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Seminar Preps Lawyers to Counter Anti-Hunting Extremists in Court

Seminar Preps Lawyers to Counter Anti-Hunting Extremists in Court

Don’t miss the chance to attend NRA Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA) Associate Litigation Counsel Michael Jean’s presentation on “Hunting with Suppressors” at the SCI Wildlife Law Seminar hosted by Safari Club International in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 2. Jean will cover how suppressors work, how they’re regulated and how states have begun to allow suppressor hunting with no resultant increase in poaching as feared. He will also go over the benefits of suppressor hunting. One example is that nuisance species like hogs are becoming nocturnal and suppressors are being used to keep the noise down from the night-time harvests. Also, suppressors protect the hearing of hunters.

“I was honored to be asked to speak at the SCI Wildlife Law Seminar,” Jean said. “It’s an important event. Twenty years ago, there were only a few law schools teaching animal law. Today there are about 166 in the United States and Canada. Almost all of them teach this from an animal-rights prospective. There are only a handful that I know of teaching the subject based on the North American Model [of Wildlife Conservation], which is what state and federal wildlife agencies use.” Summing up, Jean added, “So this will be a good opportunity for professionals to get together and discuss some current and practical developments in the field.”

The day-long event, made possible through a grant from the Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies, where Carol Frampton, who is an NRA board member, serves as chief legal counsel, runs from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Nov. 2, 2018 at the National Union Building, 918 F. Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20004. The course counts for eight hours of Continuing Legal Education, which includes one hour of Professional Ethics. Through Friday, Oct. 12, attendees can save $100 off the $399 fee when registering online. Questions should be directed to SCI through its website.

The course is geared toward lawyers with practices that relate to hunting, importation, or the management and conservation of wildlife. Experts at the federal, state and private level, from all areas of the country, will provide an overview on laws, regulations, policies and legal decisions concerning domestic and international hunting.

Topics will include:
● key sustainable-use related laws (e.g. Endangered Species Act, Migratory Bird Treaty Act, Marine Mammal Protection ActNational Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act);
● current wildlife law litigation and legal developments;
● recent hunting and wildlife-related decisions by the U.S. Department of the Interior;
● the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES)
● the interplay between federal and state wildlife laws;
● recent hunting-related criminal law decisions;
● the Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact (IWVC);
● the impact of recent technological developments on hunting and law enforcement;
● ethics for the wildlife law practitioner (featuring an original skit performed by the "Not Ready for Anything Players")
● and a fun and competitive game of Wildlife Law Jeopardy.

As anti-hunting extremist organizations shop animal-personhood cases from judge to judge, hoping to find one to rule in their favor and thereby set a precedent against hunting or even meat eating or pet ownership, it is imperative that the hunting community and law agencies that represent them are kept abreast of legal developments in wildlife law.