Anthony Marr has a history of being targeted by hunters, and his
presentation to about 30 area residents Monday was no exception.
Marr… was greeted by local
hunting advocates with a reaction he calls “typical”…
As a
Chinese Canadian, Marr feels he is in a good position to fight (the
traditional Oriental use of bear and tiger parts) traditions because of
his heritage. However, he has still encountered vicious racism from
Caucasian opponents.
“Some
say, ‘You should go back to Chinatown and clean up your own mess.’ Another
guy wrote a letter-to-the-editor saying, ‘Anthony Marr is trying to ban
the bear hunt so his countrymen have more bears to poach,’” said Marr.
The
activist has also paid a price for his high-profile campaign. Irate
opponents have threatened, insulted, targeted, even assaulted Marr.
That hasn’t deterred Marr from
spreading his message…A
downside of hunting is that it is anti-evolutionary, said Marr, because
trophy hunters go for the most magnificent specimens in prime breeding
condition, leaving the lesser ones to reproduce. Enough of this happening,
and the quality of the species declines, he said.
The
hunters at Monday’s presentation argued that without their presence as a
“conservation force”, more grizzlies would die at the hands of the
poachers.
Marr
asked, “If the hunters are such effective heroes, why don’t they go and
hunt evil poachers instead of innocent bears?”
He
said that relying on hunters to watch out for poachers is “like relying on
wolves to safeguard sheep against coyotes, with apologies to wolves and
coyotes.”…
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