Written by Boone and Crockett
The Boone and Crockett Club today reaffirmed its objection and rejection to the use of its name and scoring system in conjunction with captive deer and elk. So says an official resolution presented and signed by club president William A. Demmer.
The resolution was ratified at Boone and Crockett’s 127th annual meeting, which concluded Dec. 7, 2014 in St. Petersburg, Fla. The resolution reads:
“The Boone and Crockett Club scoring system exists to document the successful conservation of wild game animals in North America. The Boone and Crockett Club objects to and rejects any use of or reference to the Boone and Crockett Club or its scoring system in connection with antlers/horns grown by animals in captivity.”
Through this official resolution, the Club reaffirms that no one is authorized to exploit this standard by using the B&C scoring system, name or logo in connection with captive animals. The Club strictly opposes any attempt to legitimize the trophy quality of pen-raised animals or put and take shooting operations by associating either with the Boone and Crockett Club.
“With the growth of the deer breeding and shooting industry, and modern marketing and selling of ‘shooter bucks’ raised in captivity and graded and sold using B&C scores, it was time to make this unauthorized uses of our scoring system more widely known,” Demmer said.
The club’s records program was established in 1906 as a way of detailing species once thought headed for extinction. Today, the B&C scoring system is used to collect data on free-ranging big game. These data reflect successful conservation efforts, population health and habitat quality. Biologists compare and contrast records to improve local management strategies as well as state and federal wildlife policies.
“To maintain the purity of this dataset, and to ensure its usefulness for conservation professionals, the club has always excluded farm-raised big game from its records program,” Demmer said, “including unnaturally produced or genetically manipulated specimens would taint one of the longest running conservation programs in existence.”
The club supports use of scientifically guided wildlife management techniques to enhance or restore big game populations and other species at risk. However, the club condemns artificial enhancement of a species’ genetic characteristics for the sole purpose of producing abnormally large antlers to increase commercial value.
