In August 2003 a legal precedent was set by Judge Gladys Kessler, of the US District Court for the District of Columbia. Judge Kessler ruled in favor of sportsmen in a case involving the importation of Argali sheep trophies to the US. Anti-hunting groups had claimed that sport hunting would endanger or destroy Argali sheep, which are indigenous to Mongolia, Kyrgyztan and Tajikistan. Judge Kessler's landmark opinion is that because of hunting, the sheep populations shall thrive because poaching shall not take over as a means of income for local people. Legal hunting of the trophy animal actually preserves its chances in the wild, since it exists as a protected species whose benefactors have a significant economic incentive to remain in control of its destiny. Local people depend largely on revenues realized from sport hunters, and much of that is focused on conservation measures, including those that prevent poaching.

Judge Kessler's decision has resulted in preserving the powers of the US Fish and Wildlife Service to issue import permits for trophy Argali sheep. The extension and the implications of this decision are that wildlife managers, not non-governmental organizations, are given the legal right and the encouragement to continue to manage and care for the future of wildlife populations.

Contrast this situation with two others; legal hunting and trade of the products of harp and ringed seals are proceeding in Canada, despite the immense economic and cultural campaigns against the hunt being waged by the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS). HSUS leadership has used both major newspapers and the Fox News television network to spew their venom about the hunt and about the Canadian government's defense and promotion of it. The message is rife with false reports of seals being endangered, skinned alive, and their products being used in defiance of the opinions of "good people" everywhere. In actuality, control of the seals is absolutely essential to the health of the western Atlantic marine ecosystem. Those fishermen who seasonally hunt seals certainly appreciate the opportunity to make some money at a time of year when the ice prevents net fishing. Yet, the HSUS and the government of Canada are at odds over whether government scientists or protesters should have the power to make management decisions about seals.

The HSUS also is trying to pressure the United States into placing economic sanctions on Iceland, in retaliation for their renewed scientific research on the dietary habits of minke whales in their waters. Iceland's goal is an eventual return to commercial whaling of at least minke whales, which are very abundant. HSUS demands that the US apply the Pelly Amendment to Iceland, claiming that the country is "diminishing the conservation effect" of the International Whaling Commission. The US law would then forbid the import of any fish products from Iceland, which would be a blow to their economy. Interestingly, this may never happen. The US government is fully aware that the Pelly sanctions would likely be ruled in violation of the World Trade Organization's rules about trade and national sovereignty. The situation is similar to that in Canada - government scientists shall oversee the hunt, and ignore political pressures to end it. IWMC congratulates both Canada and Iceland, and wishes them both the best as they conduct wildlife management through science, rather than through pressure politics.