FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Friday, October 4, 1996
CONTACT:
Mike Markarian, (301) 585-2591, MikeM@fund.org
Cleveland Amory, (212) 246-2096
WASHINGTON, DC -- The United States Fish and Wildlife Service has declared October 5-13 as "National Wildlife Refuge Week" and is busy promoting recreational use of our National Wildlife Refuges. But The Fund for Animals says that the Clinton Administration and Congress are both taking aim at our Refuges, leaving no cause for celebration.
Of the 511 National Wildlife Refuges in the country (encompassing over 92 million acres) more than half of them allow sport hunting. Exactly one month ago on September 4, President Clinton announced that 6 more Refuges would be open to hunting opportunities -- Bald Knob NWR and Cossatot NWR in Arkansas, Emiquon NWR in Illinois, Patoka River NWR in Indiana, Big Branch Marsh NWR in Louisiana, and Big Muddy NWR in Missouri. This comes on the heels of Clinton's Executive Order mandating that hunting and fishing are "compatible wildlife-dependent recreational activities" and "priority public uses" on our National Wildlife Refuges.
"The National Wildlife Refuge system was established in 1903 to protect wildlife from harm, not to provide privileged playgrounds for the 6 percent of Americans who kill wildlife for sport," says Mike Markarian, director of campaigns for The Fund for Animals. "Hunting is a danger not only to wildlife, but also to the millions of hikers, campers, bird watchers, wildlife photographers, and other Americans who use these public lands in a nonconsumptive manner."
Trying to outdo Clinton, Congressman Don Young (R-AK) introduced HR 1675 to change the entire purpose of the National Wildlife Refuge system, no longer for the benefit of wildlife, but instead "for the benefit of present and future generations of the people of the United States." In effect, the recreational "benefits" of sport hunting would take precedence over the biological needs of wildlife. While each National Wildlife Refuge must now prove that hunting will not biologically harm the ecosystem before hunting is allowed, HR 1675 would shift the burden of proof and would allow hunting on all Refuges until it is proven that hunting is harmful. The House approved HR 1675 by a vote of 287 to 138, and the Senate has not yet acted on the bill.
Adds Cleveland Amory, founder and president of The Fund for Animals and best-selling author, "Saying that hunting is compatible with a refuge is like saying that armed robbery is compatible with a bank. Hunting should not be a priority on our public lands; it should be prohibited."