U.S. importation of endangered species - report

[Guest guest]

Bush animal policy raises advocates' ire

By Kathy A. Gambrell

UPI White House Reporter

Published 10/22/2003 4:04 PM

 

WASHINGTON, Oct. 22 (UPI) -- Call it White House meets Wild Kingdom.

Conservationists are angry over a Bush administration proposal that

would allow the importation of animals listed on the United States'

endangered species list, a move they say will further cripple the

species' dwindling populations.

 

The fate of exotic animals and their treatment at the hands of

hunters, animal shows or leather-goods merchants has been raised in

recent weeks after Roy Horne of Siegfried and Roy, a wildly popular

Las Vegas show featuring live tigers, was critically injured when one

of the animals mauled him on stage before a live audience.

 

And then there was 31-year-old Antoine Yates who was discovered

keeping a 350-pound Bengal tiger and an alligator in his Harlem,

N.Y., apartment. Police had to shoot the tiger with tranquilizer

darts to subdue him and remove him to a sanctuary.

 

Both cases illustrate the nation's fascination with wild and exotic

animals.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing a relaxation of

regulations that prohibit the transport of live animals considered

endangered in other countries. That would mean hunters and merchants

who trade in animal skins, tusks and other body parts would be able

to go after their prized prey unquestioned.

 

Administration officials contend revenue generated from the move

would help fund conservation efforts both in the United States and

abroad. But animal rights activists say that is not true.

 

" There are a lot of other ways to bring in revenue rather than to

place a price tag on endangered species to allow them to be killed or

captured, " said Wayne Pacelle, senior vice president of The Humane

Society of the United States.

 

HSUS says the international commercial wildlife trade is worth

billions of dollars every year and has been responsible for the

decline of wild populations of a number of species of animals and

plants.

 

The Endangered Species Act of 1973 declares that the United States

has pledged itself as a " sovereign state in the international

community to conserve ... fish or wildlife and plants facing

extinction. "

 

" It marks a radical departure from 30 years of public policy that

discouraged the killing and importation of endangered species, "

Pacelle said of the administration's proposal.

 

The HSUS pointed to the Pakistani population of straight-horned

markhor -- an animal similar to a goat -- and the wood bison, native

to Canada, as two animals that would be imported under the new

policy. The demand for ivory found only in male Asian elephants, of

which there are 34,000 to 51,000 left in the wild, would damage the

sex ratios of the animals populations as hunters kill the animal for

its tusks, the group said.

 

Calls to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which oversees the

endangered species program, were not returned.

 

The proposed policy has drawn attention on Capitol Hill with Rep.

George Miller, D-Calif., who four years ago visited a game reserve in

Kenya. Miller and 49 other Capitol Hill lawmakers signed off on a

letter to the Fish and Wildlife Service saying they had " grave

concern " about the proposed rule and that it might result in the

transport of certain species such as endangered cheetahs, Siberian

tigers, or mountain gorillas for " strictly commercial purposes such

as sport-hunting for entertainment. "

 

" We urge you to withdraw the proposal and retain the endangered

species import policy that has been in place for 30 years, " they

wrote.

 

Their letter went on to say that " While the United States cannot

directly control the taking of endangered animals in foreign

countries in most circumstances, it can restrict imports of the

animals or their parts and diminish incentives for people to take the

animals for commercial or personal benefit. "

 

John Kostyack, senior counsel for the National Wildlife Federation,

said that the administration is not giving much thought to the danger

of disease that could come with the importation of exotic animals.

 

" They are from ecosystems around the world that have been disturbed, "

Kostyack said.

He pointed to the recent outbreak of severe acute respiratory

syndrome that was traced to the international animal trade. The

spread of other diseases such as monkey pox, West Nile Virus and AIDS

could also be linked to animals.

 

" It's like they are not even aware of the problem, " Kostyack said.

Kostyack also said that while it was a " theoretical possibility " that

conservation efforts could be funded through expanding the number of

trade permits available, it would be difficult to enforce or monitor.

 

" The Bush administration is telling us with a straight face that the

best way to protect endangered species in poor countries is to allow

those species to be hunted or captured, then sold in the United

States, " Kostyack said.

 

In a memorandum filed as the public comment on the measure closed

last week, Kostyack called the move the Bush administration's latest

effort to distort the letter and spirit of the United States'

environmental laws, by claiming that its proposal is compatible with

the Endangered Species Act.

 

" But when Congress passed the ESA, it never intended to declare open

season on endangered species abroad. Quite the contrary -- the

purpose of listing imperiled foreign species as 'endangered' is to

protect them, not to create incentives for their capture and death, "

Kostyack wrote.

 

" Hunters and groups that support the proposal like Safari Club

International is appealing to the Bush administration to move forward

with the proposal.

 

" Issuing import permits for such species to allow specimens thereof

taken from the wild through sport hunting, establishment of parental

stock for captive breeding operations or to encourage reintroduction

of the species in areas which were once their historical range is, in

my experience, likely to contribute to such species survival in the

wild, " said John R. Monson, president-elect of the Safari Club

International in a letter to the Interior Department's Fish and

Wildlife Service.

 

Kostyack said that no responsible hunter would want to kill

endangered wildlife and stressed that his organization supports

working with hunters to promote wildlife conservation.

 

However, Pacelle said of hunters, " There is a far larger universe of

people interested in watching wildlife in their native habitats than

there are wealthy trophy hunters who want to shoot endangered

species. This is a relatively small subset of the American

population. "

 

2001-2003 United Press International

 

 

RED ALERT: Bush Administration Set to Gut Endangered Species Act on

Behalf of U.S. Circus, Zoo, Trophy Hunting and Aquarium Industries

 

Your letters are urgently needed before October 17 to stop the FWS

from rolling back the clock on endangered species protection.

Capitulating to intense lobbying efforts by the zoo, circus and

trophy hunting industries, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) is

attempting to significantly weaken the Endangered Species Act (ESA).

 

Congress passed the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in 1973, to protect

animals facing extinction in the wild. The ESA prohibits the

capture, import, sale, and killing of endangered species without a

permit from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Parties requesting

permits must demonstrate that their proposed activity enhances the

survival of the species in the wild and that the animals will not be

used primarily for commercial purposes. In effect, the law largely

prevents zoos and circuses from importing endangered foreign species

for the purpose of caging them and training them to perform for human

entertainment. It also protects endangered species from trophy

hunters.

 

The FWS's recently published " Draft Policy for Enhancement-of-

Survival Permits for Foreign Species Listed Under the Endangered

Species Act " would essentially allow zoos and circuses to buy exotic

endangered species, such as Asian elephants, by simply claiming that

the money spent to purchase the animals would be used

for " conservation " efforts. No criteria are provided to define the

parameters for adequate conservation programs, and no enforcement

mechanisms are suggested to ensure that money used to buy endangered

species is actually spent on conservation of that species in the

wild. In effect, any party that wants to " take " an endangered

species has merely to claim that the money they pay to capture or

kill an elephant, leopard, crocodile or other endangered animal, will

be used by the range country for " conservation " purposes.

 

Similarly, the proposed policy change would allow the FWS to issue

permits to trophy hunters who wish to gun down endangered species,

such as the Canadian wood bison, if they claim that the animals are

from a " managed population " where conservation measures are in

place.

 

This proposed policy change represents a major gutting of the U.S.

Endangered Species Act (ESA). If the captive display industry and

the hunting lobby get their way, animals endangered in foreign lands

will no longer be protected from harm and exploitation by commercial

interests in the United States.

 

WHAT YOU CAN DO

 

It is critical that we flood the administrative record with comments

opposing this change. Please write today and get your friends and

family to write as well. A sample letter is provided below, but

please personalize your comments as much as possible. For example,

are you a parent concerned with preserving endangered species for

your children and grandchildren? Are you a teacher with students

concerned about preservation of endangered species? Do you work in

the tourism industry that will be hurt by the accelerated demise of

endangered species like elephants and leopards? Please let the

government know your personal connection to these issues. While all

animals deserve protection, whether they are endangered or not, the

special laws in place to protect endangered species must at least

remain intact or, even better, be strengthened.

 

Please write today!

 

Chief, Division of Management Authority

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

4401 N. Fairfax Dr., Rm. 700

Arlington, VA 22203

703-358-2093

703-358-2280 (fax)

ManagementAuthority

 

Reference your opposition to the " Draft Policy for Enhancement-of-

Survival Permits for Foreign Species Listed Under the Endangered

Species Act " 68 Fed. Reg. 49512 (August 18, 2003).

 

Again, comments are due by October 17, 2003.

 

Sample Letter

 

October 2003

 

Chief, Division of Management Authority

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

4401 N. Fairfax Dr., Rm. 700

Arlington, VA 22203

 

VIA FACSIMILE: 703-358-2280

 

To Whom It May Concern:

 

I am writing to express my opposition to the " Draft Policy for

Enhancement-of-Survival Permits for Foreign Species Listed Under the

Endangered Species Act " (68 Fed. Reg. 49512. August 18, 2003).

 

Congress passed the Endangered Species Act in 1973 not only to

prevent the crisis facing endangered animals from worsening, but also

to reverse the trend toward extinction, whatever the cost. The

proposed policy would severely weaken this law by facilitating the

international trade in endangered species. The policy puts

endangered animals in greater peril and violates the legislative

intent behind this crucial law.

 

The Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) wishes to issue permits to zoos,

circuses, trophy hunters and manufacturers who utilize animal parts

to import endangered species if the money these industries pay for

highly endangered animals is used for " conservation " purposes in a

range country.

 

The " Draft Policy " will promote breeding or capturing endangered

species in their native lands for the purpose of selling them to U.S.

zoos, circuses, shoe manufacturers, trophy hunters, or virtually any

other cruel industry that will pay for them. In fact, this FWS action

provides absolutely no incentive for countries to protect endangered

animals when they can make money by selling them to U.S. businesses.

 

Further, the FWS has no jurisdiction to ensure that the money is

actually spent on conservation efforts in range countries. In

addition, the " Draft Policy " fails to clearly define " conservation, "

and the agency has previously demonstrated a very low standard for

defining " conservation " measures in the U.S.

 

The " Draft Policy " does not recognize animals as individuals rather

than " specimens. " This is especially important for social animals

such as elephants and primates, since removing them from the wild has

a huge negative impact on the remaining populations as well as the

individual animals themselves.

 

The " Draft Policy " appears to be the culmination of an intense

lobbying effort by the U.S. zoo and circus industry to gain access to

highly endangered animals, such as Asian elephants, to " restock "

their aging " collections. " However, captivity is documented to be

detrimental to elephants, and other exotic animals', well being.

Elephants kept in captivity breed poorly and have excessive health

problems associated with the confinement of captivity. The numbers of

captive Asian elephants is rapidly declining as they die off.

The " Draft Policy " will open the floodgates for more Asian elephants

to be captured and imported to replenish captive " stock. " Elephants

are subject to so much abuse in captivity—beatings, intense

confinement, and loneliness.

 

If the FWS truly were interested in providing incentives for range

countries to protect species and habitat, there are a host of

alternatives to making it profitable for those countries to sell

those animals the government ostensibly seeks to protect.

 

Based on the above, I urge the FWS to preserve the Endangered Species

Act by rejecting this proposed policy change.

 

Sincerely, Your Name

Address

City, State and Zip