BigHornRam
Well-known member
Columbus) - The Sportsmen’s Legal Defense Fund today filed to intervene on behalf of sportsmen in a case which could ban trapping in Minnesota and set a far-reaching precedent regarding hunting, fishing and trapping across the country.
Animal rights groups have filed suit against the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources claiming that since Minnesota holds a population of Canadian lynx, a species protected under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), all trapping should be stopped in order to prevent incidental catch of lynx.
“This is a backdoor attempt by animal rights groups to not only ban trapping in Minnesota, but to establish legal precedent to ban a wide range of taking of wildlife,” said Rick Story, senior vice president for the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation (USSAF) which manages the U.S. Sportsmen’s Legal Defense Fund (SLDF). “This lawsuit is less about Canadian lynx and more about the animal rights groups’ desire to end all animal use, including trapping.”
The SLDF filed to join the case as a party defendant, along with the Minnesota Trappers Association, Fur Takers of America, the National Trappers Association and Cory Van Driel, a Minnesota trapper.
“This case could set a precedent that affects how the ESA can be applied throughout the nation,” said Story. “If trapping can be stopped to avoid catching a lynx in Minnesota, then what’s next? Banning all fishing in the Mississippi River, Great Lakes or any other body of water which holds endangered sturgeon?”
The SLDF is the nation’s only litigation force that exclusively represents sportsmen’s interests in the courts. It defends wildlife management and sportsmen’s rights in local, state and federal courts. The SLDF represents the interests of sportsmen and assists government lawyers who have little or no background in wildlife law.
Animal rights groups have filed suit against the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources claiming that since Minnesota holds a population of Canadian lynx, a species protected under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), all trapping should be stopped in order to prevent incidental catch of lynx.
“This is a backdoor attempt by animal rights groups to not only ban trapping in Minnesota, but to establish legal precedent to ban a wide range of taking of wildlife,” said Rick Story, senior vice president for the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation (USSAF) which manages the U.S. Sportsmen’s Legal Defense Fund (SLDF). “This lawsuit is less about Canadian lynx and more about the animal rights groups’ desire to end all animal use, including trapping.”
The SLDF filed to join the case as a party defendant, along with the Minnesota Trappers Association, Fur Takers of America, the National Trappers Association and Cory Van Driel, a Minnesota trapper.
“This case could set a precedent that affects how the ESA can be applied throughout the nation,” said Story. “If trapping can be stopped to avoid catching a lynx in Minnesota, then what’s next? Banning all fishing in the Mississippi River, Great Lakes or any other body of water which holds endangered sturgeon?”
The SLDF is the nation’s only litigation force that exclusively represents sportsmen’s interests in the courts. It defends wildlife management and sportsmen’s rights in local, state and federal courts. The SLDF represents the interests of sportsmen and assists government lawyers who have little or no background in wildlife law.
