A victory for conservation was recently announced. On January 20 of this year President Obama signed into law the Omnibus Bill, which includes a provision to help prevent the extinction of three rare antelope species. The “Three Amigos” provision of the Omnibus Bill allows ranchers in Texas to manage their herds of addax, dama gazelle, and scimitar-horned oryx without federal intervention.
For those that have followed this blog for a while you may remember one of my first posts was about these three species. The link to which can be found at the bottom of this page. These three species virtually extinct in the wild, yet they are thriving here in the US on large hunting ranches in Texas. Unfortunately, as I predicted their numbers took a drastic hit over the last few years due to this ban. Most census data puts their populations at roughly half of what they were in 2010. This was thanks to the ban on hunting of these species in Texas. Essentially what happened was the ban removed the value from these animals. Several animal rights activists decided they would rather see the species completely extinct rather than survive on hunting ranches. When the animals no longer had value they were no longer cared for. These ranchers are businessmen and could not afford to waste time or money on an animal that would not help them make ends meet.
The good news is, value has been restored to the three species in question. The bill has just been signed, but hopefully we will start seeing the benefits soon as populations hopefully begin to increase here in the US. I for one would rather see these beautiful creatures continue to thrive, even if a few have to be hunted, than for them to be lost forever.
Sentenced to Death: Ban on hunting could be the doom of three species
Wildlife Conservation 
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