Forums.NitroExpress.com

Cooch, excellent post of yours. Spot on. Succinct and hits all the main points.

The dilemmas are not all in Africa.

And there ARE those who seek to ban hunting, and they are powerful and well-funded. Here in the West we are subjected to continuous pressure from outside groups to establish "biodiverse" {a euphemism IMO for "peopleless"} ecosystems, ecosystems that do not include, or only marginally include humans.

Many believe that people should be the "last resort" to managing game, and I feel strongly that the same philosophy that stirred anti-hunting juices in '77 in Kenya exists here.

Wolf introduction and listing of species as Endangered Species are excellent examples of means by which people can be removed from the woods and mountains and "valueless" animals protected, animals that cost but do not benefit. The Y-to-Y crowd, Centers For Biodiversity and many others pursue policies that can only in the end drive people from vast regions of the West if they are allowed to win. Thus we fight every way we can. Most hunters have no idea what is going on, politically, in the West IMO.

Here game is the property of the State, or, in the case of ES, protected by the Federal Government. Values to local peole are at times not even taken into consideration. What has been learned over and over again in Africa is lost to the Game Departments of the Western States, mine in particular.

So, for example, wolves devastate our game herds and we can do nothing about it. No value exists in a wolf by comparison to the cost it represents. Eagles are also thick as sand on the beach and they may not be killed at all in spite of the fact that they severely impact game bird populations.

Are we stuck with them all?

I do not know. Most American hunters out here don't possess the guts of bush Africans to address the issues of the threats caused by excessive predator numbers. As for large predators, I applaud every killing of a lion, wolf or bear that threatens people. Period. I read from time-to-time of some fellow who traps, snares or poisons a lion that takes his stock or threatens his kids. And frequently the extreme animal rights crowd sings the same song as hunters who decry such acts. Yet who would do differently were they to face the same threat?

Game MUST have value, or it will be destroyed by those who pay the cost, those who cannot afford the luxury of its existence. Where game is given value, it will thrive.

Personally, I applaud the destruction of large predators where they are a threat to people. I also applaud the policies that give them value to those with whom they live. We as yet have not yet benefited by such policies. We will keep up the fight.

--------------------
What are the Rosary, the Cross or the Crucifix other than tools to help maintain the fortress of our faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God?

Edited by 9.3x57 (15/07/09 12:57 PM)