NSC Alliance President on Hunting for Collections

On September 18, 2007, the Sacramento Bee newspaper ran a story reporting that senior university officials at California State University – Sacramento had signed letters supporting a potential donors desire to hunt assorted animals, some of which are endangered, in Tanzania. The letters reportedly followed a suggestion by the potential donor that he could donate his collection and $2.4 million to build a natural history museum at California State University – Sacramento.In a follow-up article on September 19, NSC Alliance president Dr. Michael Mares told the Bee’s Carrie Payton Dahlberg and Philip Reese, “Anyone who had seen that list would have known this is bad news.” Mares further noted: Sending out trophy hunters with a long list of requested animals is an extraordinary departure from normal museum acquisition methods.