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Texas ranchers fight to breed, hunt endangered antelope

April 03, 2012 | Hunting Ranches

UPDATE: Judge Denies Texas Hunters' Injunction to Suspend Ruling

LA Times

By Molly Hennessy-Fiske

April 3, 2012


That exemption for the oryx and two other African antelopes popular with Texas hunters, the addax and the dama gazelle, could disappear Wednesday unless a federal judge approves a last-minute appeal by ranchers for an injunction.

"It's our private property. We bought these animals, we have propagated these animals and conserved them," Charly Seale, executive director of the Exotic Wildlife Assn., told The Times. The Ingram, Texas-based group, which claims nearly 5,000 members, filed for the injunction from a federal judge in Washington, D.C.

The ranchers' battle to maintain their antelope herds began years ago, when a Connecticut-based animal rights group sued to overturn the exemption.

Ranchers argue that they helped revive the rare species, noting that in 1979, Texas had fewer than three dozen captive-bred scimitar-horned oryx; as of 2010, it had more than 11,000. During the same time period, ranchers added, the number of captive-bred dama gazelles increased from nine to more than 800; the number of addax from two to more than 5,000.

But animal rights advocates at Friends of Animals, which has established a preserve for antelope in central Senegal, say the animals are not truly being conserved on Texas ranches.

"While ranchers and hunters might think that's tantamount to conservation, we think that's a hoax," the group's president, Priscilla Feral, told The Times. "They're breeding those antelopes, they're selling them and killing them and calling it conservation. You live a year or two before your head's blown off -- the Endangered Species Act wasn't created for that."

A federal judge found in favor of the Darien, Conn.-based group three years ago, ruling that anyone who wants to hunt or transport the endangered antelopes needs a federal permit - anathema to many Texas breeders. In January, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service upheld the ruling.

So far, only 58 people have applied for federal permits to register the antelopes, 52 to hunt them, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service told the Austin American-Statesman. All but one of the applications were from Texas.

Most breeders cannot afford to keep their herds without charging fees to hunt the animals; rather than apply for federal permits, they've focused on fighting the rules change, Seale said.

"They do not want government intrusion into their lives," he said.

Seale's group wants their animals removed from the endangered species list, on which he says captive-bred antelope do not belong. He noted that similar efforts to de-list other species have succeeded across the country; some populations of gray wolves were removed from the list last year.

Several Texas officials have supported the effort to block the rules change.

Last week, Texas Atty. Gen. Greg Abbott and Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples submitted friend of the court briefs opposing the change. Abbott noted in a statement that the "burdensome new regulation" from the federal government" threatens the economic viability of Texas' exotic game ranches and the continued preservation of these rare animals."

"Leave it to the federal government to create a problem where one doesn't exist," 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."

Seale said he's sold his nearly two dozen oryx. He's convinced that, if Friends of Animals succeeds in blocking the exemption, the group will continue to try to remove more exotic animals from Texas' private hunting ranches.

"Once they get a foothold, they're not going to stop with these three animals. It's a ripple effect," Seale said. "Like a sheep-killing dog - they get a taste of blood and there's no way to stop them."


First paragraph of this article says it all - animals should not be private property owned by anyone.

I don't endorse cruelty to animals. The story stated that Herd's numbers are increasing and that they were extinct in the wild. It seems to me that to ban the captive herds is incorrect strategy. You may win the battle but you'll ultimately lose the war. 70% of something is better than 100% of nothing! FoA comments: Killing an animal comes near the top of the list of "Cruel Things to Do to Animals." Would we accept the killing of humans or even dogs to ensure the survival of their species? No, we would find alternatives. If these hunters were truly concerned with saving a species, they would work hard at preserving and restoring their native habitat. But no, they just want to kill animals.

I just saw the 60 minutes story tonight and I was seething with anger until you came on. Thank you, I agree with you totally. It's outrageous that ranchers should think they have a right to kill these animals for their personal profit. It's evil. It amazes me how they try to justify something that is so clearly wrong. I don't understand the mentality. If they were lucky enough to inherit land and are privileged, they should donate a portion of their land to giving back to the world and allowing these endangered species to come back from the brink of extinction, protected and safe on their land. Maybe they could get a tax break. What a privilege to be able to contribute in this way to the earth. What an honour. Animals DO NOT BELONG TO US. Their lives are their own. To look at them as property is wrong thinking. And to let them be born for the sole purpose of some hunter having the pleasure of killing them and making himself feel like a man, to prop up his shaky manhood is disgusting. REAL MEN ARE KIND TO ANIMALS. But of course these ignorant bastards don't know that. Please keep doing what you're doing...we have to beat back the barbarians with all their self-justifications. Sincerely, Celeste Watt


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