Sorry for the delay in response Ray. I understand what you are saying and agree that the media will determine what kind of image they see - IF we let them. We are only in this position because generations of people have taken a passive, mind-my-own-business, approach to this. How is it that the media has become 99% liberal? How is it that Hollywood, that once blacklisted communist sympathizers, is now mostly marxist, socialist, treehuggers? We yielded the field. Yes it's a sad truth that in some areas only fence hunts are allowed. Well, rather than try to ignore that fact, or accept it, fight back. Inform the public why their knee-jerk emotional based political pressure leads to stupid policies. Use their own methods to appeal to their sentiments and suggest a better way. Put it in their face that if they continue to support ignorant policies based on a Disneyfied concept of nature that the animals will suffer and possibly go extinct because in reality most people don't care about the animals unless there's a monetary value attached. I just saw a stupid commercial last night for the Nissan Leaf where a polar bear travels thousands of miles to hug the owner of an electric car! That's the kind of stupidity we're dealing with. I know it may seem pollyannaish and I accept that sometimes raw facts, like carrying capacities, finances, and other things, are going to sometimes trump the ideal but we can't continue to only do what's right on an individual basis and hope things turn out alright. Sometimes we have to go beyond, we have to push back. Yes, police our own ranks, yes, be involved in game law decisions, yes hunt as ethically and humane as we can as individuals but minding our own house won't be enough. When Fred started the majority would have gone with their gut and said that bowhunting was inhumane, archaic, barbaric, and impracticle. Modern weaponry was the only way a gentleman should pursue game. But he made an effort to inform the public. Maybe rather then selling products our hunting videos should be selling our ideals. All of which has nothing to do with Buff's hunt directly but I hate to see a shrinking segment of hunters just hold to their ideals while their way of life is outlawed. The other reality is that fair chase may not be an option for certain species. Will countries be willing to let large, huntable populations of predators roam their country free just so a handful of Foreigners can come chase them in an ideal setting? Ranchers will demand compensation for lost livestock or will resort to poaching. At some point the government will have to balance rancher/general population needs with the cost effectiveness of maintaining these lions and they will decide that either the lion isn't worth it or the price will be so high that only a handful of well financed hunters will have the opportunity. Is it better that only 6 (random number) hunters get a chance to hunt a free range lion each year and the number of lion is just enough to say they are there? or do we try for a synthesis of the two? Controlled populations in isolated (fenced) areas where they are allowed to be hunted but their numbers are maintained through careful management, much like the stocked trout stream example I mentioned. The trout are raised in small controlled areas to maximize reproduction and released into wild streams. Is the trout truely wild? Is it ethical to fish for them? Do fish that have been artificially feed have a chance to avoid the lures of the fisherman? It would be great if all the Eastern streams had trout jumping out of them but the realities of fishing pressure and natural limits (warm season water) means that can't happen. Should we therefore forego stocking streams and only catch the limited brook trout that are native and viable in small locations and limit the number of licenses so that the select few only pursue a pristine experience?
Topic: African Lion with BW recurve (Read 10648 times)
