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The C.A.S.H. Courier
ARTICLE from the Spring 2010 Issue
Ask Uncle Joe
BY JOE MIELE
GOT A QUESTION FOR UNCLE JOE?
YOU CAN E-MAIL IT TO [email protected] .
WOULD YOU RATHER SNAIL MAIL YOUR QUESTION? SEND IT TO: ASK UNCLE JOE,
C/O WILDLIFE WATCH, BOX 562, NEW PALTZ, NY 12561.
UNCLE JOE GETS A LOT OF MAIL SO DON’T BE OFFENDED IF HE CANNOT ANSWER YOUR QUESTION IN THE COURIER. HECK, HE’S GOTTA WORK A DAY JOB, TOO.
Letters are printed as received. They are unedited.
Dear readers: More of Uncle Joe" can be found online at:
www.abolishsporthunting.org/UncleJoe
Dear Uncle Joe:
I don't believe that you would actually want to abolish hunting or as you
call it sport hunting. Why? The department of conservation was created to
protect animals and that's what they do. Without hunting, deer get diseased
when there are too many of them and those pictures are more grusome then you
can imagine. And then there are the amount of people losing the family dog
or cat to coyote, and how many people die each year in car accidents caused
by deer?
I think if you want people to listen to you you should also present both
sides of the argument because by abolish hunting and you will have diseased
animals, hungry families, more car accidents, and more animal attacks upon
humans.
Corrie L.
Pasco, WA
Dear Corrie:
There are many reasons why we want to abolish sport hunting. Using a
weapon to intentionally kill an animal who poses no threat to you or to
anyone else is an unnecessarily violent act. We believe that the world is
already too violent and that any increase in the amount of violence is not
needed. When we're violent we dismiss the needs, feeling and suffering of
others, and that makes us weak inside and lesser people.
State wildlife agencies were established to regulate hunting, not to
protect animals. If their mission is to protect wildlife (show me in writing
where this is so) they are failing miserably. Every time I see a dead deer
in the back of someone's truck it is evidence that no one protected that
animal.
Don't we already see diseased animals, hungry families, car accidents and
animal attacks on humans with all the hunting that is going on? Think about
the kinds of animals that hunters most often kill - pheasants, deer,
squirrels, rabbits, etc. How many of these animals are likely to attack a
person? Last time I checked, no one was very concerned about being attacked
by a flock of ducks. And think about this one - when was the last time you
heard a hunter talk about using his tag to kill a "diseased" or sick deer?
Hunters kill the strongest and healthiest animals, leaving the sick and weak
to breed. That is how they hurt wildlife species in addition to the
individual animals
As for presenting both sides of the issue, we do. We address hunting from
the standpoint of how it affects wildlife and how it affects the
environment. We also expose how 99.99% of hunters kill for recreation and
not for survival. We look at hunting from many angles, not just from the
standpoint of animal cruelty. Now, when was the last time you heard a
hunting organization or agency present both sides of the argument?
Peace,
Uncle Joe
-------------------------
Dear Uncle Joe. [Uncle Joe asks that you try to follow the following
letter, it's not easy.]
"Wolf control" is about giving a few twisted macho men a chance to blow
away a wolf ... from an airplane. How sporting! Since hunting was banned in
these areas and the wolf population got out of control, we had to hire
professional hunters and snipers to keep the population in check, not "a few
twisted macho men." And you know, Deer Hunting is Good for the Soul There
are facts that support our point of view backed up by statistics and
biologists, whereas on the other side it's supported by emotion and
feelings, not a very strong argument. One thing you probably don't know is
that almost every hunter would get just as much satisfaction out of hunting
just by watching the animals opposed to harvesting one. Hunters enjoy
watching the animals alot, ther's no way describe how you feel when there's
a deer right under neath you and is unaware of your presence. It takes a lot
of work and preparation to be able to actually get a deer or any animal Find
a hobby where you can be more productive and stop trying to ruin everyone's
tradition.
Stephen B.
Capitan, NM
Dear Stephen:
I do not believe that wolf populations are "out of control." Wolves are
disliked by ranchers, but they seldom give anyone else a problem. The wolf
killing is done to pacify those who make their living by killing other
animals, and in our opinion these kinds of people should not be supported.
And how can something that is "good for the soul" be "backed up by
statistics" when the presence of a soul cannot be proven scientifically?
Aren't you hunters supposedly all about science?
It's also interesting that hunters talk about camaraderie and tradition,
and then try to claim that they are not relying on emotion when they kill.
Are you trying to tell me that when you hunt, you do not experience a range
of emotions? It seems like you're saying that hunters are machine-like and
kill without emotion. Heartless is another word for that - thanks for
confirming what so many of us already know.
You wrote: "One thing you probably don't know is that almost every hunter
would get just as much satisfaction out of hunting just by watching the
animals opposed to harvesting one." If you get just as much satisfaction
from watching the animals, why do you feel the need to be so violent?
And like with pretty much everything else you've written, I disagree that
it is difficult for hunters to kill wildlife. You people kill tens of
millions of animals every year, so you can't possibly say that it is
difficult to do so.
Peace,
Uncle Joe .
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