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The C.A.S.H. Courier

ARTICLES from the Spring 2007 Issue

Letters to the Editors

Wounded Coyote Terrified At Mall
Letter by Anne Muller

Of the many horrific accounts of the insanity of hunting, wildlife management deceit, and hunter abuse of animals, this is unique in that it happened in full view of cameras and shoppers at a mall who otherwise might not have given a thought to what hunting means.
The NYS Department of Environmental Conservation’s “Hunting and Trapping Regulations Guide” is published annually. It lets hunters and trappers know when they can legally begin to kill wild animals, and when they legally have to stop. In it you will find the following definition of hunting:

“[It] means to pursue, shoot, kill or capture (other than trap) wildlife and includes all lesser acts that disturb or worry wildlife whether or not they result in taking…
To take – means to pursue, shoot, hunt, kill, capture, trap, snare or net wildlife and game—and all lesser acts that disturb or worry wildlife….”

The DEC agents who are quoted in the paper will inevitably tell you that hunting is needed. Hunters will also. Is that surprising? Hunters are the customers of the wildlife management agencies.

Wild animals are terrorized for the sake of profit for the game agencies, and pleasure for the hunters. Can anyone guess who pays for this to happen? YOU DO! The story is too long for a mere letter to the editor, so please contact us and we will be happy to fill you in on the details.

A dear friend lives in Webster on “Forever Wild” land that now can not be hunted. Of course not, there are children and dogs in the area. But there are also wild animals who are enjoyed by many people. The game agencies and the hunters are chomping at the bit for more hunting. What better way than to frighten the public into believing that they will be killed by coyotes? The truth is that hunting is a business for the agencies that collect hunting license fees, and monies from excise taxes on firearms and ammunition. They need the hunters to provide this for them. For the hunters, killing animals, especially coyotes, is done for sheer pleasure, and to keep the deer population high so hunters can kill more of them also.

In a recent “Outdoor column” the columnist wrote: “Hunting the hunters offers a unique challenge. The pain of lupus often drives [a hunter] out of his bed at night. Since he can’t sleep, he figures he might as well do something with the time. He hunts the hunters [meaning coyotes]. “In my opinion, predator hunting by calling is one of the most challenging types of hunting there is..”

Our response is that killing is a unique response to having pain. If the victims were human, it would be a sorry excuse. We can change the laws for wild animals as well. Let’s not allow our forest friends to be subjected to humans who enjoy killing or tormenting them.

If you would like to see wildlife treated differently, if you would like to see your wildlife management agency encourage wildlife watching instead of killing, if you would like to ensure that the personnel of the current agencies who participate in this current nightmare for wildlife are replaced with those who respect wildlife, and the demands of the general public, then please stay in touch with us.

If you need help with an injured or sickened coyote or fox, then a wonderful resource right in the area, is Elise Able of Fox Wood Wildlife Rescue in Buffalo. www.foxwoodrehab.com

Anne Muller, President
Wildlife Watch

An excellent letter
by Anne Lynch!

Thank you to George Nagle for sending us the following letter. Bravo to Anne Lynch for writing this! It perhaps epitomizes how we feel about hunting vs. wildlife watching.

Barbara Cloud, in her most recent column (“Readers take aim at hunting column,” April 16, 2007), says that she has trouble understanding how people can revel in hunting.  As an avid hunter, perhaps I can explain. Nothing thrills me more than being out in the woods, waiting for an animal to cross my path.  Every second I’m out there gives me unbridled joy.  I see a deer.  I line up my shot.  I shoot.  It’s perfect. The deer runs off to live another day.  I take my camera home and will soon have a magnificent photograph of one of nature’s most beautiful creatures to hang on my wall and marvel at.  What’s the best part?  No animal had to die. To those hunters who claim to revere nature and wildlife - do you also revere God?  How do you justify using the same word to mean two completely antagonistic things?  The last time I checked, reverence did not mean killing sentient beings.  And to those who have “trophies” mounted on their walls, because they are “such beautiful animals” - I think my mother and my friends are all beautiful, but I have pictures of them.

The actor Jimmy Stewart once said, “Animals give me more pleasure through the viewfinder of a camera than they ever did in the crosshairs of a gunsight.  And after I’ve finished ‘shooting,’ my unharmed victims are still around for others to enjoy.”  May all hunters eventually discover that shooting to frame, and not to kill, is the more reverent act.

Go on to What has LOHV been up to?
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Phone 845-256-1400 Fax 845-818-3622
E-mail: cash@cashwildwatch.org
Anne Muller - President

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