By Glen Wunderlich

The Natural Resources Commission (NRC) has proposed to remove the deer baiting and feeding ban in the Lower Peninsula, but hold on there, Quick Draw.  For now, it’s just a proposal and a vote will be taken June 9 in Lansing at the NRC meeting.

According to Mary Dettloff, DNR Public Information Officer, the change would allow hunters and other animal lovers to place two gallons of bait (or feed, if you will) per hunting/feeding spot – the same regulation that is currently in place in the Upper Peninsula, and as had been in effect before the ban in 2008.  The only exception would be the bovine tuberculosis area in northeast lower Michigan.  In addition, the proposal directs the DNR to spend $50,000 this year on planting wildlife food plots on state-owned hunting land in the bovine tuberculosis area.

This is great news for the instant-gratification hunting fraternity that doesn’t allow itself enough time to pursue whitetail deer Read more

May 19 2011

Renewing the 50% Pledge

Today marks the first anniversary of our HumaneWatch 50% Pledge. One year ago we promised to shut down this website for good if the Humane Society of the United States made one simple promise: to give 50 percent of its budget to pet shelters. (Currently, HSUS shares less than 1 percent of its budget with hands-on pet care and adoption organizations.)

We have yet to hear anything but silence from HSUS and its CEO, Wayne Pacelle.

Sure, it’s a little discouraging. We’d be justified if we were harsh. But let’s give HSUS a break. When you spend $121 million a year, it’s not like you can just go from 0 to 60 at the drop of the hat.

After all, HSUS needs to be “humane” and pay its 30-odd salaried lawyers. The group’s lobbyists have mouths to feed. And—c’mon!—redirecting that $2.5 million earmarked for HSUS’s pension plan? Retired executives previously making six-figure salaries have to enjoy the good life.

Seriously, though, it’s never too late for HSUS to do the right thing and start spending its donors’ money where they think it’s going—to pet shelters, mostly. Pacelle can write pat-on-the-back blog articles all he wants (as he did yesterday), but sooner or later HSUS is going to have to put its money where his mouth is.

How ‘bout it, Wayne? Email us. Tweet us. Facebook us. (You can even “like” us on Facebook as a sign of good faith.) Skype us.

There’s good reason to get your spending in line with your image. We can wait another year if necessary, but the animals can’t.

Remember them? The animals?

Hunter Heritage and other outdoor-related news…

http://vimeo.com/23495004

LANSING — State police today returned a pistol stolen nearly 30 years ago to its owner. The gun — a Ruger Mark 1 .22 caliber — was stolen from an Eaton County home in 1982. Michigan State Police entered information about the gun into the Law Enforcement Information Network. In January 2010, the Lansing Police Department recovered the gun while investigating a crime. It was held as evidence until recently.   More here…

 Federal agents must abandon their vehicles and chase drug smugglers and illegal aliens on foot through 40 acres near the Mexican border because of a pond that is home to the endangered desert pupfish.

It’s part of the agreement between the Homeland Security and Interior departments on how best to protect the ecosystem, frustrating lawmakers who say it also prevents agents from conducting routine patrols.  More Here…

RENO, Nev.—Conservationists’ bid to block what could become the first legal bear hunt in Nevada history is headed to court after state wildlife commissioners rejected a petition on Thursday to postpone the season that’s scheduled to start Aug. 20 in the mountains around Lake Tahoe.