Archive for the ‘AAE News’ Category

KCR Trophy Axis Group Hunt Now Booking

Sign up today for the 1st annual summer axis group hunt at Koon’s Canyon Ranch in Rocksprings, Texas – May 25-27, 2012!

Only 8 spots available (this will fill up quick). You won’t find a better chance to harvest a big Texas axis buck at these affordable rates anywhere in the Lonestar State!  Take your pick of any axis on the ranch!  The guys from AllAboutExotics.com will be on hand as well, enjoying the festivities! Come join us!

Included in the Hunt: all meals, nice lodging, guiding, skinning & quartering and fun activities throughout the weekend!

For more information or to reserve your spot, contact Sam Stacks @ 830-385-9098.  To learn more about Koon’s Canyon Ranch, visit their website @ www.koonscanyonranch.com

EWA/SCI Injunction Denied by Judge

via The Lonestar Outdoor News

An preliminary injunction request filed by the Exotic Wildlife Association and Safari Club International to postpone the enforcement of a rule issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service regarding the taking of three exotic antelope species was denied yesterday by Judge Beryl A. Howell.

The ruling means as of today, April 4, the taking of any addax, scimitar horned oryx or dama gazelle is prohibited without a permit issued by the USFWS.

In her ruling, Howell said, “The Court finds that neither SCI’s challenge to the 2005 Listing Decision, nor the EWA plaintiffs’ challenge to the 2012 Final Rule appears at this stage to have a likelihood of success on the merits. Nor have the plaintiffs carried their heavy burden of demonstrating irreparable harm in the absence of preliminary relief, nor that the balance of equities tip in their favor.

“Finally, the plaintiffs have not carried their burden of showing that injunctive relief is truly in the public interest.”

Howell made the ruling in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

Read a full report on the ruling in the next issue of Lone Star Outdoor News, available Friday, April 13.

‘Ladies Only’ Axis Hunt/Getaway Now Booking

Ladies, here’s your chance to join Double Diamond Outfitters on one of the most beautiful ranches in all of Texas!!  They will be hosting the 1st Women’s Only Axis Group Hunt at the Shonto Ranch near Kerrville, Texas.

Bring the ladies and enjoy a chance to hunt truly World Class Axis Bucks….AND be completely pampered while you do it!  During your downtime between morning & afternoon hunts, a professional masseuse will be available for massages around the ranch in some of the most breathtaking and serene settings in the entire Texas Hill Country!

To reserve your spot, contact Wes Mundy @ 210-602-3118
To learn more about the Shonto Ranch, visit their website @ www.shontohunting.com

Texas Reps/EWA Fight Federal Exotic Ruling

COMMISSIONER STAPLES, ATTORNEY GENERAL ABBOTT DEFEND EXOTIC WILDLIFE INDUSTRY AGAINST FEDERAL GOVERNMENT’S BURDENSOME REGULATION

Federal rules will result in damage to Texas economy and possible extinction of species

AUSTIN – Texas Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples today joined the Texas Attorney General in filing an amicus brief in support of the Exotic Wildlife Association’s lawsuit against the U.S. Department of the Interior and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The suit is asking the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to stop a rule that will severely limit private Texas landowners’ ability to manage three species of African antelope, despite the landowners’ success in increasing the number of animals in the United States.

“Leave it to the federal government to create a problem where one doesn’t exist,” Commissioner Staples said. “All Americans should withstand overly burdensome and unnecessary regulations, and protect the rights of private citizens who have responsibly promoted the conservation of these exotic species.”

Three antelope species – the Scimitar Horned Oryx, Addax and Dama Gazelle – are endangered in regions of Northern Africa. In 2005, Texas ranchers were given an exemption from the regulatory requirements of the Endangered Species Act. As a result of this exemption and favorable management by Texas ranchers, these animals, which are virtually extinct in their native Africa, number in the tens of thousands in Texas. If the court does not act, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will implement a policy that will require ranchers and hunters to undergo a complex and cumbersome permitting process to manage and hunt these exotic species in Texas.

“This is the most successful conservation effort ever undertaken by game breeders and ranchers here in Texas,” said Charly Seale, Executive Director of the Exotic Wildlife Association, based in Ingram, Texas. “We have literally brought these animals back from the brink of extinction in their native Africa and are currently involved in a conservation project that will send Scimitar Horned Oryx and Addax back to their native land.” (more…)