Post by Woody Williams on Jun 29, 2006 11:57:30 GMT -5
Plenty of cons to pro hunting
By MICHAEL HOFFMAN Tribune Chronicle correspondent
It sometimes amazes me when I see hunters stab themselves and their sport by doing really stupid things.
Now here comes the latest idiotic effort to cause anti-hunters joy and give non-hunters a reason to think hunting is a bad idea.
An organization in Michigan called the World Hunting Association is planning to turn hunting into a competitive sport, similar to bass fishing. The plan is to create a competitive tour in which “professional hunters” shoot trophy animals with tranquilizer darts while dressed in clothing bearing the logos of sponsoring companies.
The founder of the WHA is a Michigan resident named David Farbman. He’s also the commissioner and chief executive officer of the organization, which has a group of investors and is offering $500,000 in prize money for the first two tournaments.
“The WHA fills a void by providing a platform that benefits the entire international hunting industry today and for generations to come,” Farbman said.
“For far too long, hunters have looked forward to the day when we would eventually get our own professional sports league,” said some guy named Brett Hankins, who is identified as a WHA hunter.
What these people plan to do is fence off a large area — in Michigan, to start — then cull the deer herd within that area, leaving only whitetails with wall-hanger type racks. Then, for the tournament, the “professional hunters” will use all their alleged skills to find trophy animals to bring down with darts.
Obviously, it’s going to be quite a challenge finding a trophy animal in a fenced-in area where there are nothing but trophy animals.
One of the most interesting things about this competitive “sport” is the fact that darting large animals with tranquilizers is a very tricky thing to do. In fact, it is such a difficult endeavor that the wildlife biologists who are trained to do it usually have veterinarians standing by.
And even with all the precautions these real professionals take, darted animals sometimes die.
The very idea of guys in logo-covered camos shooting darts at wild animals for cash prizes in a high-fence enclosure and calling it hunting makes me quite ill.
The folks at PETA, the Humane Society of the United States, Friends of Animals and other like-minded animal-rights organizations are going to love it.
While the “hunters” will be armed only with darts, the anti-hunting people will be loaded for bear.
Hunting Web sites all over the internet are being bombarded by hunters screaming blue, bloody murder about this idea, and thoughtful outdoorsmen are threatening boycotts of any of the companies that participate as sponsors.
The result of that has been the withdrawal of at least one company from the currently-secret list of sponsors.
Xtreme Scents, a Brighton, Mich. firm that produces deer-hunting scents mainly for bowhunters, has pulled out. “It is our goal, as a company, to do what is best for our customers, retailers, and the hunting industry,” the company said in announcing its withdrawal.
One can only hope that any other sponsors will do the right thing and send this idea to that spot in oblivion it so richly deserves.
www.tribune-chronicle.com/sptcolumns/articles.asp?articleID=5156
By MICHAEL HOFFMAN Tribune Chronicle correspondent
It sometimes amazes me when I see hunters stab themselves and their sport by doing really stupid things.
Now here comes the latest idiotic effort to cause anti-hunters joy and give non-hunters a reason to think hunting is a bad idea.
An organization in Michigan called the World Hunting Association is planning to turn hunting into a competitive sport, similar to bass fishing. The plan is to create a competitive tour in which “professional hunters” shoot trophy animals with tranquilizer darts while dressed in clothing bearing the logos of sponsoring companies.
The founder of the WHA is a Michigan resident named David Farbman. He’s also the commissioner and chief executive officer of the organization, which has a group of investors and is offering $500,000 in prize money for the first two tournaments.
“The WHA fills a void by providing a platform that benefits the entire international hunting industry today and for generations to come,” Farbman said.
“For far too long, hunters have looked forward to the day when we would eventually get our own professional sports league,” said some guy named Brett Hankins, who is identified as a WHA hunter.
What these people plan to do is fence off a large area — in Michigan, to start — then cull the deer herd within that area, leaving only whitetails with wall-hanger type racks. Then, for the tournament, the “professional hunters” will use all their alleged skills to find trophy animals to bring down with darts.
Obviously, it’s going to be quite a challenge finding a trophy animal in a fenced-in area where there are nothing but trophy animals.
One of the most interesting things about this competitive “sport” is the fact that darting large animals with tranquilizers is a very tricky thing to do. In fact, it is such a difficult endeavor that the wildlife biologists who are trained to do it usually have veterinarians standing by.
And even with all the precautions these real professionals take, darted animals sometimes die.
The very idea of guys in logo-covered camos shooting darts at wild animals for cash prizes in a high-fence enclosure and calling it hunting makes me quite ill.
The folks at PETA, the Humane Society of the United States, Friends of Animals and other like-minded animal-rights organizations are going to love it.
While the “hunters” will be armed only with darts, the anti-hunting people will be loaded for bear.
Hunting Web sites all over the internet are being bombarded by hunters screaming blue, bloody murder about this idea, and thoughtful outdoorsmen are threatening boycotts of any of the companies that participate as sponsors.
The result of that has been the withdrawal of at least one company from the currently-secret list of sponsors.
Xtreme Scents, a Brighton, Mich. firm that produces deer-hunting scents mainly for bowhunters, has pulled out. “It is our goal, as a company, to do what is best for our customers, retailers, and the hunting industry,” the company said in announcing its withdrawal.
One can only hope that any other sponsors will do the right thing and send this idea to that spot in oblivion it so richly deserves.
www.tribune-chronicle.com/sptcolumns/articles.asp?articleID=5156
