California’s Iconic African Species Protection Act (SB 1175) Would Hurt Conservation
California legislation SB 1175, the Iconic African Species Protection Act, would ban both the importation and possession of eight commonly hunted African species, including taxidermy received after 2020. These species include elephant, lion, leopard, rhino, giraffe, hippo, hyena, and zebra.
State Senator Henry Stern, who introduced the legislation in February, had this to say about the bill: “Endangered animals shouldn’t be used as trophies or targets—they should be recognized as treasures we must protect. It’s long past time for California to make clear that we will play no part in incentivizing the monstrous practice of trophy hunting.”
Animal advocacy group Social Compassion in Legislation (SCIL) is lobbying in favor of the bill using the COVID-19 pandemic as a cover for promoting legislation that would harm wildlife instead of helping them. According to the group’s “fact sheet” on SB 1175:
“The Wildlife Trafficking and Trade Act (SB 1175) seeks to address the conditions which led, in part, to the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
The fact sheet includes misleading statistics on African wildlife populations. For example, they cite a census on Savanna elephant populations from 2007 – 2014 showing a 30 percent decline in the number of elephants. However, they leave out a vital piece of information: the study shows that the decline was largely from poaching and human-elephant conflict, not from legal hunting. In fact, the African countries that show stable or growing elephant populations are the ones that allow for legal hunting. Some countries that show a population decrease in a certain elephant range usually share a border with a country that has a high level of poaching.
The bottom line is that legal hunting provides money to support anti-poaching efforts, provides income to areas where tourism is not a major economic contributor, and helps support the wildlife habitats.
Fulton Upenyu Mangwanya director general of the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority wrote this commentary on the potential impact of this legislation for CalMatters.
“As director-general at Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority, known as ZimParks, I am keenly aware of the reliance we have on revenue provided by international hunting tourism.
Since 2001, ZimParks does not receive government funding. So, we have developed other conservation financing mechanisms, the most significant of which is international hunting tourism that is particularly dominated by an American clientele.”
“Subsequently, I find myself increasingly concerned with California Senate Bill 1175 that is set to be voted on by the Senate Appropriations Committee this week. This disastrous bill claims to increase regulation on the importation of live animals in order to combat zoonotic diseases like COVID-19, but is in reality a smokescreen to disguise Democratic State Sen. Henry Stern’s long-standing goal of an import ban of animals hunted abroad.
It is sad that such legislation about African species is crafted far away from Africa and without input from Africans. Our generation has witnessed unprecedented decimation of wildlife and habitat due to a misguided mentality that non-consumptive tourism – such as photography safaris – is a panacea for all conservation and sustainable financial requirements. It is not.”
- This bill will violate the Endangered Species Act.
- In no way does this bill benefit California’s wildlife or conservation efforts.
- The survival of any of the listed species is not enhanced through this bill.
- This bill is unenforceable and would stretch California Fish and Game’s financial and time resources.
- African Wildlife Departments depend on revenue generated through hunting to conserve these species.
Jeremy Mallette is co-founder of International Sportsman. An avid hunter and outdoorsman, he has spent more than a decade in the outdoor industry, from hiking and camping to silencers and hunting. His father taught him to shoot at age six, and he received his first firearm at age eight — a 1942 Colt Commando .38 special revolver. He enjoys yearly trips to Kansas for pheasant hunting, spending time with his children at the deer lease, and collecting unique firearms.
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