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Catch and Release Critter Control Teams with the I.G.F.A. on ‘Catch & Release’ The nation’s leading wildlife control firm - Critter Control - is teaming up with the International Game Fish Association (IGFA) to promote ‘catch-and-release.’ The IGFA set forth early bylaws, "to encourage the study of game fishes for the sake of whatever pleasure, information, or benefit it may provide; to keep the sport of game fishing ethical; to make its rules acceptable to the majority of anglers; to encourage the sport both as recreation and as a potential source of scientific data; to place such data at the disposal of as many human beings as possible; and to keep an attested and up-to-date chart of world record catches." Early officers included Michael Lerner of Lerner Stores, Nobel Prize winning author Ernest Hemingway, Philip Wylie, sport fishing greats such as Van Campen Heilner, Clive Firth, and other well-known scientists, writers and sport fishermen. Evidently these conser-vationists had foresight; and the basic purposes they set forth have increased in importance over the years. The IGFA’s goals have evolved to supporting issues relating to the preservation of fish species and conservation measures that will ensure the future of fishery resources to meet the increasing needs of the sport fishing community. While most serious anglers around the world are well aware of the IGFA’s role as the accepted authority as record-keepers for game fish, what is less known is IGFA’s role in fishery conservation around the globe. For more than 50 years the IGFA has encouraged anglers to ‘catch-and-release’ all but a few trophy catches, or what they intend to use for personal consumption. Critter Control founder and CEO Kevin Clark says that, “the IGFA has been built on a solid foundation of scientific research and conservation, and we are trying to do similar things in the wildlife control industry.” Towards those lofty goals Critter Control has funded urban raccoon, squirrel and coyote research, and worked with animal welfare and state wildlife agencies on animal relocation issues, humane trap standards, and the training, licensing and certification of wildlife control technicians. Clark sees a lot of similarities between the IGFA and what his company has tried to do at Critter Control. His company’s policy is to catch-and-release animals back in their natural habitat whenever practical, barring a conflict with state regulations. Critter Control recently donated a traveling trailer to the IGFA for its Junior Angler Education Outreach Program. The program provides environmental education using a touch-tank of live, aquatic animals that makes the circuit of fishing and conservation functions, schools, social service agencies, nursing homes, etc. The IGFA Junior Angler program provides participants with a unique opportunity to gain valuable insights into the marine environment - including aquatic life, fish biology, conservation techniques and marine ecology through the use of the portable touch tank. Critter Control has donated $30,000 to the project so far. Other conservation projects Critter Control has contributed to include consulting with Ecuador’s Galapagos National Park on rodent control, and helping the Rare Species Conservatory Foundation purchase rainforest habitat on the Caribbean island of Dominica to protect the habitat of the Imperial Amazon parrot. To find out more about Critter Control’s involvement in conservation projects mentioned in this article, go to www.crittercontrol.com and click on Critter News. The IGFA’s web-site is: www.igfa.org |
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