DALLAS –-(Ammoland.com)- For Dallas Safari Club (DSC), which has been working with Congress for three years to allow the importation of legally hunted polar bears, yesterday’s passage of H.R. 4089 in the House of Representatives is especially gratifying.
The bill contains several pro-sportsman measures, all applauded by DSC.
DSC has been most intensively involved in the polar bear issue. Since 2009, the club has provided Congressional committees with witnesses, information and support for legislation to allow importation of polar bear trophies taken in Canada prior to the species being listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.
Because of federal regulations, 41 U.S. hunters have been denied the opportunity to import legally hunted polar bear hides or mounts.
H.R. 4089 contains a provision that would allow the hunters to get their trophies home.
“These 41 polar bears were taken legally but will be held in Canada until Congress provides a remedy—or until the hides are destroyed by time. We’ve been working for years to correct an errant federal policy and to prevent this waste,” said Ben Carter, DSC executive director. “On behalf of every hunter who’s dreamed of traveling to one of the world’s great wildernesses and taking a trophy specimen, Dallas Safari Club thanks the sponsors and supporters of H.R. 4089.”
Carter also thanked Alaska Rep. Don Young and the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation and its members for their leadership on the legislation, which passed the House on April 17 behind a strong bipartisan vote of 276-149.
H.R. 4089, which now moves to the Senate, includes language that:
- Amends the Marine Mammal Protection Act to allow hunters who legally harvested polar bears in Canada prior to its listing under the Endangered Species Act to purchase permits in order to transport their trophies into the U.S.
- Requires hunting and recreational shooting and fishing to be recognized activities on all Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management lands.
- Protects recreational shooting on National Monuments under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land Management.
- Clarifies that the Environmental Protection Agency does not have the jurisdiction to regulate lead components found in either traditional ammunition or fishing tackle.
About Dallas Safari Club (DSC)
Desert bighorns on an unbroken landscape, stalking Cape buffalo in heavy brush, students discovering conservation. DSC works to guarantee a future for all these and much more. An independent organization since 1982, DSC has become an international leader in conserving wildlife and wilderness lands, educating youth and the general public, and promoting and protecting the rights and interests of hunters worldwide. Get involved at www.biggame.org.
