Note: The Governor has until Sept. 30 to veto the bill.
By John Wildermuth. Journalist and Political Commentator
Friday, September 14th, 2012
Patience is a sadly unappreciated virtue in politics. Just ask the folks involved in the current slow-motion effort to restrict hunting in California.
Not ban hunting, mind you, because there’s no way animal rights groups like PETA, the Humane Society of the United States and their allies can find the votes for that.
But, like the old story about the frog that never realized he was being boiled because the water was heated bit by bit, small changes can make a big difference, if you’re patient. Full article
Showing posts with label HSUS anti-hunting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label HSUS anti-hunting. Show all posts
Saturday, September 15, 2012
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Poaching Statistics — HSUS style
Few people ever challenge the statistics that animal rights groups toss out. Perhaps if we did so more often, their credibility would increasingly be damaged.
by Steve Sorensen
(Originally published in the Warren Times Observer, January 22, 2011.)
Why would the HSUS say anything to imply an equivalence between hunting and poaching?
The radio ad says over 100 million animals are killed by poachers each year. That number comes from the Humane Society of the United States and it can't be true.
Here it is, directly from the HSUS website: "In the United States, wildlife officials estimate that for every animal killed legally by hunters, another is killed illegally, amounting to perhaps more than 100 million wild animals poached each year."
These days, we hear so many big numbers that many people tend to accept them without question. But I have a few questions.
The first one is simple: "Really?"
Think about it.
If the HSUS is correct, and if those 100 million poached animals are averaged equally among the 50 states, Pennsylvania would lose about two million animals to poachers each year.
No one knows exactly how many animals are poached in Pennsylvania, but it's far less than two million. Jerry Feaser, spokesman for the Pennsylvania Game Commission, says that "on average, about 1,000 individuals are added to Pennsylvania's revocation list for hunting and trapping license privileges annually."
If all 1,000 are poachers, and if each poached 10 animals, that's only a tiny fraction of two million - one half of one percent.
That leaves 1,990,000 unsolved poaching cases in Pennsylvania. I have more confidence in our wildlife conservation officers - and the general public - than that.
My second question - where does the HSUS get its outlandish poaching estimate? Feaser said even he wonders about that.
Answer: I think it comes almost totally from thin air.
Full story ....
by Steve Sorensen
(Originally published in the Warren Times Observer, January 22, 2011.)
Why would the HSUS say anything to imply an equivalence between hunting and poaching?
The radio ad says over 100 million animals are killed by poachers each year. That number comes from the Humane Society of the United States and it can't be true.
Here it is, directly from the HSUS website: "In the United States, wildlife officials estimate that for every animal killed legally by hunters, another is killed illegally, amounting to perhaps more than 100 million wild animals poached each year."
These days, we hear so many big numbers that many people tend to accept them without question. But I have a few questions.
The first one is simple: "Really?"
Think about it.
If the HSUS is correct, and if those 100 million poached animals are averaged equally among the 50 states, Pennsylvania would lose about two million animals to poachers each year.
No one knows exactly how many animals are poached in Pennsylvania, but it's far less than two million. Jerry Feaser, spokesman for the Pennsylvania Game Commission, says that "on average, about 1,000 individuals are added to Pennsylvania's revocation list for hunting and trapping license privileges annually."
If all 1,000 are poachers, and if each poached 10 animals, that's only a tiny fraction of two million - one half of one percent.
That leaves 1,990,000 unsolved poaching cases in Pennsylvania. I have more confidence in our wildlife conservation officers - and the general public - than that.
My second question - where does the HSUS get its outlandish poaching estimate? Feaser said even he wonders about that.
Answer: I think it comes almost totally from thin air.
Full story ....
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Hunters are ready to defend our rights at the ballot box
8:27 PM 10/20/2010
As we all know, the midterm elections could be a major turning point in the direction of this country. Federal spending, jobs, the economy and health care are topics at the top of the national mind, but a recent Safari Club International poll shows that sportsmen and women will also have a significant impact on the November elections — precisely because hunting is a major economic powerhouse in the U.S. economy. Hunters are standing ready to protect their sport, and the jobs it brings to rural economies, in the voting booth. Our poll also shows that the sportsmen’s community is more interested in these elections than ever before, and hunters stand ready to vote on November 2nd.
A few facts demonstrate the impact of hunting in the United States:
•16 million Americans actively participate in hunting every year.
•The hunting industry contributes over $30 billion to the U.S. economy each year and supports over one million jobs across the country.
•The $4.95 billion in annual federal tax money generated by hunters’ spending could cover the annual paychecks of 150,000 U.S. Army sergeants.
•Sportsmen contribute $7.5-plus million to wildlife and habitat conservation every day — more than $2.7 billion every year.
Of those hunters surveyed, an overwhelming nine out of ten say they are “very” likely to vote in the upcoming elections for Congress. In the typically lower turnout of a midterm cycle, this finding suggests that the level of sportsmen’s participation in the November election will be significant. Safari Club’s members and hunters around the country are concerned about protecting the freedom to hunt, gun rights, land use and wildlife management issues and we are ready to make our voices heard at the ballot box in a few short weeks.
But it’s not just the federal level where sportsmen stand ready to make a difference this year. Safari Club International and our allies are involved at all levels of government — from state and local to national and international. There’s an alarming trend, particularly in some states, to restrict hunters’ freedoms. This year, Safari Club International and our members are involved in ballot initiatives in four states to pass state constitutional amendments that will guarantee the future of our right to hunt and fish, even in the face of anti-hunting extremists’ attacks. The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and others are trying to delude voters into believing that these amendments are unnecessary, but the true agenda of the extremists was revealed in a recent article in Tennessee’s Jackson Sun. Tennessee is one of the states where a constitutional amendment is on the ballot, and a spokeswoman from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) told the paper that “Tennesseans should vote against the amendment and that hunting and fishing should be stopped.”
Read more: Daily Caller
As we all know, the midterm elections could be a major turning point in the direction of this country. Federal spending, jobs, the economy and health care are topics at the top of the national mind, but a recent Safari Club International poll shows that sportsmen and women will also have a significant impact on the November elections — precisely because hunting is a major economic powerhouse in the U.S. economy. Hunters are standing ready to protect their sport, and the jobs it brings to rural economies, in the voting booth. Our poll also shows that the sportsmen’s community is more interested in these elections than ever before, and hunters stand ready to vote on November 2nd.
A few facts demonstrate the impact of hunting in the United States:
•16 million Americans actively participate in hunting every year.
•The hunting industry contributes over $30 billion to the U.S. economy each year and supports over one million jobs across the country.
•The $4.95 billion in annual federal tax money generated by hunters’ spending could cover the annual paychecks of 150,000 U.S. Army sergeants.
•Sportsmen contribute $7.5-plus million to wildlife and habitat conservation every day — more than $2.7 billion every year.
Of those hunters surveyed, an overwhelming nine out of ten say they are “very” likely to vote in the upcoming elections for Congress. In the typically lower turnout of a midterm cycle, this finding suggests that the level of sportsmen’s participation in the November election will be significant. Safari Club’s members and hunters around the country are concerned about protecting the freedom to hunt, gun rights, land use and wildlife management issues and we are ready to make our voices heard at the ballot box in a few short weeks.
But it’s not just the federal level where sportsmen stand ready to make a difference this year. Safari Club International and our allies are involved at all levels of government — from state and local to national and international. There’s an alarming trend, particularly in some states, to restrict hunters’ freedoms. This year, Safari Club International and our members are involved in ballot initiatives in four states to pass state constitutional amendments that will guarantee the future of our right to hunt and fish, even in the face of anti-hunting extremists’ attacks. The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and others are trying to delude voters into believing that these amendments are unnecessary, but the true agenda of the extremists was revealed in a recent article in Tennessee’s Jackson Sun. Tennessee is one of the states where a constitutional amendment is on the ballot, and a spokeswoman from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) told the paper that “Tennesseans should vote against the amendment and that hunting and fishing should be stopped.”
Read more: Daily Caller
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Wolf's Den: Hunting rights vs.Humane Society
Vote YES on Proposition 109
DAVID WOLF azdailysun.com Posted: Tuesday, October 5, 2010
The first thing you should know is that the biggest anti-hunting organization in the nation, the euphemistically named Humane Society of the United States -- which really is an anti-hunting lobby group -- is vehemently opposed to Proposition 109, which is all the more reason to support it.
The HSUS says Proposition 109 is a power grab by the legislature. The reality is the legislature has always had authority over wildlife in the state of Arizona. They choose, thanks to the never-ending effort of Arizona's hunters, to let an independent commission set wildlife management policy based on the recommendations of professional wildlife biologists. (See Arizona Revised Statues -- 17-201 -- for the truth)
The HSUS says Arizonans already have the "right" to hunt and fish. Nothing in state statute or the Arizona Constitution currently declares the ability to hunt and fish as a right. Unlike the right to bear arms, which the U.S. Constitution guarantees, there are no provisions that provide the same right to hunt and fish. It is a fact that the ability to hunt and fish has been threatened time and again. The president and CEO of the HSUS, Wayne Pacelle, is on record in Full Cry magazine saying, "We are going to use the ballot box and the democratic process to stop all hunting in the United States... We will take it species by species until all hunting is stopped in California. Then we will take it state by state."
The HSUS says Proposition 109 will end the use of sound science in wildlife management. Provision B of the proposition says, "laws and rules authorized under this section shall have the purpose of wildlife conservation and management and preserving the future of hunting and fishing." The Legislature could have, at any time, taken science out of wildlife management. This HSUS argument is another red herring. FULL STORY
DAVID WOLF azdailysun.com Posted: Tuesday, October 5, 2010
The first thing you should know is that the biggest anti-hunting organization in the nation, the euphemistically named Humane Society of the United States -- which really is an anti-hunting lobby group -- is vehemently opposed to Proposition 109, which is all the more reason to support it.
The HSUS says Proposition 109 is a power grab by the legislature. The reality is the legislature has always had authority over wildlife in the state of Arizona. They choose, thanks to the never-ending effort of Arizona's hunters, to let an independent commission set wildlife management policy based on the recommendations of professional wildlife biologists. (See Arizona Revised Statues -- 17-201 -- for the truth)
The HSUS says Arizonans already have the "right" to hunt and fish. Nothing in state statute or the Arizona Constitution currently declares the ability to hunt and fish as a right. Unlike the right to bear arms, which the U.S. Constitution guarantees, there are no provisions that provide the same right to hunt and fish. It is a fact that the ability to hunt and fish has been threatened time and again. The president and CEO of the HSUS, Wayne Pacelle, is on record in Full Cry magazine saying, "We are going to use the ballot box and the democratic process to stop all hunting in the United States... We will take it species by species until all hunting is stopped in California. Then we will take it state by state."
The HSUS says Proposition 109 will end the use of sound science in wildlife management. Provision B of the proposition says, "laws and rules authorized under this section shall have the purpose of wildlife conservation and management and preserving the future of hunting and fishing." The Legislature could have, at any time, taken science out of wildlife management. This HSUS argument is another red herring. FULL STORY
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