The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will conduct a year-long status
review of three species of captive-bred African antelope to determine if
they should be delisted or removed from the endangered species list.
The action comes in response to two petitions filed by the breeders' group Exotic Wildlife Association (EWA) and the hunters' group Safari Club International and Safari Club International Foundation (SCI).
The EWS petition asked the agency to "correct the Endangered Species Act listing of scimitar-horned oryx, dama gazelle, and addax to specify that only the populations in the portion of their range outside of the United States are classified as endangered."
The SCI petition requested that U.S. captive populations be removed from the list. Both groups maintained that the agency's interpretation of the original data was in error, while the EWA petition claimed that the captive populations have recovered.
The status of the African antelopes under the Endangered Species Act has been under consideration since 1991, when the agency proposed to list all three species as endangered wherever found. The action stalled until February 2005, when the agency added new proposed regulations for the captive populations of the antelopes because it determined that the animals were dependent on captive breeding for their conservation.
The final rule listing the three antelope species as endangered "in their entirety" -- wherever found -- came in 2005, with an exclusion for U.S. captive-bred animals from some prohibitions of the rule. The regulation was then challenged by environmental groups, and a federal judge in Washington, D.C., ruled in 2009 that the action had not provided public notice and opportunity for comment regarding the provisions for the captive populations, the action noted.
Read more: http://www.courthousenews.com/2012/09/20/50494.htm
The action comes in response to two petitions filed by the breeders' group Exotic Wildlife Association (EWA) and the hunters' group Safari Club International and Safari Club International Foundation (SCI).
The EWS petition asked the agency to "correct the Endangered Species Act listing of scimitar-horned oryx, dama gazelle, and addax to specify that only the populations in the portion of their range outside of the United States are classified as endangered."
The SCI petition requested that U.S. captive populations be removed from the list. Both groups maintained that the agency's interpretation of the original data was in error, while the EWA petition claimed that the captive populations have recovered.
The status of the African antelopes under the Endangered Species Act has been under consideration since 1991, when the agency proposed to list all three species as endangered wherever found. The action stalled until February 2005, when the agency added new proposed regulations for the captive populations of the antelopes because it determined that the animals were dependent on captive breeding for their conservation.
The final rule listing the three antelope species as endangered "in their entirety" -- wherever found -- came in 2005, with an exclusion for U.S. captive-bred animals from some prohibitions of the rule. The regulation was then challenged by environmental groups, and a federal judge in Washington, D.C., ruled in 2009 that the action had not provided public notice and opportunity for comment regarding the provisions for the captive populations, the action noted.
Read more: http://www.courthousenews.com/2012/09/20/50494.htm
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