In 2007 alone, hunters and shooters contributed $233 million in Pittman-Robertson funds.

As hunters, we are made use of to attacks on our lifestyle in the animal-rights-vegetarian-vegan coalition. But an short article by Matt Spencer within the Lowell Sun ("Give Bambi a shotgun, then hunting would be a fair fight," July 19) stating that hunting is worse than dogfighting was so mindboggling and utterly fraught with fallacies that we had to set the record straight.
A couple of excerpts in the story are sure to obtain your blood boiling:
hat does your pristine port?need to do with all the outlawed mayhem of ultimate doggie brawls? Properly, you don must go hunting for the answer. I'll fire back the reality.
right here is usually a difference. Hunting is worse. Hunting is deadly certain. At least when White Fang is brawling, he features a fighting chance. In hunting, the bullet and arrow offer no TKOs.
ou hunters don give a flying duck about guarding the wildlife. And I don't give a flying duck about your rights as hunters. You're not outdoorsmen, or sportsmen. To claim that you're conservationists would be like saying ExxonMobil is peddling the idea of obtaining alot more cyclists on the roads.
t astounds me that Michael Vick is jailed as a war criminal, deemed worthy of a Nuremberg tribunal, but armed citizens are licensed by our states to have their jollies blowing Bambi, Bullwinkle, Braer rabbit and also Yogi Bear to smithereens.
s an individual who has in no way executed a fellow mammal, I am much more astounded by the truth that states encourage kids to join in on the kill shots. Within the Bay State, I was shocked to learn that a kid at the tender age of 15 can get a hunting license.?br />
I'd like to counter Mr. Spencer anti-hunting diatribe with just several facts, because he chose to not do so.
First of all, his claim that hunting is worse than dogfighting is absurd to any person who has essentially hunted per day in his or her life. The ranks of hunters are filled with decent, hard-working, family-oriented people that make up the fairly fabric of this country. People who engage in dogfighting are criminals, pure and rather simple. Hunters will not be.
With that mentioned, I specifically take offense to Mr. Spencer statement that hunters aren't conservationists. The reality is, hunters are the ultimate stewards of our wildlife and land resources. The taxes and license fees paid by hunters have generated funds to purchase millions of acres of public land and boost wildlife habitat. Considering the fact that 1937, hunters have contributed greater than $4 BILLION by means of the Pittman-Robertson Act for the benefit of all wildlife species.
Practically all outdoor enthusiasts advantage in the excise tax dollars hunters spend on guns, ammunition and associated gear. The bird watchers, hikers and bikers don should pay a cent to fund the outdoor pursuits they appreciate. Why need to they open their wallets when hunters foot the bill for them?
Additionally, hunters DO care about safeguarding wildlife. Hunting keeps game populations in balance with their habitat. When a population exceeds the habitat carrying capacity, sickness and die-off will be the result. Hunting keeps general game populations wholesome and sustainable. For example, in 1900, whitetail deer populations within this country totaled 300,000. Together with the aid of regulated hunting, wildlife management paid for by hunters, and an influx of Pittman-Robertson dollars, whitetail populations right now number greater than 20 million.
There are other facts I could provide in assistance of huntingt prevents deer-auto collisions and keeps our insurance coverage rates from skyrocketing; it supplies almost 600,000 Americans with work; it strengthens family bonds with time spent with each other outdoors; and it feeds our country, not just with the meat itself, but in addition as a result of the crop harm and livestock predation it prevents.

But possibly the quantity 1 truth that Mr. Spencer apparently missed is this: 73 percent of Americans approve of legal hunting, in accordance with the Congressional Sportsmen Foundation. Only 10 percent think hunting need to be illegal. I would venture to guess that dogfighting would acquire a substantially much less favorable public reception. Just ask Michael Vick.