ROAR Rapid Outdoor Advocacy Report Download "The Wild Life" cartoon by Roy Doty. Publish it FREE with our thanks. ?Click here for color ?Click here for B&W Welcome ROAR is Safari Club International's new E-bulletin for journalists interested in the outdoors. A periodic tip sheet, ROAR is designed to help keep you abreast of notable activities — some worthy of column mention; some appropriate for story development; all subjects on which Safari Club International an provide expert commentary for the hunting community. Please let Jim Brown, SCI/SCIF Director of Public Relations (520-620-1220, ext. 477; jbrown@safariclub.org), know if you: 1. Prefer to receive ROAR by fax or mail 2. Want expert commentary on wildlife management or hunting-related issues 3. Need leads on hunters involved with conservation, education and humanitarian projects 4. Wish to be removed from the ROAR distribution list (roar@safariclub.org; 520- 618-3565 fax) Queen Ruffles Feathers By tradition, Britain's Queen doesn't respond verbally to criticism in the press. Yet, a day after animal rights activists questioned her killing a wounded pheasant with her bare hands, Queen Elizabeth went to church on Sunday wearing pheasant feathers in her hat. In explaining the pointed gesture on Nov. 20, a royal aide said: "The queen would never enter into a public debate about whether she should be involved in country sports, but by displaying the feathers she has made her feelings plain without saying anything." Safari Club International salutes Queen Elizabeth for her keen interest in outdoor sports, and the royal family for honoring the rich hunting tradition enjoyed by some 45 million people worldwide. Everglades Restoration Effort On Oct. 31, Congress passed the Everglades Restoration Effort as part of the Water Resources and Development Act (S2796). The bill, if approved by the President after the election, will constitute the single largest wildlife restoration effort ever in the United States. Beginning with a $1.4 billion down payment, S2796 would help reverse damage to the delicate Everglades ecosystem, benefiting many species including the Florida panther and West Indian manatee. Safari Club International encourages President Clinton to endorse this important initiative. Hunting Heritage Protection Act The 106th Congress stands poised to vote on HR4790, the Hunting Heritage Protection Act. If passed, this bill will dramatically increase access to Federal land by sportsmen and sportswomen. The National Audubon Society calls it "unsafe," "unnecessary," and "overkill." Nothing could be further from the truth. Everyone should be able to fully enjoy the great outdoors, and America's rich hunting tradition contributes the majority of money necessary to maintain wildlife populations and habitats, conduct wildlife research and enforce wildlife laws. Protecting Brazilian Ecosystem Safari Club International Brazil recently completed 10 months of negotiations with Federal State and other authorities to start a 10-year program to cull some 15,000 water buffaloes from the Guapore Ecological Reserve in Rondonia. Not indigenous to the area, the water buffaloes have had no natural predators since the 1970s; have won competition for food in the territory endangering native species. "You can barely see deer in the Reserve," says Ms. Augusta Rosa Gonzalves, Conservation Units Department, IBAMA (Brazil's national parks, national forest and wildlife management agency). "Even jaguars, in some areas, are no longer seen." The Safari Club International Foundation, and SCI Chapters around the globe annually fund hundreds of conservation projects. This one SCI project will reduce the buffalo population in Brazil to help other species, and meat from the harvests could result in more than 12 million Sportsmen Against Hunger meals a year starting in 2001. Chronic Wasting Disease With deer season in full swing, several scientists have urged hunters to be careful when handling harvested animals in remote parts of Colorado and Wyoming. Chronic wasting disease — a malady similar to the mad cow disease that ravaged domestic cattle in Britain in the mid-1980s — is estimated to affect one percent of elk and from six to 15 percent of deer along the states' shared border. Unlike mad cow disease, where consumption of tainted meat led to 77 deaths, no human infections have been linked to the affected elk and deer. In fact, The New York Times (Oct. 31, 2000) quotes Dr. Elizabeth Williams, a veterinarian at the University of Wyoming in Laramie and a leading researcher on chronic wasting disease, as saying "the prevalence and incidence of the disease has not changed much over the past several years." Safari Club International applauds the diligent researchers working to unravel the mystery of chronic wasting disease. SCI also encourages hunters in Colorado and Wyoming to avoid harvesting obviously sick animals; to use rubber gloves when field dressing carcasses; to avoid coming in contact with brain, spinal cord, eyes, spleen or lymph nodes of any deer or elk they might kill. Deer/Auto Accidents Increase With the rut, it's no wonder that October, November and December consistently have the most deer-auto collisions. According to the Insurance Information Institute, more than 750,000 deer-vehicle accidents occurred nationally in 1999, up from 500,000 in the prior year. These accidents resulted in 120 deaths and more than $1.2 billion in property damage. Safari Club International just canvassed state transportation, wildlife management, and public safety officials nationwide. Their latest data (very conservative due to under-reporting by motorists) show: 1. More than 20,000 Americans are injured and more than 144 people die each year as a result of wildlife-related auto accidents. 2. The dozen most dangerous states in terms of wildlife/automobile accident frequency are Michigan (67,669), New York (62,000), Georgia and Wisconsin (50,000), Ohio (27,427), Illinois (20,468), West Virginia (16,258), New Jersey (14,300), North Carolina (13,880), Iowa (11,365), Indiana (10,779) and Kansas (10,192). Canadian Government Boosts Hunting Concerned that it won't have enough hunters in future generations to control animal populations — particularly given its tough gun laws — the Canadian Government in October started allowing young people to try hunting without a license on certain days, as long as an adult trains them. In explaining the new program for children ages 12 and older, Steve Wendt of the Canadian Wildlife Service said, "If the hunters weren't there, if they weren't reducing the number of birds in that way, then the birds become a greater and greater irritant." Safari Club International joins Canadian wildlife experts in applauding this important step to help reverse the decline of licensed Canadian hunters through education. ATTEND THE SCI CONVENTION Interested in covering Safari Club International's 29th Annual Hunters Convention? The 2001 event takes place in Las Vegas Jan. 10-13, at the Venetian Resort and Sands Expo Center. SCI's largest convention to date, with over 400,000 square feet of exhibit space is expected to attract some 20,000 exhibitors and hunters. If you or a colleague would like credentials to attend this convention as a representative of the working media, please contact: Jim Brown Director of Public Relations Safari Club International & Safari Club International Foundation 4800 W. Gates Pass Road Tucson, AZ 85745 520-620-1220, ext. 477 520-618-3565 (fax) jbrown@safariclub.org More on Safari Club Founded in 1971, Safari Club International is a 501(C)(4) nonprofit association dedicated to protecting the rights of 45 million hunters worldwide. With some 200 chapters around the globe, SCI is a tireless advocate for these sportsmen and sportswomen who, through their legal hunting activities, represent the single largest source of money necessary to maintain wildlife populations and habitats, to conduct wildlife research and to enforce wildlife laws. For more information about SCI, visit www.safariclub.org or its government relations Web site at www.sci-dc.org. The Safari Club International Foundation is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization that promotes wildlife conservation, education about the outdoors, and humanitarian services for people in need. For more information about SCIF, visit www.safariclubfoundation.org or its International Wildlife Museum Web site at www.thewildlifemuseum.org.