By Doug Giles
Sunday, November 24, 2013
“If some animals are good at hunting and others are
suitable for hunting, then the Gods must clearly smile on hunting.” - Aristotle
Last week the animal right activists went into full
doofus mode when the happy huntress, Melissa Bachman, posted pics on Facebook
and Twitter of a lion she shot on her recent safari to South Africa.
Being the most unhinged bipeds sucking air right now on
God’s green earth, the anti-hunting lunatics, in a full-on hissy fit, demanded
that Bachman be banned from South Africa for legally hunting a lion and
stimulating their needy economy. In addition, they called her the vilest of
names that sailors on leave in Borneo don’t even use and, ironically, some
called for her to be hunted and killed.
Progressives are so cute. They’re so totally cool with
you doing whatever you want to do as long as it is something they’ve mandated.
Typical was the caterwauling. They called Miss Melissa an
evil trophy hunter. Queried why was she smiling in the hunting photos.
Declared, contrary to reality, that “lions are endangered.” Announced to the
planet “hunting is cruel” and complained about the hunt being “a canned hunt.”
And then, I think, they launched into a chorus of “Hakuna Matata” from the Lion
King movie.
First off, trophy hunting, in the truest sense of the
word, takes off the field the toothless old codgers of the animal kingdom that
have been kicked out of the pride, pack or herd and are past their breeding prime,
and are a few weeks or months away from being shredded to death by other
predators when they go for an afternoon drink at the local watering hole.
Which brings me to the “hunting is cruel” blather the
anti-hunters spew with more predictably than a Nancy Pelosi bowel movement. If
you want to see “cruel” turn on Nat Geo and watch the animal kingdom take care
of business. Holy crap, that’s as raw as it gets. Nothing quite like watching
an assemblage of sweet little Simba’s eat the butt off a buffalo while it’s
still alive. If I were an animal, I’d take a 300-grain Swift A-frame screaming
out of the pipe of a .375H&H at 2400-feet-per-second any old day versus
being on the receiving end of “the delicate balance of nature. “
As far as lions being “endangered” read this from the
National Geographic and get back to me. Man, I almost forgot this ditty. If one
really wishes to secure the future of the lion then the best way to do that is
to shoot the surplus males because they eat the pride’s cubs in order to get to
the pride’s ladies.
And lastly, regarding the “canned aspect” of her lion
hunt, if you consider the several thousand hectares Bachman pursued her cat as a
“can” then that’s a big ass can. Oh, and by the way, the cats let loose in
these “cans” are formidable foes and would as soon kill you as look at you. To
them, you’re lunch and they’re definitely not pets.
With all the aforementioned, I know that facts don’t
matter to the “rat is a pig is a dog is a boy” crowd. They’re emoters not based
in reason and they’re laced liberally with hypocrisy. For instance, a lot of
these anti-hunting clowns eat meat and use leather products. Hello. How the
heck do you think you got that steak or fish fillet or the leather seats in
your car?
For those who pride themselves on eating veggies only,
let me ask you a question: aren’t they too a living organism? Doesn’t someone
hunt and kill them for you to have your edamame salad? Oh, and this one’s going
to hurt, I’ll have you know that for you to have your precious greens a farmer
has to shoot deer, boar, rabbits and other vermin who dine on your sacrosanct
salad. It’s true. Ask a farmer.
My intent with this column is not to try to covert the
implacable but to encourage hunters and hunter friendly folks to stop taking
the crap from this infantile infinitesimal group. Don’t hide your Genesis
9:1-3 God-blessed love of hunting. Put your pics up on Facebook and Twitter and
join the various pro-hunting pages, and while you’re doing that get briefed to
the amazing truth to what hunting does to preserve both land and species. To
assist you in the latter, take a stroll from this smattering of irrefutable,
inconvenient truths about conservation through hunting.
The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation provides the following
slam-dunk:
· In 1907, only 41,000 elk remained in North America.
Thanks to the money and hard work invested by hunters to restore and conserve
habitat, today there are more than 1 million.
· In 1900, only 500,000 whitetails remained. Thanks to
conservation work spearheaded by hunters, today there are more than 32 million.
· In 1900, only 100,000 wild turkeys remained. Thanks to
hunters, today there are over 7 million.
· In 1901, few ducks remained. Thanks to hunters’ efforts
to restore and conserve wetlands, today there are more than 44 million.
· In 1950, only 12,000 pronghorn remained. Thanks to
hunters, today there are more than 1.1 million.
· Habitat, research and wildlife law enforcement work,
all paid for by hunters, help countless non-hunted species.
· Through state licenses and fees, hunters pay around
$800 million a year for conservation programs.*
· Through donations to groups like Rocky Mountain Elk
Foundation, hunters add $440 million a year to conservation efforts.*
· In 1937, hunters actually requested an 11% tax on guns,
ammo, bows and arrows to help fund conservation. That tax, so far, raised more
than $7.2 billion for wildlife conservation.*
· An 11% tax on guns, ammo, bows and arrows generates
$371 million a year for conservation.*
· All together, hunters pay more than $1.6 billion a year
for conservation programs. No one gives more!*
· Three out of four Americans approve of hunting, partly
because hunters are America’s greatest positive force for conservation.
· As taxpayers, hunters also fund the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, U.S. Forest Service, etc.
· Hunting funds conservation AND the economy, generating
$38 billion a year in retail spending.*
· Hunting supports 680,000 jobs, from game wardens to
waitresses, biologists to motel clerks.*
· A wildlife management tool, hunting helps balance
wildlife populations with what the land can support, limits crop damage and
curtails disease outbreaks.
· Hunters help manage growing numbers of predators such
as cougars, bears, coyotes and wolves. Our government spends millions to
control predators and varmints, while hunters have proven more than willing to
pay for that opportunity.
· Hunting has major value for highway safety. For every
deer hit by a motorist, hunters take six.
· Deer collisions kill 200 motorists and cost $10 billion
a year. Imagine costs without hunting!
· Hunters provide for conservation — and for their
families. Hunting is a healthy way to connect with nature and eat the world’s
most organic, lean, free-range meat.
· Hunter numbers are down, while hunter spending for
conservation is up. Unequaled devotion!
· Avid hunter Theodore Roosevelt created our national
forests and grasslands and forever protected 230 million acres for wildlife and
the public to use and enjoy.
· With funding from hunters, RMEF helped restore wild elk
herds in six states and provinces.
· As society loses its ties to wildlife and conservation,
the bonds with nature formed by hunting are the greatest hope for creating the
next generation of true conservationists.
*financial info via America’s Sporting Heritage: Fueling
the American Economy (January 2013) and Hunting in America: An Economic Force
for Conservation (January 2013)
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