Animal ?Crush Video? Law Voided by U.S. Supreme Court (Update2) - Bloomberg.com
The U.S. Supreme Court struck down a federal criminal law aimed at depictions of animal cruelty, saying the measure was so broad it would have outlawed hunting videos and magazines in violation of free-speech rights.
Please read...are they striking down the original law?
Now read the following from one of the largest hunting organizations.
Safari Club International - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Safari Club International is an international organization composed of hunters. SCI has more than 50,000 members and 180 local chapters.[1]
Safari Club International Foundation, the 501 (c) 3 branch of SCI, funds and manages worldwide programs dedicated to wildlife conservation, outdoor education and humanitarian services.[2]
Political lobbying
In 1979, when SCI was fairly new, it sought government approval to import 1,125 trophies from 40 different species (gorillas, cheetahs, tigers, orangutans, snow leopards, and others) into the US for "scientific research and incentive for propagation and survival of the species." Because the animals were to be hunted, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service denied the request.[19]
Since that time, SCI has had more successes.[citation needed]
Polar bear imports
In 1994, SCI successfully lobbied for a change in the U.S. Marine Mammal Protection Act 1972 to allow for the importation of previously banned sport-hunted polar bear trophies into the United States from Canada.[20] In 2007, SCI testified at a U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service hearing opposing the proposed listing of polar bears as a "threatened" species under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. The FWS is concerned that climate change is or will place polar bears at risk of extinction.[21] SCI/SCIF argued that the science cited by the FWS speculative and incomplete at this time. Relatively healthy populations of polar bears exist in the areas where hunting is allowed and it said that sport hunting of these populations would provide funding for habitat and study as well as income for native populations. SCI stated that, "[...] [T]he U.S. decision to list will merely change the identity of those who hunt the animals from U.S. hunters to exclusively native residents[...]"[22]
Criticism
Endangered species
SCI has been criticised by the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) for supporting the hunting of endangered African antelope species at fenced "game" ranches in Texas and Florida and for giving awards for the hunting of big cats and leopard, elephant, lion, rhino and buffalo in Africa.[23]
SCI counters that hunting can be an integral part of management of these species and provides needed funds for habitat preservation and enhancement.[24][25] SCI, along with other hunting and non-hunting organizations, intervened in a federal suit where HSUS challenged regulations that allow hunting of captive scimitar-horned oryx, dama gazelle and addax. The U.S. FWS found that, “[c]aptive breeding in the United States has enhanced the propagation or survival of the scimitar-horned oryx, addax, and dama gazelle worldwide by rescuing these species from near extinctions and providing the founder stock necessary for reintroduction. Sport hunting of surplus, captive-bred animals generates revenue that supports these captive-breeding operations and may relieve hunting pressure on wild populations.”[26] As of February 2008, this case is still pending.[27] In the case of black rhino, 83% of those countries represented at the 2004 CITES meeting approved sport hunting of the species in very limited numbers.[28]
Promoting questionable tax deductions
In 2005, controversy erupted over tax write-offs taken by big game hunters for donations of trophies to museums. IRS rules allowed only the fair market value of such donations to be deducted, but many donors filed returns claiming deductions at "replacement cost," calculated to include airfare, guide fees, taxidermy, shipping, permits, and all other costs associated with the original hunt.[29] In most cases, the donations were worth only a fraction of the claimed value, and often accumulated in museum storage facilities.[30]
The tax code was amended in 2006 by the United States Congress. Current law allows for the deduction of either the market value of the trophy or taxidermy costs, whichever is less.[31] The IRS code also now specifically prohibits deducting "direct or indirect costs for hunting or killing an animal, such as equipment costs and the costs of preparing an animal carcass for taxidermy".
Revenue sources
For the tax year ending June 2006, SCI reported $2.87 million in revenue from SCI publications, $3.17 million in membership dues, $205,967 in interest on savings and temporary investments, $75,771 from sales of assets other than inventory, $6.86 million from special events such as the annual convention, $156,014 from sales of inventory, and $6,089 miscellaneous income.[33]
In 2007, the New York legislature earmarked $50,000 of public funds for SCI.[34]