The Safari Club International (SCI) filed against three sets of regulations in Alaska.
On January 19th the SCI filed against three Obama Administration regulations in federal district court. The regulations were met to prohibit certain means of hunting on National Wildlife Refuges and National Preserves in Alaska.
The lawsuit is set to challenge the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's and National Park Service's acts in overriding the State's authority to manage and regulate wildlife in Alaska. It also states that the organizations regulations are in conflict with the National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act, the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, and the Administrative Procedure Act. SCI's lawsuit is following of a similar lawsuit filed by the State of Alaska on January 13th of this year.
The federal acts limit predator hunting and hunting methods on federal land. Some of the limitations include the banning of taking wolves and coyotes during the animals denning season, taking black bears with artificial light at den sites, taking brown or black bears with bait, using dogs in black bear hunts.
The Fish and Wildlife Service also added limitations to its national refuge land. Once again focusing on predator control and prohibiting killing cubs or sows with cubs or brown bears over bait, using snares. Banning killing wolves and coyotes from May through August 9th and taking bears from aircraft.
The goal of the federal services is to encourage and preserve predator diversity. The State of Alaska and SCI claim that this will adversely affect subsistence hunters. Claiming that this will allow predator species to wreak havoc on the ecosystem. I have always sided that most matters should be left to the states to regulate and will be pulling for Alaska and the Safari Club International.
NEXT: HOOF ROT LIKELY SPREADING THROUGH THE KANSAS DEER POPULATION
