MISSOULA, Mont. – The Boone and Crockett Club announced today that Safari Club International (SCI) is supporting the Club’s Poach & Pay project as a Trailblazer in Conservation, the highest, mission-focused partnership level available with the Club. The sponsorship shows SCI’s strong support for the initiative that is intended to reduce illegal take of wildlife in North America. Poach & Pay research is underway in eight states and the Club’s Trailblazer in Conservation partners will play a key role in outreach to the hunting community about the impacts of poaching on wildlife populations and state conservation efforts.

“SCI is proud to support the Poach & Pay program and to work with the Boone and Crockett Club in the fight against illegal poaching,” said CEO W. Laird Hamberlin. “This program will be critical to our efforts to increase participation in the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation and promote legal, regulated hunting. Hunters are the first line of defense against poaching, and SCI is excited for this important initiative across the country.”

The Boone and Crockett Club’s Poach & Pay research will assess the barriers to prosecuting poachers, evaluate the detection rate and conservation impacts of wildlife crime, describe the motivational factors and potential deterrents that influence poachers, and provide solutions to improve prosecution and conviction rates, as well as a defensible framework for poaching penalties. In addition, the Poach & Pay outreach campaign will arm U.S. sportsmen and women with real poaching data that clearly separates poaching from hunting. The sponsorship by SCI will provide critical resources as Poach & Pay partners develop and roll out this communications campaign. In particular, SCI’s engagement with state and federal legislators will help with any policy recommendations that will be necessary based on the research findings.

“We appreciate SCI’s support as a Trailblazer in Conservation as we move forward with our Poach & Pay project. The research that got underway this summer will help provide us with the specific actions that we can take to change the game on poachers,” commented Club president, James F. Arnold. “Our partnership with conservation organizations like SCI will ensure that we can implement the changes that the Poach & Pay research identifies in order to promote hunting ethics and the future of the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation.”

Other companies that support the Boone and Crockett Club as a Trailblazer in Conservation are Advanced Telemetry Systems, Bass Pro Shops, Bushnell, Federal Ammunition, Leupold & Stevens, Inc., SITKA Gear, and YETI; International Wildlife Crimestoppers is also supporting the Poach & Pay project as a media partner.