Obama Administration to Ban Hunting

Completely cowed by the well-flexed political muscle of PeTA and the Humane Society of the United States, the Obama Administration is taking action to ban all hunting on public lands.

The announcement came at a meeting in Washington, D.C. attended by Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, and Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer.

An announcement about the change in policy was issued Friday morning, just as a massive snow storm blew in and closed the city.

The announcement itself was little more than a slap in the face to hunters and anglers everywhere:

“Theodore Roosevelt understood the vital role that hunting plays in American life, as well as the importance of protecting lands and wildlife to sustain that tradition,” said Secretary Salazar. “The early efforts of America’s hunters and anglers to preserve our nation’s wildlife heritage fueled the modern conservation movement and left us the natural bounty we are now entrusted with protecting. In the spirit of Theodore Roosevelt, we are enlisting the help of hunters and anglers to help us confront the conservation challenges of our time so that our children and grandchildren can have the same opportunities to experience wildlife and the great outdoors that have been passed along, generation to generation.”

“Today’s conservation challenges demand that we all step forward and embrace the important work necessary to maintain and conserve the wildlife habitat and water resources that are so important to America’s hunting and angling heritage,” said Secretary Vilsack. “The Wildlife and Hunting Heritage Conservation Council represents an opportunity to expand our partnership with conservation organizations that will improve the health and management of America’s public and private lands.”

The new federal advisory Council will help to promote and preserve America’s hunting heritage for future generations. The Council will also provide a forum for sports men and women to advise the Federal government on policies related to wildlife and habitat conservation endeavors that (a) benefit recreational hunting; (b) benefit wildlife resources; and (c) encourage partnership among the public, the sporting conservation community, the shooting and hunting sports industry, wildlife conservation organizations, the States, Native American tribes, and the Federal government.

Salazar noted that the revenue generated from hunting licenses, duck stamps and excise taxes on firearms, ammunition and archery equipment provides billions of dollars to purchase and maintain habitat for wildlife across the nation. Revenues also provide the principal source of funding for state wildlife agency conservation work.

By now, if you have not figured out I am pulling your leg, there is not much I (or anyone else) can do for you.

As I noted in an earlier post entitled Crying Wolf in Dog and Hunting Debates, "there's no shortage of folks who are gullible."

The gullible fall into three core groups: the lazy, the hazy, and crazy.

What all three groups have in common is that most know little or nothing about hunting, even less about dogs, and are blank slates when it comes to knowing how laws and regulations are made in either sector.

If you hunt you should have some some idea of how many hunters there are in America.

Hunting is here to stay.

If you own a dog, you should know how many dog owners there are in America.

Dogs are here to stay.

If you love this country you should be participating in democracy and know how local, state and federal laws are made.

America is a federated republic, and it is here to stay.

And yet so many people remain willful, gullible, ignorants who are easily played.

Do you remember how, just one year ago, we were all being told that some mysterious man by the name of Cass Sunstein was going to get rid of all hunting and all dog ownership in America?

Right.

Complete nonsense spouted by paid apologists for causes that cannot win with the truth -- puppy millers, factory farmers, and the crazy-train arm of the Republican party.

Now, it's one year later, and the Obama family has their own dog (a pure-bred), and the Administration has green-lighted the limited hunting of wolves (not exactly a bunny-hugger-friendly position), and is drawing praise from hunting groups like Ducks Unlimited.

No surprise here.

If it's a surprise to you, my suggestion is to get off your ass and read more and try to think a little bit better.

Because right now, you are part of the problem in this county, not part of the solution.

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  .