In what we see as a positive move for resident anglers of British Columbia, The Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, the Honourable Gail Shea, today issued the following statement:

“The Government of Canada is deferring the negotiation of fisheries components at treaty tables in British Columbia that involve salmon, pending the findings and recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry into the Decline of Sockeye Salmon in the Fraser River. The deferral of fisheries related negotiations will allow for treaty negotiations to be staged so that fish chapters in treaties can be informed by the findings and recommendations of the Inquiry.”

Read the entire ministerial statement.

Racketeering lawsuit accuses the Humane Society of the United States of corruption

TSCRA News Update, Feb. 22, 2010

In a landmark RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act) lawsuit certain to have far-reaching implications for the animal rights movement, Feld Entertainment and the Ringling Brothers circus sued the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), its lawyers, and several other animal rights groups last week.

The nonprofit Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF) unearthed the lawsuit in federal court records Monday. CCF is making the lawsuit available online at the Web site, www.HumaneWatch.org.

“America’s farmers, ranchers, hunters, fishermen, research scientists, fashion designers, and restaurateurs have seen for decades how the animal rights movement can behave like a mobbed-up racket,” said CCF Director of Research David Martosko. “But it’s still shocking to see the evidence laid out on paper. In a treble-damage lawsuit like this, a jury could actually do the humane thing and finally put HSUS out of business completely.”

In a lawsuit filed Feb. 16, Feld leveled bribery, fraud, obstruction of justice, and money laundering charges against HSUS and two of its corporate attorneys; three other animal rights groups; the Washington, D.C. law firm of Meyer Glitzenstein & Crystal; and all three of that firm’s named partners.

On Dec.30, 2009, Federal Judge Emmitt Sullivan ruled that these defendants collaborated to pay more than $190,000 to Tom Rider, a former Feld employee who was an elephant “barn helper” for two years in the late 1990s, in exchange for his impeached testimony against Feld in an earlier lawsuit—testimony Judge Sullivan declared “not credible” and disregarded in its entirety. That lawsuit was dismissed.

Feld is also suing Rider and a nonprofit “Wildlife Advocacy Project” charity, claiming that Meyer Glitzenstein & Crystal used it to funnel money from their plaintiff clients to Rider. These clients included the Fund for Animals, which merged with HSUS in 2004.

“The new HumaneWatch Web site is the only place the public will be able to read this lawsuit,” Martosko added. “We’re publishing a treasure trove of information about the Humane Society of the United States, including lots of surprising documents that HSUS would rather remain hidden from its contributors.”

Last week CCF launched www.HumaneWatch.org, an online watchdog project dedicated to analyzing HSUS’s activities and keeping the group honest. It includes a blog, an interactive document library, and a growing body of information about HSUS-related organizations and staff.

The Center for Consumer Freedom is a nonprofit watchdog organization that informs the public about the activities of tax-exempt activist groups. It is supported by American consumers, business organizations, and foundations.

GOABC Blames RAHPF

The Resident Angler and Hunter Preservation Fund has purportedly been blamed for the cancellation of the Special Premier’s Permits for Roosevelt Elk and sheep.

Not true!

In March of 2009, Greg Sawchuck, BC Wildlife Federation (BCWF) Representative on the Special Premier’s Permits Committee received an email from the Director of Fish & Wildlife requesting the BCWF position on the following options. The three-year contract for the Special Premier’s Permits is up and the contract needs to be renewed to continue.

1) Disconnecting the Roosevelt Elk Permit

2) Continuing with a resident only Roosevelt Elk Permit

3) Continuing with a resident only Mountain Sheep Permit

4) Continuing with the non resident auctioned Mtn Sheep Permit

The BCWF President requested the BCWF Allocation Committee provide recommendations to the BCWF Board of Directors (BOD). It was the Allocation Committee’s understanding that the GOABC did not support the Premier’s Roosevelt Elk Permit.

The BCWF Allocation committee recommended that a resolution be drafted and presented on the floor of the BCWF annual general meeting in Fernie in April, 2009. The following resolution was put forward and passed by the delegates at the BCWF AGM:

PREMIER’S SPECIAL SHEEP & ROOSEVELT ELK PERMITS

WHEREAS the BC Wildlife Federation reluctantly gave support for the BC Premier Sheep and Roosevelt Elk Permits, and

WHEREAS the BC Wildlife Federation gave support to these permits as long as they occurred in areas where hunting for these species occurred, and

WHEREAS there are now proposals to have areas which are currently closed, opened strictly for the Premier’s Permits for special trophy opportunities, a condition the membership did not support, and

WHEREAS there are problems with the Premier’s Sheep and Roosevelt Elk Permits including delivery and revenue, and

WHEREAS the three year contract for the Premier’s Sheep and Roosevelt Elk Permits is coming to an end, and

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the membership of the BC Wildlife Federation withdraw their support for the BC Premier’s Special Sheep and Roosevelt Elk Permits if the present direction and policy are changed from the original direction and stipulations, and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the BC Wildlife Federation inform the Ministry of Environment that the BC Wildlife Federation membership will not support changes to the direction or policy of the BC Premier’s Permits.

SUBMITTED BY:

BC Wildlife Federation Wildlife Allocation Committee

Passed by BC Wildlife Federation Board of Directors, Dec 17, 2008

DISPOSITION:

Amended_____ Passed_____ Defeated_____

Withdrawn_____ Deferred_____

SUPPORTING BRIEF:

The BC Wildlife Federation gave their support for the Premier’s Special Permits based on a fixed set of criteria. The Permits have not been providing an exceptional amount of revenue in comparison to other permits that are auctioned from other jurisdictions. Now other options are being considered for the Premier’s permits which are not supported by the BCWF Board of Directors or the BCWF Wildlife Allocation Committee. These are in opposition to the direction provided by the BCWF membership.

The BC Wildlife Federation has always valued the public ownership of wildlife in B.C. It would be beneficial to withdraw support for these permits to emphasize this important value.

As you can see, with legitimate reasoning, the delegates at the 2009 BCWF AGM voted against any change in the direction and policy related to the Premier’s Special Permits. The RAHPF, which hadn’t even been formed at that point, had nothing to do with the vote at the AGM. It was a government decision to cancel the permit, so one must assume that the Ministry of Environment was not happy with the status quo and wants to change the direction or policy of the Premier’s Special Permits. We also know that GOABC withdrew their support for the Roosevelt Elk Premier’s permit, so we have to assume that influenced the MoE’s decision. Neither the BCWF not the RAHPF can accept responsibility for the government decision—government had the option of keeping things they way they were.

The RAHPF does support the direction that the membership provided at the 2009 BCWF AGM.

A Review of BC’s Limited Entry Hunting System

The British Columbia Conservation Foundation recently released a commissioned document titled A Review of British Columbia’s Limited Entry Hunting System: Examining Resident Hunter Satisfaction and Limited Entry Hunting’s impact upon Recruitment and Retention.

You can download and read the document yourself, but the highlights are:

There has been a big shift from general open seasons to LEH for managing wildlife in BC over the past several decades.
The majority of BC resident hunters are not happy with the current LEH system.
The way that many LEH draws are configured results in under utilization of the annual allowable harvest.
The majority of BC resident hunters hunt to spend time with family and friends in the outdoors, and for meat, not for “trophies.”
Using LEH as a hunter management tool negatively impacts hunter recruitment significantly.
Using LEH as a hunter management tool negatively impacts hunter retention. The more LEH the fewer hunters.

BCWF Resident Angler and Hunter Preservation Fund

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Environmental Appeal Board decision re outfitter’s Stone’s sheep quota

Fisheries Negotiations at British Columbia Treaty Tables

Racketeering lawsuit accuses the Humane Society of the United States of corruption

GOABC Blames RAHPF

Not true!

A Review of BC’s Limited Entry Hunting System

BC Ministry of Environment

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