Oryx herds threatened by USFWS permit requirements

hm1996

Moderator
Staff member
FWS permit decision will very likely result in reduction in numbers of endangered oryx rather than protecting this endangered species. Article doesn't mention the fact that many landowners simply remove their herds of oryx rather than obtain required permits and submit to more government regulation on their property.

Quote:New safeguard poised to change exotic game hunting in Texas



Deborah Cannon/AMERICAN-STATESMAN

BLANCO COUNTY — To keep a rare African species of antelope alive, J. David Bamberger says he's going to need to let it be hunted.

Bamberger, who is the president and founder of a Hill Country ranch preserve bearing his last name, has been raising scimitar-horned oryx for about 33 years. The original stock of about 30 captive-bred animals have become a prosperous group of about 100 still-wild creatures.

Bamberger is one of many Hill Country ranchers who have held the federally protected animals during an unusual situation: Since the oryx's listing on the endangered species list in 2005, anyone who the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service determines to be helping increase or sustain the oryx's numbers is allowed to hunt or sell them.

On Wednesday, that exemption disappears, and anyone who wants to hunt or transport the scimitar-horned oryx, as well as the addax or dama gazelle, two other endangered African animals, needs to be permitted by the federal government.

"Right now, you couldn't give away a scimitar-horned oryx. They're nothing but an economic burden," Bamberger said.

Without hunting ranches to sell his surplus animals to, he won't have the money to feed and take care of them, he said. For hunting ranchers who already own oryxes, Bamberger said, they have no reason to keep them come Wednesday.

The ranchers also are unlikely to apply for the permits out of a wariness of involving the federal government, and may not meet the requirements for the permits, Bamberger said.

A variety of groups have expressed concerns about the rule in comments to the Fish and Wildlife Service. The Association of Zoos and Aquariums said the elimination of the exemption will harm the animal's genetic diversity, something Bamberger said he has been improving on his ranch for decades. The state's Parks and Wildlife Department said the ruling may lead to some owners releasing their animals onto unoccupied ranges, damaging native habitats. One commenter seemed concerned that allowing the permits to come under public scrutiny and publicizing the permit holders' personal information will lead to harassment of those people.

Bamberger hasn't allowed hunting of the oryxes, which are extinct in the wild, on his ranch, about five miles south of Johnson City, but Bamberger sells some each year for thousands of dollars a head to hunting ranches, giving him a much-needed income to invest in keeping the oryx alive and genetically diverse.

However, with most of his customers likely not applying or qualifying for the pair of federal permits needed to buy and hunt the oryx, he said, he's "very, very, very seriously" considering allowing hunters on his ranch.

Back on the ranch, Bamberger points to a few dozen oryxes, perking their heads up. Their curved horns, said to be the inspiration for the mythical unicorn, are strong enough to kill a lion, he says. Noticing Bamberger and his guests, the oryxes carefully march, then sprint up a hill.

Bamberger, who made a fortune from franchising Church's Fried Chicken in 1969, said he got into the oryx recovery businesses because he saw how little space the captive animals had in zoos. He opened up the 640 acres for about 30 oryxes in 1979. Estimates of the animal's worldwide population range from 4,000 to 11,000, all in captivity.

The oryx, addax and dama gazelle have been getting plenty of attention in the final days before the deadline for people to permit their ranches. Last week, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott and Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples submitted friend of the court briefs opposing the Jan. 5 Fish and Wildlife service ruling, which came in response to a June 2009 U.S. District Court ruling.

"The federal government has unnecessarily imposed this burdensome new regulation that threatens the economic viability of Texas' exotic game ranches and the continued preservation of these rare animals," Abbott said in a statement.

In 2009, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia agreed with an animal rights group that the exemption allowing ranchers to keep and hunt the animals violates the Endangered Species Act by not allowing the public a chance to comment on the activities being carried out with the scimitar-horned oryx, addax and dama gazelle.

Getting the permits

Ranchers can apply for the pair of permits required to buy, sell and hunt the endangered animals through the Fish and Wildlife Service online at fws.gov/forms/3-200-41.pdf and fws.gov/forms/3-200-37.pdf.

The pair of permits costs $700 every five years. Applications are expected to be processed in fewer than 90 days, the service said.


Regards,
hm
 
The Feds mess up everything they touch.It burns me up to hear the animal rights people spout off. If it were not for hunters most of the wild land,the game on them,and the growth in population would not have happened in the first place.Hunters were protecting land way before the tree hugger knew anything about it. And now,as with wolves they are forcing laws that are devastating to game.
 
60 minutes did a really good segment on this issue. Hunting in Texas actually saved this species. The animals have real value and are thriving.
 
Originally Posted By: HunterBear7160 minutes did a really good segment on this issue. Hunting in Texas actually saved this species. The animals have real value and are thriving.

Yes, they did. Unfortunately, the ruling apparently stands and will affect the herds adversely as many ranchers do not wish to be burdened with the additional cost/restrictions on their use of private property.

The oryx are a cash crop for most ranchers, just the same as cattle, and the additional cost/regulation makes them less valuable to the land-owners and more costly to those wishing to hunt them. So much so that many ranchers have decided to dispose of their herds in advance of the effective date of the new regulations by simply selling off their herds to hunters at reduced prices in order to avoid the restrictions, setting back the recovery of the species. It seems to me that this would be a predictable outcome but was apparently not so obvious to the federal regulators.

Regards,
hm
 
Back
Top