SCI Helps Secure Victory in Calif., Nev. Wild Horse Gather Case
Safari Club International 11.19.12
Safari Club International (SCI) defeated the animal rights group In Defense of Animals in a major court battle over management of feral populations of horses in accordance with federal law. On November 15, 2012, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California rejected the horse groups’ claims that the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) gather of the excess wild horses and burros violated federal law. The case focused on the Twin Peaks Horse Management Area (HMA), located on the northern border of California and Nevada. The BLM conducted the gather during August and September 2010, after SCI joined the BLM in defeating the horse groups’ emergency request to halt the gather.
Before the gather, the horse and burro populations on the Twin Peaks Horse Management Area (HMA) were approximately four times higher than scientifically established appropriate management levels. The excess horses and burros were damaging the ecosystem and harming resident wildlife, including game mammals and birds. Without management action to lower the horse numbers, these detrimental ecosystem impacts would only escalate. The overpopulation problems at the Twin Peaks HMA are symptomatic of conditions on public lands throughout the American West. SCI and other conservation advocates are working on strategies and regulatory policies to rationally address the problems.
“For the third time in a wild horse case, SCI has represented the interests of hunters in this thorny issue,” said John Whipple, President of Safari Club International. “The BLM must take action when horses threaten to seriously degrade the range and harm other wildlife, including game animals and birds. As ardent hunter-conservationists, we cannot allow horse zealots to use the courts to foist their single-minded agenda on land managers in the West.”
“We are extremely pleased that the court has upheld BLM’s ability in the Twin Peaks Herd Management Area to responsibly manage horse populations based on sound science. Responsible herd management is a vital component to the health and sustainability of our land and wildlife habitat for the future,” stated Gene Schmidt, President, National Association of Conservation Districts.
“As it has done in other wild horse cases, SCI intervened as a party to defend the gather and subsequent relocation of the excess horses and burros to long-term holding facilities. SCI would like to thank all of our coalition colleagues who advocate for ecosystem wide conservation goals on public lands,” concluded Whipple.
In ruling against the plaintiffs, the Court heavily relied on an argument made solely by SCI to reject one of the horse groups’ primary legal claims. SCI’s briefs and arguments at the hearing on the case enhanced the excellent defense offered by the BLM and its attorneys. The plaintiffs now have 60 days to decide whether to appeal their loss to the Ninth Circuit.
Protecting hunters’ rights and promoting wildlife conservation, SCI’s two areas of focus, historically has been the interest of hundreds of individuals long before SCI was established. But how did SCI as an organization begin?
Forty years ago, there were many safari clubs across the country made up of local, unaffiliated groups of hunters. One such was Safari Club of Los Angeles, which was formed in April 1971 by forty-seven individuals. In early 1972, an out-of-towner from a similar club in Chicago attended one of the monthly Wednesday night meetings, and it was decided that the L.A. club should attempt to combine with the one in Chicago to make it an affiliated chapter. The founder of Safari Club of Los Angeles, C.J. McElroy, went to the Windy City and instituted the new chapter.
Eleven months after the formation of Safari Club of Los Angeles, on March 9, 1972, the name was changed officially to Safari Club International. SCI continued to reach out to other independent safari clubs throughout the United States in an effort to combine them into a single overall organization.
Today, interest in SCI’s two primary missions has grown a worldwide network. Subsequent involvement and promotion of these missions is rooted in each of our 55,000 members, supported through each of our 190 membership chapters found across the globe, and put into action by government representatives and personnel both nationally and internationally.
In this way, we can encourage an appreciation for nature and wildlife so that conservation efforts remain strong, while also fighting to protect our rich hunting heritage. Big changes can be achieved through the endeavors of many who are united in a mission – the mission of Safari Club International.
