SCI Members Lobby for International Hunting, Conservation in Washington, D.C.
Safari Club International 05.08.14
Today over 150 members of Safari Club International (SCI) are lobbying their members of Congress for legislation and policies to improve hunting and international conservation. SCI’s annual Congressional Fly-In is the largest lobbying opportunity for big game hunters.
“SCI’s members are more committed than ever to meet with their members of Congress during our annual Fly-In. Particularly since recent policy decisions for international big game hunting has become a target for this administration,” said SCI President Craig Kauffman. “Recent policy decisions have dismissed international big game management practices, and these policies have endangered conservation programs across Africa. The closure of sport hunted elephant imports from Zimbabwe and Tanzania, combined with ignoring the hunting community’s request for representation on the Wildlife Trafficking Advisory Committee means that international hunters need to stand up for our rights and our contributions to combat poaching.”
More than 200 meetings will take place on May 8, 2014, as part of SCI’s annual Congressional Fly-In to protect the future of hunting in the U.S. and internationally.
“For more than 75 years, hunters have been trailblazing a path for the future of our outdoor heritage and for wildlife conservation; it is our responsibility to carry the banner as individual sportsmen and women. Our meetings are the cornerstone to protect hunting for all hunters,” concluded Kauffman.
Protecting hunters’ rights and promoting wildlife conservation, SCI’s two areas of focus, historically has been the interest of hundreds of individuals long before SCI was established. But how did SCI as an organization begin?
Forty years ago, there were many safari clubs across the country made up of local, unaffiliated groups of hunters. One such was Safari Club of Los Angeles, which was formed in April 1971 by forty-seven individuals. In early 1972, an out-of-towner from a similar club in Chicago attended one of the monthly Wednesday night meetings, and it was decided that the L.A. club should attempt to combine with the one in Chicago to make it an affiliated chapter. The founder of Safari Club of Los Angeles, C.J. McElroy, went to the Windy City and instituted the new chapter.
Eleven months after the formation of Safari Club of Los Angeles, on March 9, 1972, the name was changed officially to Safari Club International. SCI continued to reach out to other independent safari clubs throughout the United States in an effort to combine them into a single overall organization.
Today, interest in SCI’s two primary missions has grown a worldwide network. Subsequent involvement and promotion of these missions is rooted in each of our 55,000 members, supported through each of our 190 membership chapters found across the globe, and put into action by government representatives and personnel both nationally and internationally.
In this way, we can encourage an appreciation for nature and wildlife so that conservation efforts remain strong, while also fighting to protect our rich hunting heritage. Big changes can be achieved through the endeavors of many who are united in a mission – the mission of Safari Club International.
