The troop leader of the Navarra Boy Scout Troop located in Florida has come under scrutiny from the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) after demonstrating how to clean and cook two rabbits during a 36-hour wilderness survival training lesson. James Gary received a letter from PETA expressing their disapproval after he posted a photo of his scouts holding a dead rabbit on his Facebook page.
Gary explained that “he thought it important for the boys to learn about safety concerns in preparing and cooking wild game” according to the Northwest Florida Daily News. The two rabbits were purchased from a local breeder who raises them for food. In an open letter to Wayne Perry, president of the Boy Scouts of America, PETA states that “such gratuitous acts of violence forces compassionate children who would otherwise never needlessly or willingly harm an animal to participate in acts of cruelty and violence or else be excluded from their social group.”
PETA goes on to say that teaching children how to properly dress an animal and cook it in the wild “puts children at risk by teaching them that it’s acceptable to hurt others who are different or smaller than they are.”
Parents of the scouts were notified before the trip and were followed up with by Mr. Gary to make sure they each knew that their children would see an animal being killed. We commend him for teaching his scouts the importance of proper field dressing, which is a common and necessary skill for all young sportsmen and women. –
See more at: http://www.ussportsmen.org/antis/peta-chastises-scout-leader-over-game-cooking/#sthash.8nw48j9w.dpuf
