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Dozens Of Lion Trophy Permits Issued To Hunters As Trump Rolls Back Import Hurdles

xbhaskarx

xbhaskarx

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
5,143
NorCal
Dozens Of Lion Trophy Permits Issued To Hunters As Trump Rolls Back Import Hurdles
Many of the permits were issued to those with ties to Republicans and a major trophy hunting group.

The federal government has issued more than three dozen permits allowing hunters to import lion trophies from two African nations since 2016, according to copies of the applications obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request.

The documents, obtained by the group Friends of Animals, provide insight into the often secretive permitting process to import threatened or endangered species killed abroad during luxury hunting trips. Thirty-three Americans were issued permits to import 38 lion trophies between 2016 and 2018, at least half of whom have donated to Republican lawmakers or are affiliated with the hunting lobby Safari Club International.
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The news comes just months after the Trump administration quietly began allowing more trophy hunting imports of lion and elephant parts from several African nations, saying it would review permits on a "case-by-case" basis as long as hunters demonstrate their actions to contribute to long-term conservation. The Fish and Wildlife Service also reversed an Obama-era ban on the importation of such trophies from Zimbabwe and Zambia last November, saying sport hunting would "enhance the survival of the species in the wild."

Environmental groups filed a lawsuit against the move in March, saying the new FWS guidelines were unlawful and in violation of the Endangered Species Act.
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Several people who received the permits have links to Republican fundraising efforts, according to Friends of Animals. Steven Chancellor, an Indiana businessman given a permit for a lion killed in 2016, raised more than $1 million for Republican lawmakers at an event that same year featuring then-candidate Donald Trump. Chancellor was recently appointed to Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke's new advisory board created to update federal rules for animal trophy imports alongside many other prominent hunters.

The Associated Press said that Chancellor is an avid hunter himself, logging nearly 500 kills by 2015 according to Safari Club member records obtained by the Humane Society. That total included at least 18 lions, half a dozen elephants and two rhinos.

Other approved permits went to hunters including Philip Glass, a Texas rancher and Trump donor who took a $100,000 trophy safari in Zimbabwe that was filmed in a documentary, and Kent Greenawalt, who has donated around $100,000 to Republican candidates and committees.

While the FWS used to make its determinations about animal trophy permits public, new guidelines mandate interested parties file Freedom of Information Act requests to see the details of each application, The New York Times reported in March.

The Trump administration also proposed dramatic changes to the Endangered Species Act last week.
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Before anyone argues that trophy hunting is beneficial:

NY Times
Trophy Hunting Fees Do Little to Help Threatened Species, Report Says

BBC
Trophy hunting removes 'good genes' and raises extinction risk
 
neon_dream

neon_dream

Member
Dec 18, 2017
3,644
If this isn't a shining example of the self-absorbed hubris of these people I don't know what is.

This is the perfect metaphor for the rich man's vanity at subduing the beast that is the common man.
 
Border

Border

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
14,859
38 lions over the course of two years doesn't sound all that bad......I don't see how that has any real appreciable effect on the population.
 
Lackless

Lackless

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
4,137
Regulated trophy hunting is actually a positive thing for wildlife conservation.

This video does a great job in explaining why
 
mugurumakensei

mugurumakensei

Elizabeth, I’m coming to join you!
Member
Oct 25, 2017
11,327
Border said:
38 lions over the course of two years doesn't sound all that bad......I don't see how that has any real appreciable effect on the population.
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Because they kill the lions most likely to survive naturally which means over time the species gets weaker and dies out completely.
 
DigitalOp

DigitalOp

Member
Nov 16, 2017
9,282
Border said:
38 lions over the course of two years doesn't sound all that bad......I don't see how that has any real appreciable effect on the population.
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I would ask why shoot lions?

Exotic Game Hunting sounds like some insecurity shit.

Stick to hunting for food or if nature experts have identified an official overpopulation problem.
 
Thurston Last

Thurston Last

Banned
Jul 26, 2018
1,350
I thought you were only allowed to trophy hunt animals that were past their breeding age, thus not removing good genes.

At least that is what a guy that ran these type of hunts in Africa told me, only animals past breeding age would be shot. They had each animal careful tracked, and you picked the exact animal you would hunt. They had a license or whatever to shoot that animal, and that that animal only.

I suppose there are plenty of unscrupulous guides though, that will let you kill whatever.
 
OP
OP
xbhaskarx

xbhaskarx

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
5,143
NorCal
Border said:
38 lions over the course of two years doesn't sound all that bad......I don't see how that has any real appreciable effect on the population.
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The population is already rapidly declining...

Wikipedia:

Most lions now live in East and Southern Africa; their numbers are rapidly decreasing, and fell by an estimated 30–50% each 20 years in the late half of the 20th century. The species is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List.[2] In 1975, it was estimated that since the 1950s, lion numbers decreased by half to 200,000 or fewer.[174] Estimates of the African lion population range between 16,500 and 47,000 living in the wild in 2002–2004.[175][176]​
 
Darth Vapor

Darth Vapor

Self Requested Ban
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
700
Death Star
"When properly regulated trophy hunting can be a powerful force for conservation which is why we're suggesting a different management approach as opposed to calling for a ban," said Dr Knell.
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This is a quote from the scientist that lead the study in the BBC article linked in the OP. When done right, trophy hunting is a driving force for wildlife conservation efforts. As a lover of animals, I have a difficult time reconciling this reality but without the money generated by trophy hunting, wildlife refuges in Africa would be cash starved and locals would see little incentive to protect these animals by thwarting and reporting poachers.
 
Chamaeleonx

Chamaeleonx

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
2,348
Lackless said:
Regulated trophy hunting is actually a positive thing for wildlife conservation.

This video does a great job in explaining why
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I know that video and it makes little sense here. The countries where the animals are found can do these things themself and don't need "white men" to "help" them there. =.=

Sadly you can't "reverse" these permits... .
 
Chamaeleonx

Chamaeleonx

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
2,348
Darth Vapor said:
This is a quote from the scientist that lead the study in the BBC article linked in the OP. When done right, trophy hunting is a driving force for wildlife conservation efforts. As a lover of animals, I have a difficult time reconciling this reality but without the money generated by trophy hunting, wildlife refuges in Africa would be cash starved and locals would see little incentive to protect these animals by thwarting and reporting poachers.
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Its generally about the money it makes and to control certain species as they might otherwise kill off other, weaker species. I doubt this administration is any good at that though. Especially since they are Anti-Science.
 
Unknown Unknown

Unknown Unknown

Banned
Oct 31, 2017
4,333
Unknown
At first glance read this as "Permits issued to hunt lion trophy hunters in response to Trump." Wondered if they could do that why they didn't include all trophy hunters.
 
PRrambo_

PRrambo_

PlayStation.jif
Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,869
Hey if they are feeling so inadequate and simply must kill for sport these people should do an IRL battle royale, Man is the most dangerous game after all.


And the added benefit of less trophy hunters as a result.
 
falcondoc

falcondoc

Member
Oct 29, 2017
6,220
I don't have a problem with this in theory, but anyone who would kill a lion for sport is a sick fuck
 
Lackless

Lackless

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
4,137
Chamaeleonx said:
I know that video and it makes little sense here. The countries where the animals are found can do these things themself and don't need "white men" to "help" them there. =.=

Sadly you can't "reverse" these permits... .
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I'm sorry, I don't really understand this sentence? Trophy hunting is mainly white men. What do you mean by the countries doing it themselves? For trophy hunting, the hunters have to pay and they give that money to the country. How can the countries do that themselves?
 
Strike

Strike

Member
Oct 25, 2017
27,354
They really can't find a way to make themselves feel like their dicks are bigger?
 
Praxis

Praxis

Sausage Tycoon
Member
Oct 25, 2017
7,241
UK
Anyone that takes pleasure in shooting an animal needs to be removed from the gene pool.
 
Johnny Blaze

Johnny Blaze

Avenger
Oct 29, 2017
4,165
DE
Border said:
38 lions over the course of two years doesn't sound all that bad......I don't see how that has any real appreciable effect on the population.
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Maybe because you're ignorant, I don't know. Apart from cruel that is.

Quick Google search:

Just over a century ago, there were more than 200,000 wild lions living in Africa. Today, there are only about20,000; lions are extinct in 26 African countries and have vanished from over 90 percent of their historic range.
 
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