Notes

Outline

ROAR

U.S. Congress Focuses on CWD     The U.S. Congress is attempting to consolidate bills HR4705, HR4795 and S2560—all of which were introduced to advance a multi-agency plan for assisting states, federal agencies, and tribes in managing the growing threat of Chronic Wasting Disease (ROAR 3.11). Concurrently, the SCI Foundation continues to meet with other conservation organizations to explore how these non-profit agencies can effectively assist the government in eradicating this disease. Ending CWD will require substantial investments in research, animal testing and wildlife management programs to curtail CWD infection of healthy deer and elk populations.  Since time is of the essence, SCI encourages sportsmen to keep expressing strong support for increased Federal and state funding of CWD programs.

Mounties Raid Eco-Terrorist   The Vancouver Sun reports that the home of Animal Liberation Front spokesman David Barbarash was raided last week by Canadian Mounties assisting law enforcement officials in Maine. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police seized tapes, computer records and other materials as part of a search related to apparent 1999 ALF break-ins at three rod-and-gun clubs in Maine. Sheriff Everett Flannery of Maine's Kennebec County told the Sun that the evidence gathered will likely be turned over to the Federal Bureau of Investigation because the case involves "international terrorism issues." Flannery added,  "It looks like we're talking cases here and numerous states involved."

West Nile Threat Grows   ABCNEWS.com reports that the West Nile virus (ROAR 2.5), which was first discovered in the US in 1999, is now present in 34 states and the District of Columbia.  The Center for Disease Control has confirmed 90 human cases so far this year, including five deaths in Louisiana that prompted Governor Mike Foster to declare a statewide emergency. Mosquitoes affected by the West Nile virus are the primary infection source for humans.  Since mosquitoes are a favorite food of bats--which are not a carrier for West Nile and can devour as many as 1,200 insects per hour--healthy bat populations can reduce mosquito populations and community dependence on insecticides. SCI members have built and installed more than 10,000 bat boxes to nurture bats and slow the progression of West Nile in New York.  To request free building plans for bat boxes, each of which can house as many as 50 insect-eating bats, E-mail dnagore@safariclub.org.

Deer-Caused Collisions The Wall Street Journal started August with a front page feature on the carnage being wrought on US highways as a result of exploding deer populations.  It noted that: Deer kill more people in the US than do all commercial airlines, train and bus accidents combined in a typical year. In 2002, drivers are expected to hit 1.8 million deer—nearly four times what the species’ entire population was at the turn of the 20th century. Despite the 7.4 million deer annually harvested by sportsmen and the 1.8 million killed by motorists, deer populations grew from 29.8 million in 1994 to 32.7 million today. SCI supports expanded legal hunting  of deer wherever the species is creating unnatural pressures on habitat and surrounding ecosystems.  When deer populations are in balance with the rest of the ecosystem, deer flourish and deer-caused collisions can be minimized.

Freedom and Fishing Ryan Rood, an 11-year-old boy from Olympia, Wash., recently wrote to The Olympian to express his displeasure over the efforts by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals to end angling in that state (ROAR 3.11). “I may be 11 years old,” he states, “but I have learned in my history classes that this country was founded on freedom of choice.  If they (PETA) choose not to fish and hunt, that’s freedom of choice.  But if they want to try to force people into being vegetarians and ban fishing in state parks—where fish are purposely stocked for fishers to catch—then you might as well live in a communist country. “I think that the animal activists have been vegetarians for so long that they suffer from a protein deficiency and can no longer think clearly.  They seem to have forgotten what freedom means.”

Anything For Attention PETA keeps raising the bar for bad taste.  The Sun-herald.com recently took the fringe group to task after a PETA extremist was arrested for attempting, while dressed in “red tights, a pitch fork, and a black cape,” to dance on the grave of the famous circus performer Gunther Gebel-Williams. “One of the greatest freedoms we enjoy is the right to speak out against something we believe is wrong,” noted the editorial.  “No one should make a mockery of that freedom through ridiculous acts that seek to not only tarnish the memory of a legend but to bring much hurt to his family.”

Pronghorn Poachers Convicted    With the help of SCI’s Amarillo Chapter, 10 people have been convicted of the poaching of at least 24 pronghorn antelope last year in Dallam County, Texas (ROAR 2.3). SCI Amarillo raised $2,500 of the $4,500 slotted by state game wardens to pay for the tips related to the case.  “It was those anonymous tips that made the case,” said warden John Brooks in The Facts.  “We didn’t have much to go on.  This helped our case more than you’ll ever know.” SCI congratulates SCI Amarillo and Texas wildlife officials in a job well done, and urges anyone who witnesses a violation of wildlife regulations to report it to law enforcement officials immediately.

Royal Hunter      Beginning August 18, 8 p.m. EST, US cable channel “E! Entertainment” will air Royalty A-Z, a miniseries examining Britain’s royal family (ROAR 1.1 & 2.6). According to hola.com, the miniseries is expected to cover, among other things, Prince William’s desire not to be king, as well as his great passion for hunting, mentioning a trip the young prince made last year to Botswana when he harvested several game species. Check your local listings for times.

More Wildlife Attacks    Recent wildlife attacks continue to provide a strong signal that communities should embrace game-management plans advanced by wildlife biologists: San Francisco Chronicle features a man pumping gas in Ohio who was charged by a one-antlered deer. Associated Press reports a 61-year-old man in British Columbia remarkably killed—with his three-inch pocket knife-- a cougar that attacked him. St. Petersburg Times notes that a bobcat in Rock Springs Run State Preserve attacked a hiker, two park rangers, and the rangers’ truck before the animal was brought down. CNN.com describes a three-year study showing how overfishing of shark prey in the Atlantic may be connected to shark attacks on humans in coastal waters.

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More on Safari Club           Founded in 1971, Safari Club International is the leader in protecting the freedom to hunt and in promoting wildlife conservation worldwide.             With some 200 chapters around the globe, the 501(c)(4) non-profit association is a tireless advocate for  the more than 45 million 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.             Safari Club International Foundation funds and manages worldwide programs dedicated to wildlife conservation, outdoor education and humanitarian services. For more information about the 501(c)(3) Foundation, visit www.safariclubfoundation.org or its International Wildlife Museum Web site at www.thewildlifemuseum.org.