Trump WH Taps Trophy Hunters, NRA Director and Miss America Contestant to Lead Wildlife Conservation Council

Who better than a pack of gun-makers, trophy hunters and beauty pageant contestants to rewrite our nation’s policies on importing big-game carcasses?

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke organized an eclectic crew to head up a new federal advisory board, titled the “International Wildlife Conservation Council.” It’s unclear whether the conservation of global wildlife will be a top-priority for the group, however, according to a review by the Associated Press.

Via the AP:

There’s little indication dissenting perspectives will be represented on the Trump administration’s conservation council. Appointees include celebrity hunting guides, representatives from rifle and bow manufacturers, and wealthy sportspeople who boast of bagging the coveted “Big Five” — elephant, rhino, lion, leopard and Cape buffalo.

Most are high-profile members of Safari Club International and the National Rifle Association, groups that have sued the Fish and Wildlife Service to expand the list of countries from which trophy kills can be legally imported.

They include the Safari Club’s president, Paul Babaz, a Morgan Stanley investment adviser from Atlanta, and Erica Rhoad, a lobbyist and former GOP congressional staffer who is the NRA’s director of hunting policy.

Other appointees to the newly-created council include Peter Horn — a vice president for the gun-making company Beretta who co-owns a private hunting estate with Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump — and Olivia Opre, a former Miss America contestant who’s reportedly killed nearly 90 various species on six continents.

“Notably missing from this trophy hunting council are legitimate representatives of the conservation community with proper scientific credentials and a record of successful conservation programs,” Masha Kalinina, a wildlife department specialist at the Humane Society International, told Mother Jones on Friday. Kalinina said the council should instead consist of “wildlife law enforcement experts and biologists who have no financial stake in promoting trophy hunting.”

[image via screengrab]

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