Controversial Trump hunting group meets for first time

The Hill ^ | 03/16/18 | Miranda C. Green

[Simon Green]

The 16 members of the Interior Department's new Wildlife Conservation Council — many of whom have ties to pro-hunting organizations — met for the first time Friday and found little cause for disagreement.

Members agreed that hunting is necessary for conserving endangered species and impoverished communities in Africa; that illegal hunting — largely done by organized crime communities — should not to be mistaken with legal paid hunting; and that the council needed to act fast.

“I believe that everyone here today has a shared interest in wildlife conservation, both in America and around the world,” U.S. Fish and Wildlife (FWS) head Greg Sheehan said. “There are many ways to enhance and protect those populations. We believe that hunters and dollars that they bring to foreign nations contribute towards conservation efforts.”

The group, which included a number of heads of hunting conservation groups, a professional bowhunter and a representative of the National Rifle Association, agreed that the committee would advise Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke and the administration on the importance of conservation and enforcement against poaching.

Zinke, who was in Arizona for the conference of a pro-elk hunting group, didn't attend the meeting.

“This committee needs to work on urgency on what we can do,” said Steven Chancellor, the CEO of Indiana’s largest coal energy group and a top Trump campaign donor. “Right now I feel like we’re hunkering and thirsting for more education.”

The five-hour meeting didn't touch on big game hunting trophy imports — a controversial part of incentivizing hunting in foreign countries that has generated criticism for the administration.

On March 1, FWS changed its policy regarding the imports of African elephant trophies from a blanket ban in some regions to a determination on a “case-by-case” basis.

But the meeting Friday instead focused on highlighting the depleted elephant and rhino populations in various African countries, with the implication that hunting was key for sustaining that wildlife.

At one point, Cameron Hanes, a bowhunter who was pictured in a tweet Wednesday giving Zinke some archery pointers, asked for details on the number of African elephants killed illegally versus legally — a data point Sheehan said the Interior didn’t know, as it only tracked trophy imports.

Chris Hudson, president of the Dallas Safari Club, pushed for the name of the top country buying poached African animal imports.

“I think a number of countries in Asia pose a lot of problems,” Sheehan said. “I don’t have the hard numbers, but China is right near the top with other countries in Asia being in second place.”

The council was engulfed with controversy even before its first meeting. Just nine days before FWS first reversed an Obama-era ban on African elephant trophy imports, Interior announced the creation of the council to "advise the Secretary of the Interior on the benefits that international recreational hunting has on foreign wildlife and habitat conservation.”

Now the committee is facing new criticism for what critics say is a blanket pro-hunting stance.

“They are reinforcing whatever their message and their agenda is,” said Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.), the top Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee. “That is kind of indicative of how they run it, and indicative of a predetermined decision. A cheerleading group. Then the decision is validated for them.”

But Ivan Carter, who was voted chairman of the council’s subcommittee on enforcement, said that he considered education to be the council's main goal.

“What I hope to bring to this council is a lot of very first-hand experience from the third world dealing with these issues,” Carter said.

“A hunter that tells you the reason he goes hunting is to dig a well, feed a community, or whatever — that’s not the truth. The truth is they go hunting because they like the pursuit. And thank goodness for that, because they are prepared to pay a large amount of money to do that and the resulting benefit of that money are all of these other benefits.”

The committee is set to meet again in May.

[BobL]

“Controversial Trump hunting group meets for first time”

I guess this reporter never heard of the Mueller bunch...

[laplata]

That’s right. Nothing the Left does is ever termed “Controversial”.

[TruthWillWin]

Hope they are hunting swamp creatures.

[glenduh]

“A hunter that tells you the reason he goes hunting is to dig a well...”

Huh?

[BenLurkin]

Nine times out of ten, reporters calling something “Controversial” are sending up a skyrocket declaring their left wing bias.

[taterjay]

big game hunting trophy imports — a controversial part of incentivizing hunting in foreign countries that has generated criticism for the administration.

More controversy. It is fun when you become smart enough to analyze the news and figure out it is baloney. Everything is controversial because someone thinks something different than the reporter.

[SamAdams76]

Was telling the story when I was in Boy Scouts all those years ago. We used to go camping back then. Real camping. Like in tents where we had to rub sticks together to make campfires. And we had to do thing to earn merit badges. Riflery, archery, orienteering, etc.

All scouts had to carry around a compass, canteen and a pocketknife, among other things.

My favorite merit badge was wilderness survival. We had to spend a night in the woods and sleep under the stars. Without a tent. Instead, we had to gather sticks and build some sort of lean-to shelter. It was hilarious seeing us city kids trying to do that. But this was mid 1970s and parents weren't all "helicopter" like they are today. They were glad to be rid of us for a week or so and gladly gave us up to our Scoutmasters to do with us as they wished.

So on that survival night, my Scoutmaster took us all frog hunting. Told us to fill our pockets with stones "of good throwing weight" and bring our slingshots. All kids had slingshots in those days. We went to this pond and spread out. We proceeded to sling the rocks into the pond at the frogs, who were poking their little nostrils above the water line. Most of us missed, but eventually, some of the frogs were hit and started flipping over, showing their white underbellies.

We gathered enough to fill a small bag and got back to the camping site. Over a log, we cut off the legs and put them on a stick which we would hold over the campfire until they blackened pretty good. I must say, they were rather tasty.

Most boys growing up will never have that kind of experience. It's rather sad.

[editor-surveyor]

.
Fighting insanity is now controversial?
.

[BobL]

“That’s right. Nothing the Left does is ever termed “Controversial”.”

Exactly. I still remember back when Bush Sr. was pushing for a Capital Gains tax cut. Rather’s words: “President Bush once again pushed Congress to pass a Capital Gains tax cut for the wealthy.”

Not sure about the first few words, but I am sure about “Capital Gains tax cut for the wealthy”.

Just SICKENING. As far as I knew, that tax cut would have applied to EVERYONE, not just ‘the wealthy’.

[Telepathic Intruder]

Controversial Trump controversial hunting group controversially meets for first controversial time

[piasa]

I was never fond of getting wet so I just put a tiny maribou jig on a cane pole with a short length of line and caught frogs that way.

[Simon Green]

One imagines a Scout Leader trying to do the same today....

"Aren't slingshots illegal?"
"Killing animals is wrong!"
"Frogs are not Halal."
"I'm vegan...I need to have a salad instead."
"I'm outta here...where's the nearest McDonalds?"

[Retvet]

I have mixed emotions about this. Iam a hunter. I hunt deer. When I was young I was told only shoot bucks. Because 1 buck mates with several does so there will be more fawns. I do not like hunting endangered species. But here is a quick note after the depression deer were endangered in the united states do to over hunting. So sportsmen got hunting regulations laser. Licenses fees collected. Property bought. Deer relocated. Deer population increased, now many states actually have deer over population problems.

[pas]

From the headline they are hunting Trump.

[laplata]

Not sure about the first few words, but I am sure about “Capital Gains tax cut for the wealthy”.

Just SICKENING. As far as I knew, that tax cut would have applied to EVERYONE, not just ‘the wealthy’.

><

It is sickening. They use Censorship by Omission all the time.

Right now in the liberal media there is little or no mention that members of the FBI recommended McCabe be fired. But they are spinning it where Trump had Sessions fire him.