Comment from Lopez, Victoria

Please deny permits to the following applicants: John William Poole III, Spring Hill, KS; Permit No. PER30592949 Stephen Worzella, Plover, WI; Permit No. PER30597024 George Indorf, Jamestown, KS; Permit No. PER30603518 Tom E. Altmann, Plover, WI; Permit No. PER30722154 Todd Hinkins, Orangeville, UT; Permit No. PER30869667 Jay Dee Hunt III, Slidell, LA; Permit No. PER30871371 Please stop allowing people to kill animals in foreign lands and then allowing those people to bring the dead bodies of the poor animals into this country as "trophies" for bragging purposes. Killing animals in canned hunts does not help any animal population to thrive and survive. Also, there is the real issue that reckless breeding done at these ranches has led to the hybridization of the bonteboks, because the bonteboks are bred with the blesboks in order to create more of these animals for paying customers to kill. It's clear that this business is not about saving the bontebok population. The bonteboks are just being used to make money, because some people are paying to kill them. And killing these animals from a captive herd guarantees an easy kill, because where can the poor animals hide for their protection? The Humane Society of the United States has repeatedly appealed to your agency to not issue these import permits and below in the first link is a PDF file giving their reasons as to why these permits are not helpful for the bonteboks. Also, poaching does not lessen with these canned hunts, but it grows, because these vulnerable animals are seen as more valuable dead than alive. It creates even more of a market for people to profit off of this killing business of the bonteboks. The hybridization of the bonteboks also means that there are less pure bonteboks than it would seem at first glance. And hybridization tends to have negative health consequences for these animals. Please, Fish and Wildlife Service, I beg you to spare the lives of these poor animals. Please stop allowing them to be killed and stop allowing these import permits to take place to bring in dead animals that were killed. Trophy hunting is not necessary and is not helpful for the animals. Please protect the bonteboks from now on. Please deny these permit applications for these bonteboks that were killed. Please also deny permits to these applicants below: Ox Ranch Investments, LLC, Uvalde, TX; Permit No. PER24623358 Project Banteng, LLC, Laredo, TX; Permit No. PER30778775 Ox Ranch Investments, LLC, Uvalde, TX; Permit No. PER0039889 Project Banteng, LLC, Laredo, TX; Permit No. PER30779073 Acacia Ranch, LLC Auburn, IN; Permit No. PER30746146 Please also don't allow these horrible killings of these Arabian oryx, red lechwes, Eld's brow-antlered deer, and swamp deer. These canned hunting operations should not be allowed to exist. This is not about saving the lives of these animals. It's about people making a business off of the killing of these vulnerable animals. It's clear that these killing ranches just want more of these animals in order to have these animals available for paying customers to come and kill them. And there is no illusion of fairness about this whole deal for the animals, because these animals have nowhere to hide. They are in a captive herd and it's a guaranteed kill. How is this killing business supposed to help these animals again? These animals are all beautiful and majestic animals in their own right just like the bonteboks. They deserve to live. Please protect these animals. Please don't tolerate and allow these killings anymore. Please deny these permits to the Project Banteng and Ox Ranch Investments businesses. Please protect all these animals from now on. I don't know what Acacia Ranch is up to with asking for Zebras, but I'm wary for the sake of the animals that it's another hunting operation. But if it isn't a hunting operation, and Acacia Ranch exists only to care for and protect the Grevy's zebras, then please let them care for the Zebras if they are able to do so. Please protect the Arabian oryx, Eld's brow-antlered deer, swamp deer, Grevy's zebras, and red lechwes from destruction and cruelty. Please deny permits to the following applicants: Zoological Subdistrict of the Metropolitan Zoological Park and Museum District dba Saint Louis Zoo, St. Louis, MO; Permit No. PER30725674 Tanganyika Wildlife Preserve dba Tanganyika Wildlife Park, Goddard, KS; Permit No. PER23008706 Please have these animals be sent to accredited sanctuaries if they need to be sent away from where they are instead of going to a zoo. I worry the transportation would hurt the animals either in the way of accidents or disease. Please protect all these amazing animals. Links: https://www.humaneworld.org/sites/default/files/uploads/assets/pdfs/hsus-hsi-bontebok-import-commets.pdf https://www.humaneworld.org/en/news/trophy-hunting-animals-under-fire