It's Tiresome

“It’s tiresome; really, really tiresome.” says I.

“What is?” says he.

“Listening to all the drivel and just plain BS from each side.” says I.

“Each side, you mean the politicians?” says he.

“No, not this time. I’m talking about the extreme faction of animal rights people and the far out faction of hunters. They deserve each other and they play into each other’s hands, but the rest of us would be better off without them.” says I.

There are the animal rights people who oppose all hunting. Who harass law-abiding and ethical hunters. Who feed feral cats, cats that go on to kill millions and millions of birds and small mammals and compete with native predators. Who adamantly oppose removal of feral horses and donkeys from public lands in the west. This litany could go on and on, but you get the point.

And there are the hunters who bait their quarry. Who “hunt” at night. Who oppose any restrictions on the lead shot and bullets containing lead that poison eagles and condors and loons. Who want only the trophy head or hide and waste the rest. Who don't respect safety zones. Who think seasons and bag limits don’t apply to them. Who fight against non-hunters having any influence on wildlife agencies. Who would, if they could, eliminate all predators. Want to hear more says I?

“No” says he, “those are two sides of the same coin and it’s not even a coin you could spend.” 

Yes indeed, they play into each other’s hands. The unethical hunters produce more anti-hunters each time their activities and political impact come to light and the extremist animal rights folks make it more difficult to scientifically manage wildlife species and control feral animals.

Unfortunately, it’s wildlife and natural resources that are the big losers in this fight between the extremes – and the rest of us loose too.