Outdoor commentary and legislative issues.
Sen. Jeff Siddoway (R-Terreton) proposed a bill last week that would allow Idahoans to hunt wolves from ultra-light aircraft and use live bait in traps. Interesting…this while animal-rights whackos use ultralights to harass hunters. More here…
A vegan-turned-hunter reignites the connection between humans and their food sources and continues the dialogue begun by Michael Pollan and Barbara Kingsolver in his newly released book, The Mindful Carnivore: A Vegetarian’s Hunt for Sustenance
As a boy, Tovar Cerulli spent his summers fishing for trout and hunting bullfrogs. While still in high school, he began to experiment with vegetarianism. By the age of twenty he was a vegan. A decade later, in the face of declining health, he returned to omnivory and within a few years found himself headed into the woods, rifle in hand. Read more
Last week, HSUS CEO Wayne Pacelle took to his blog to vent about a new Hollywood flick called “The Grey,” starring Liam Neeson. The basic plot is that a plane crashes in the frozen wilderness and Neeson and six other survivors struggle to make it back to civilization, while being molested by a pack of wolves. Pacelle warned people to “stay away.” His gripe is that “The Grey”—a fictional movie—takes liberties with how grey wolves really act.
Pacelle’s solution is to watch “Babe”—a movie with talking animals—or “Bambi,” a Disney cartoon. Does anybody else see the irony here?
The political correctness coming from the animal rights movement is ridiculous. Read more
This from Humane Watch
There’s been a lot of press devoted recently to the possible (probable?) reinstatement of horse slaughter in the United States. As expected, HSUS made hay out of horse slaughter’s potential return—while, oddly, HSUS’s little sister in the animal rights movement, PETA, had a different take. Speaking to the Christian Science Monitor, PETA co-founder Ingrid Newkirk said:
It’s quite an unpopular position we’ve taken. There was a rush to pass a bill that said you can’t slaughter them anymore in the United States. But the reason we didn’t support it, which sets us almost alone, is the amount of suffering that it created exceeded the amount of suffering it was designed to stop. Read more
Nancy Warren, an animal activist who lives in the western U.P., said Great Lakes wolves are still vulnerable to disease and starvation. “If wolves are living in the forests, raising their pups and not causing any problems, I see no reason why they can’t be left alone,” Warren said.
Farmers would like to end the disease and starvation issues for wolves by feeding them some nice, hot lead. More here…
By Glen Wunderlich
At this link you will see how our leaders are forced to consider various means to control burgeoning elk herds on the Baca National Wildlife Refuge in Colorado. Because of input from a public comment session last year, the introduction of wolves to the area is on the table. Nowhere, however, do I see the genius proposed by Representative Duncan Hunter of California, when similar circumstances had developed on Santa Rosa Island a few years ago. This new potential for a repeat performance of stupidity at the Baca National Wildlife Refuge defines the logic of fools.
Below, in a piece of January 2008 I wrote the following and it is hauntingly familiar:
Approximately 40 miles of Pacific Ocean separate the mainland of Santa Barbara, California from once-privately owned Santa Rosa Island, the crown jewel of the Channel Islands National Park. The island, purchased with $30 million of taxpayers’ money, is home to 1100 Roosevelt Elk and Kaibab Mule Deer, which were imported to the island by the private owners some 75 years ago. Since that time, the non-native species have coexisted with various flora and fauna and have remained free from any diseases common to their cousins elsewhere. The following question has arisen since ownership has changed hands: Should the park be protected and open to all Americans year-round or should it also be made available to hunters to manage the elk and deer population? In a clever manipulation of power, Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer and Congresswoman Lois Capps (all Democrats from California) have arranged for the extermination of all of these magnificent animals. None will survive. Read more
The Humane Society for the United States (HSUS)doesn’t like the new kid on the block. HSUS has been spending inordinate amounts of energy attacking the newly launched Humane Society for Shelter Pets (HSSP), a group whose sole mission is to help shelter pets. Read more
Animal rights activists have taken credit for the burning of cattle trucks at Harris Farms in western Fresno County, California early Sunday, according to a statement released by a clearinghouse for activists.
The whackos say the attack was aimed at “the horrors of factory farming.” Owners of the ranch call it terrorism. More here…
As 2012 begins, it’s important to take note of groups that are working against your opportunities to hunt, trap, fish and enjoy the outdoors. To that effect, here is what we call The Dirty Dozen:
1) Humane Society of the United States or HSUS—needs no commentary or introduction to hunters and trappers everywhere, but Read more
This from the U.S. Sportsman’s Alliance.
Hunting and trapping are prohibited on these sites, many of which are donated to the HSUS. In fact, they boast that “recreational and commercial hunting and trapping will always be prohibited”.
Unfortunately, they garnered $5 million in donations last year alone for this trust.
Additional details, in case you want to determine if these anti-hunting properties are located near you, can be found at: www.wlt.org. And in true HSUS fashion, you’ll spot a donation link if you go there.