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Article
01.26.17
On Dec. 6, 2016, the DC Circuit reversed the ruling of the lower court, which had dismissed a complaint filed by the Safari Club and the National Rifle Association, that a decision by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to suspend the import of African elephant hunting trophies was invalid. The lower court held that the decisions of the service were not final decisions susceptible to judicial review, and the plaintiffs had not exhausted their administrative remedies, a determination that has now been set aside. The case is Safari Club International v. Jewell.
The Fish and Wildlife Service of the U.S. Department of the Interior regulates the import of species protected by a treaty, the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, and the African elephant is a protected species. The service also determines whether hunters can receive permits to import “sporthunted trophies.” The service, until recently, allowed the importation of these trophies, which indicate to the service that, while these species have been hunted and killed in Tanzania, the revenues generated by this hunting activity can be used for the conservation of the species. However, once the service learned that the numbers of the African elephant were significantly declining, it decided in 2014 to suspend these imports, which was challenged in court.
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