safari club international calgary

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Click here to view the auction items from the 2024 Fundraising Banquet!

We are passionate about hunting.

Through our parent organization – Safari Club International – we support, promote and present a number of wildlife conservation and humanitarian efforts.

2024 Fundraising Banquet Information

Date:  April 6, 2024

Location: Italian Cultural Centre

Doors Open: 4:00pm

Fundraising

Giving back, welcome to sci northern alberta chapter.

Safari Club International – Northern Alberta Chapter is an organization of avid hunters and outdoors people who are dedicated to promoting responsible use of our natural resources. We care about wildlife, we care about the environment and we care about the society.

We are passionate about hunting and want to share our experiences with others.

Legal hunting is the primary source of funding for wildlife conservation, research, and enforcement programs in North America and around the globe. More than a billion dollars are generated annually by the sale of hunting and fishing licenses, permit fees, taxes on outdoor equipment and on private land maintained for sporting activities.

Safari Club members reinforce our commitment to conservation by funding more than 150 wildlife conservation projects annually. Many of the chapter projects receive matching grants from the Safari Club International Foundation combining for a yearly investment exceeding $1.5 Million. In addition to the yearly conservation projects, we are involved in a wide variety of charitable programs. Such as:

Feeding millions of hungry people through Sportsmen Against Hunger.

Helping the sight-impaired experience the wonder of wildlife through Sensory Safaris.

Making hunting dreams come true for terminally ill children through Safari Wish.

Providing medical services and supplies to needy people in underprivileged countries through SafariCare.

Ready To Get Involved?

By joining a Safari Club International Chapter, you actively participate in a cause you believe in; protecting hunting and promoting conservation.

Protests against African trophy hunting spur court injunction application

Ban african trophy hunting demonstrated outside event put on by safari club international earlier this year.

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The Calgary chapter of Safari Club International wants the courts to grant an injunction against the founder of an organization called Ban African Trophy Hunting.

The injunction application alleges Mike Donovan engaged in "wrongful behaviour" in relation to protests at the Calgary Africa Show last January.

The shows have been the target of conservationists since the controversial 2015 killing by a U.S. hunter of Cecil the lion, a beloved animal in Zimbabwe's Hwange National Park.

The Calgary chapter of Safari Club International is accusing protesters at their Africa Show last January of harassing and intimidating attendees.

David Little, president of the local Safari Club International, says he acknowledges Donovan has the right to voice his opinions, but he says the protests went beyond what's reasonable and civil.

"Words like 'killer' and 'shame, shame.' I'm not a killer and I don't deserve that," he said.

"I sense that Canadian hunters have had enough. We've been abused and you know it's Canadian heritage and somebody needs to be pushing back."

Donovan says the allegations are fabricated and he will be defend his actions in court.

"They haven't proved anything," he said.

"They haven't proved any losses. They haven't proved that I've defamed them. They have to come up with really good, valid business reasons to overcome my right to express myself by the Charter."

A hearing is scheduled for Tuesday.

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With files from Natasha Frakes

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Calgary Zoo under fire for hosting auction to hunt African wildlife by group that included U.S. dentist

The Calgary chapter of Safari Club International is to host a fundraiser at the zoo, which will include an auction fo a 10-day safari in Africa to hunt impalas, gazelles and leopards

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CALGARY — An animal rights group is questioning the Calgary Zoo’s connection to a hunting organization that has in the past included Walter Palmer, the American dentist who killed a protected lion while on a guided hunt in Zimbabwe.

Safari Club International has suspended the memberships of Palmer and his hunting guide pending the result of an investigation, calling for the prosecution of anyone who hunts illegally.

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The Calgary chapter of Safari Club International is set to host a fundraiser at the zoo next April, which will include auctions for several hunting trips including a 10-day safari in Africa with the chance to hunt 23 different species including impalas, gazelles and leopards.

Michael Alvarez-Toye of the Calgary Animal Rights Coalition says the zoo shouldn’t be renting its property to groups that promote the killing of wildlife.

Calgary Zoo representatives say the money from rentals provides a large portion of its annual revenue.

[np_storybar title=”Some of the best comments on this story” link=””]

There is something sick about killing for pleasure and trying to cloak it in the veil of conservation. Let the professionals deal with conservation. If conservation matters so much to hunters then simply donate the funds to the parks whose business it is to conserve on a professional basis. Not for pleasure and ego! — Warren MacLeod

Says who?…the clubs, you? I don’t have a problem with hunting for food. I’m not a fan of sport hunters who pay thousands to kill the the finest…my point is that a zoo should not rent space to anyone who would be seen as a conflict in relation to the purpose of a zoo..I’m not in favour of zoos either or aquariums..and the zoo rented to sport hunters who may hunt endangered species…that’s a conflict — Jimi

These comments represent the standard of debate we aspire to on www.nationalpost.com

[/np_storybar]

David Little of Safari Club International says conservation is a goal of many hunters.

“They’re not incompatible,” said Little. “I think more dialogue would help make that clear.”

Little condemns Palmer’s killing of a lion named Cecil, calling him “a tame animal that was poached.”

Little, who describes himself as an animal lover, is himself a trophy hunter who has killed a lion while bow-hunting a leopard in Africa.

He said the money made from legal hunts helps save the species.

“The lion hunt that I took in Mozambique effectively conserved a million acres of Mozambique from animal poachers and log poachers for two months,” he told CTV Calgary.

The zoo said it does not meddle in the affairs of those who book venues.

“Our message is we want people to go out and appreciate nature in the way that we communicate and bring people down here and learn about the conservation the way we do it,” said Calgary Zoo spokeswoman Trish Exton-Parder.

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Bidding online via our live bidding software is just like bidding on the auction floor....

We publish information about upcoming auctions on the Safari Club International website, and put up auction catalogs allowing people browsing the Internet to view the lots. At the time of the actual auction, online bidders and floor bidders are able to participate in the live bidding concurrently through the use of the Safari Club International live bidding software.

Once you have met the bidding requirements and have been approved for bidding, you can participate in the live auction.

To participate in a Live Auction a potential bidder needs to meet initial bidding requirements. For more information on these requirements, click here .

Once the bidding requirements have been met you can bid in two ways:

• Absentee Bidding is done on the Safari Club International website itself and takes place before the auction begins. Simply find an lot you are interested in and place the bid on the lot page.
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Our system will allow you to place an absentee bid on an lot up until the lot has been opened for live bidding.

Live bids, on the other hand, can be placed via Safari Club International’s live bidding software during the live online auction. You can launch the live bidding software from any page that the auction or auction lots are listed. Simply click the Live Now button or link to launch the live bidding software.

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For further instructions and information on checking lots you have won, payment methods, pick-up/shipping options, and other Post-Auction procedures, click here .

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Tag: Safari Club International

Conservation, conviction, and commerce.

It came to my attention last week that the Calgary Zoo has allowed the Calgary chapter of Safari Club International to book their annual fundraiser at the zoo facilities next year. In the wake of the recent shooting death of Cecil the Lion, there has been a lot of focus on the trophy hunting of animals both at home and abroad. Unfortunately with our rapidly changing news cycle and our thirty-second attention spans, we as a society are prone to outrage one moment, apathy the next. Online, it has often been referred to as slacktivism.

For most, it costs nothing to rage against the Calgary Zoo on Facebook and Twitter , and then move on with our lives having raised our voices with righteous indignation but ultimately that’s the end of it. We rage on one bandwagon, wait for another to come alongside and climb aboard.

Unfortunately this issue has been literally keeping me up nights. Glancing at the clock on my computer, it is presently 12:53 AM as I write this sentence. I’m normally up at 5 AM to get my editorial cartoons done, so tomorrow will no doubt be a very long day.

The dilemma I’m having with the Calgary Zoo is that I spend a fair bit of time there, taking reference photos for paintings and enjoying the animals. When people have challenged me on supporting the zoo, I’ve long defended their conservation record and have explained the societal value of a well-run humane zoo, that it educates the public about the plight of at-risk and endangered animals world-wide.

A couple of years ago, the zoo started selling prints of my whimsical wildlife paintings and I’ve been proud to announce on social media whenever I’ve delivered another large batch of my poster prints or when I’ve visited the zoo to take reference photos.

I wrote an email to the Calgary Zoo expressing my disapproval of their decision to allow Safari Club International to use their facilities in an official capacity for an event. SCI will actually be auctioning off opportunities for their members to hunt some of the very animals that are featured at the zoo.

As an aside, I should be clear that I do not object to subsistence hunting or those who choose to feed their families with wild game rather than the meat available at the supermarket. I’m a meat eater and we are part of the food chain. Hunting for food is something every species does with the tools they have available.

My objection is to trophy hunting.

I would agree that it is unreasonable to expect that an ethical panel be convened anytime a company or individual is presented as a potential client. Nobody has that kind of time or money to conduct such an investigation. I don’t do background checks on everyone who buys a print, nor have I done extensive investigations into every newspaper I work for or gallery that sells my work.

But in the case of Safari Club International, the Calgary Zoo fails to make a credible argument with their response.

From the zoo’s own website, one finds the following, “Your support will connect the community to the natural world and inspire visitors to care for it, all while giving hope to endangered species.”

Additionally, “Education at the zoo builds a legacy for future generations – a love of nature and a commitment to conservation. Your support provides visitors and students of all ages with engaging experiences that connect them with the natural world. You can inspire the next generation of environmental caretakers. Help put our future in caring hands.”

And finally, “The future of your zoo is centered on animal welfare and a proud history of saving species. Inspiring Change, the zoo’s 20 year master plan, will set a new standard for exhibit design, connect the community with nature and continue important endangered species work locally and globally. Help us inspire change and join us on the journey to a brighter future for wildlife and wild places.”

Safari Club International’s mandate is to kill animals. Their argument that they aid in conservation is window dressing, a pretty frame for the dead carcass or disembodied head they take as a trophy. Anyone truly interested in conservation wouldn’t feel the need to kill the animal they claim to protect.

Most venues with facilities for rent should and do have a line in their application for use that reads something like, ‘we reserve the right to refuse bookings at our discretion.’

When a client’s image is so diametrically opposed to the mandate of the Calgary Zoo, it isn’t discrimination to politely refuse the booking and to suggest that perhaps another venue might be more appropriate, especially since there is no grey area or hidden agenda with regard to Safari Club International’s purpose as an organization. The zoo doesn’t need to do any digging to find out that SCI exists so that members can kill animals.

So I’ve been wrestling with this moral dilemma. Do I simply wag a finger at the zoo for allowing this event, but continue to use my annual membership to take pictures? Can I criticize them for doing business with this organization I find so despicable, but still happily deliver prints to their retail outlets to be sold there? Or would that make me as big a hypocrite as I’m accusing them of being?

I’ve been having a hard time with this. I had a long discussion with a friend about it while camping this weekend. My wife and I went back and forth about it this evening before I started writing this post. In all honesty, I’ve been looking for a way to keep selling my prints there while still occupying the moral high ground. I’m a self-employed artist. Removing my prints will be voluntarily cutting a portion of my income. Conviction comes at a price.

I’m just getting started on this journey of painting animals and I enjoy it a great deal. I plan to be doing this for many more years to come and if I start compromising my integrity at their expense in order to make a few more dollars, I’m as bad as the people who go out and shoot them under a bloody flag of conservation. When you get comfortable compromising your values, it will become a habit.

I am hopeful that their many other clients, patrons and regular guests will apply pressure to the Calgary Zoo, to urge them to deny Safari Club International the venue next year. I am hopeful that the outrage I saw online when this story broke wasn’t just hollow talk without action. I would like to give the board at the zoo time to realize their error in judgement and I will be happy to continue to support the zoo if they come around to the right decision.

If not, I will no longer supply any more of my prints to the Calgary Zoo and will cut up my membership. I have to sleep at night.

If you’d like to receive my newsletter which features blog posts, new paintings and editorial cartoons, follow this link to the sign up form .  Thanks!

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