Martinelli Publications prints nine local weekly
newspapers. They are:
THE EASTCHESTER RECORD, HARRISON INDEPENDENT, HOME NEWS
& TIMES, MT. VERNON INDEPENDENT, NORTH CASTLE NEWS, PELHAM SUN, RYE
CHRONICLE, SOUND VIEW NEWS, and WESTCHESTER CRUSADER. In the October 7
issue there is an article on our complaint re the DEC's free hunter training
courses being given in Westchester.
The article is taken verbatim from the press release,
which is on the website. This paper has been pro-hunting; perhaps it is
changing with the passing of its publisher. Contact info below:
"Hunters under fire for abuse of taxpayer money"
Members of several NYS activist groups have joined in
commencing legal action against the NYS Dept. Of Conservation (DEC) for
using tax payer money to fund hunter-training courses in satellite
locations of Mt. Vernon, Yonkers and Rye.
This statement, under the heading COALITION FOR THE
ETHICAL USE OF PUBLIC MONEY was prepared by Taffy Williams, Dir., NY Whale
and Dolphin Action League: �We find the use of public funds to train hunters
and bow hunters a misuse, discriminatory and unethical management of public
funds. ..also, the use of taxpayer funds for hunting-related activities is a
discriminatory use of public monies, since there are no programs to benefit
birdwatchers, kayakers, nature- enthusiasts, etc. The link between hunting
and other forms of violence has been established in such sources as the
Journal of Interpersonal Violence (B.W.Boat, June 1995) and the Purdue
University Press (Child abuse, Domestic Violence and Animal Abuse, 1999).
According to Anne Muller, President of the Committee to
Abolish Sport Hunting, �Towns should be frowning upon the DEC's practice of
building wildlife populations for hunting. The Bureau of Wildlife is
running a private hunting business on taxpayer money. The excise taxes on
firearms, bows and arrows are insufficient to pay for their sport of killing
animals. (New York State is required to match 25% of the federal excise tax
that is contributed to the State.) All of the Bureau of Wildlife's overhead
costs are paid out of the general fund. With our money the Bureau of
Wildlife increases "game" species which then create human-animal conflicts.
Councilperson Dee Barbato, (R-Yonkers) agrees: �While
safety should always be paramount, in this time of heightened security for
our waterways and water supplies, I would think that the DEC could find
better ways to safeguard the citizens than using taxpayer dollars for these
sessions."
Let's keep the awareness going - letters to the editor:
[email protected]
. There is no prescribed length; some letters are as long as 300 wds.
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