy and powerful pro-hunting group that masquerades as an organization dedicated to “promoting wildlife conservation,” according to its mission statement. SCI’s activities — both in the wild and on Capitol Hill — have had a destructive impact on wildlife and wildlife policies on the state, federal and even international levels. With some 50,000 members, 150 chapters and over $10 million in revenue ($3 million from annual membership dues and another $7 million raised from its annual convention), Safari Club International exercises a substantial amount of lobbying power, shaping anti-wildlife conservation policies that only satisfy trophy hunters’ bloodlust, negatively impacting wildlife on a global scale. In Africa, SCI has been a longtime driving force in the sustained killing of the continent’s lions, contributing to the species’ sad, rapid decline: A loss of more than 50 percent of the lion population over the last three decades alone. Today, there are fewer than 40,000 African lions left in the wild. And even though two-thirds of them remain unprotected, SCI has for many years worked to block the conservation efforts of several wildlife protection groups seeking to list the lion as endangered. Thankfully, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service recently announced the African lion will be protected under the Endangered Species Act, a ruling that will go into effect in February. SCI), a hunting advocacy group that promotes competitive trophy hunting throughout the world, even of rare species, and not shying away from canned hunts, through an elaborate awards program. SHUT DOWN SCI NOW!
While the slaughter of African wildlife has been elevated to the global stage as never before, there is a larger story behind Cecil’s death that has largely been overlooked by the media. That story is the role played by Safari Club International (SCI), a stealthy and powerful pro-hunting group that masquerades as an organization dedicated to “promoting wildlife conservation,” according to its mission statement. SCI’s activities — both in the wild and on Capitol Hill — have had a destructive impact on wildlife and wildlife policies on the state, federal and even international levels. With some 50,000 members, 150 chapters and over $10 million in revenue ($3 million from annual membership dues and another $7 million raised from its annual convention), Safari Club International exercises a substantial amount of lobbying power, shaping anti-wildlife conservation policies that only satisfy trophy hunters’ bloodlust, negatively impacting wildlife on a global scale. In Africa, SCI has been a longtime driving force in the sustained killing of the continent’s lions, contributing to the species’ sad, rapid decline: A loss of more than 50 percent of the lion population over the last three decades alone. Today, there are fewer than 40,000 African lions left in the wild. And even though two-thirds of them remain unprotected, SCI has for many years worked to block the conservation efforts of several wildlife protection groups seeking to list the lion as endangered. Thankfully, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service recently announced the African lion will be protected under the Endangered Species Act, a ruling that will go into effect in February. SCI), a hunting advocacy group that promotes competitive trophy hunting throughout the world, even of rare species, and not shying away from canned hunts, through an elaborate awards program. SHUT DOWN SCI NOW!
Sincerely,
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