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Animal Rights Activists On Game Commission?
By Todd Helms
Plato once said, “One of the penalties of refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors.” That statement is being played out in states like Colorado and Washington who are building the blueprint for others to follow; looking at you California, New Mexico, New York, Michigan, Minnesota, Oregon.
“The appointment of Colorado commissioners who represent animal welfare constituencies aligns with a similar shift in Washington State’s Fish and Wildlife Commission, which has a majority of what might be called “mutualists,” members who de-emphasize traditional hunting and angling in favor of using predators to manage ungulate populations, among other core values. The Washington commission is mulling a policy change that runs counter to many of the established tenants of the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation, in which hunters and anglers pay much of the cost of science-based resource management.”
Uh, anyone else see a big, fat, hairy problem with this? I’ve speculated for years but never wanted to cave to my conspiracy theorist tendencies; predator reintroduction’s overarching goal is to eliminate the need for hunters to manage wildlife populations. . . well, guess I was right.
“Ultimately, hunters aren’t really necessary to manage wildlife, Kevin Bixby told Outdoor Life last year. Bixby is the executive director of Wildlife For All, a New Mexico-based group that’s pushing for state wildlife reform, with roots in animal-rights, rewilding, and deep ecology campaigns.”
Believe them when they tell you who they are and what they’re about! I really wish I was wrong about my prediction but it appears I wasn’t and I’m afraid it doesn’t end there. With hunters and hunting eliminated and the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation dismantled the path is paved for the elimination of our 2nd Amendment rights as well.
This fight is real and if you’re not supporting groups like Dallas Safari Club, Sportsmen’s Alliance, Mule Deer Foundation, RMEF, Ducks Unlimited and 2nd Amendment advocacy groups you need to be. If you’re not actively participating in the preservation of the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation through volunteering, serving on boards, going to public meetings, voicing opinions and being civically engaged in general, you are part of the problem!
The only way we nip this agenda in the bud and save the future of hunting and REAL science-based conservation/wildlife management is to get involved at every level and take control before it is too late.
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Your comments are spot on. Nevada is also following suit bending to the whims of pressure adding “non-consumptive” users to sit on county advisory boards to manage wildlife and the state wildlife commission. I sit on the Clark County Advisory Board to Manage Wildlife. The make up of our board is seven individuals; six positions filled by hunters, trappers, ranchers or farmers and one position filled by “the general public” this last classification is one which the anti-hunting public have been successful in filling with one of their own. In the recent past our board has at times had 2 of the 7 sitting members appointed that were part of the anti-hunting community. what is the concern? when each vote on a topic would generally end in a 5-2 or 6-1 result. The concern is the bog down in discussions during the meetings. On the one hand the opportunity to educate these people on wildlife management and hunting and trapping as a tool to help wildlife populations AND us as hunters to hear their concerns and educate ourselves to their position is a positive. On the other hand it is clear that they will never see our views as positive when they only focus on “killing of wildlife” not the conservation and habitat restoration projects and studies that we approve and discuss.
In the past 10-12 years our meetings have increasingly been attended by the anti-hunting public. This made the job of us sitting on the board difficult. When the room is comprised of 75% anti-hunters and 25% of the hunting public discussion on each topic is heavily slanted. It is difficult for a panel to vote on topics that per the public discussion is so focused against the direction the panel wishes to go. Thankfully the hunting public has responded and started to come out and attend the meetings and now greatly out number the other side…..what once was a dominate anti-hunting discussion at each meeting has now flipped. Fewer anti’s attend (yet they attend each meeting) they speak less often but they are watching and taking notes. So I encourage all hunters to attend your state or county meetings, voice your concerns become engaged!
Its a huge problem and we must stand up and fight so future generations have the privilege to hunt and provide for their families!