Give Children A Chance To Reach Their Best Potential
Friends of Animals calls upon West Virginia Governor Bob Wise to
discontinue "Youth in the Outdoors," a hunting program for children
between the ages of 8 and 17.
Priscilla Feral, president of Friends of Animals, stated:
"At any age, to kill a living, conscious being and call it sport is one of
the most troubling ideas modern society has yet to come to grips with."
Wildlife officials are not teachers. Their salaries depend
upon the sale of hunting permits and taxes on guns and ammunition. In the
midst of a nationwide decline in hunting, it is not surprising that these
officials tap into an increasingly younger base to sell the idea of
hunting.
When it comes to defining the key values to pass along to
children, Governor Wise should follow instead the example set by state
education officials. In West Virginia schools, any form of violence is
unacceptable. Firearms and dangerous weapons are prohibited as a matter of
state policy.
Liza Ordeiro, Communications Director of the West Virginia
Department of Education, told FoA Representative Bill Dollinger via
telephone, "We see the value in teaching children to respect all life."
Ordeiro cited the West Virginia Student Code of Conduct section, which
states: "Students will demonstrate compassion and caring."
Most children have a natural affinity for animals. Urging
young people to suppress that feeling, to choose to cause death, and even
to associate all of this with a day's outing, is not sound public policy.
It prepares children to engage in violence, while stunting their potential
to seek more creative futures.
West Virginia's gorgeous mountains, parks, and forests
offer so many healthful and exciting opportunities. The state's outfitters
are known nationwide for supplying the best in backpacking, hiking,
rafting and kayaking, biking, rock climbing, canoeing, team-building
trips, and the skill-building sport of orienteering.
Friends of Animals asks Bob Wise to discontinue plans for
encouraging child hunting, and instead support positive activities that
enable the children of West Virginia a chance to reach their best
potential, indoors and out.
Bill Dollinger
Washington, DC Director
Friends of Animals
2000 P. Street, NW, Suite 415
Washington, DC 20036
Telephone: 202 296-2172
Fax: 202-296-2190
Email:
[email protected]
Web site:
www.friendsofanimals.org
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