Worst Idea Ever...HUNTING ALERT!!! READ & EMAIL!

[todd secker]

I got the same impression you did Ray.  Imagine, the ATA wanting to see what the dollars look like before sending out letters.

I saw a position letter the Sportmen's Alliance wrote.  Does anyone know if they have actually tried sending it out to WHA and the sponsors, or did they just put it on their web site as a position?

[Ray Hammond]

Todd,
Why don't you copy and paste that Sportsmans Alliance thing here so we can read it?

[vermonster13]

I already posted it here Ray, but here you go again.

A new tournament hunting organization has been announced, the World Hunting Organization.  It will outfit tournament participants with tranquilizing drugs and darting equipment. The U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance has concerns about:

 

* The potential for misuse of dangerous drugs by lay people,

* The potential for their misuse in the case of unrecovered animals,

* Their impact on non-target species who might feed on carcasses,

* The scattering in the field of syringes that could be found by children,

* A competition that treats wildlife solely as a commercial commodity.

 

There appear to be a number of legal issues to be overcome (IE. the distribution to participants of drugs tightly controlled by the Food and Drug Administration).

 

The U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance will have no part of the organization.

[joel smith]

good morning

[Texasrecurve]

The ATA should come out strong against this and they are not. Neither are a lot of the big bow makers. They need to get off the fence and make a statement. Come to think of it, the custom bow shops need to come out with statements also. Keep those emails and calls UP!!

TR

[todd secker]

The ATA has a hard time making strong statements against things until they figure out how much money they stand to loose.  I would like to hear from some of the political hunting lobby groups out there.  That is why we all pay dues to these big organizations.  Are these groups with political power just putting a statement on their web site or are they actually contacting people that can put a stop to this?

[Texasrecurve]

Well if ol' Jay at the ATA can't see how this is such a bad bonehead idea and come out with a strong statement against it, then maybe he and his ilk at the ATA need to rethink their philosophy. Their fight with the PBS over crossguns already tells me a lot about them.

TR

[Ray Hammond]

Has anyone got a way to get to the Congressional Sportsman's Caucus in Washington? Our Senators and Representatives that have a vested interest in the future of hunting might be just be in a position to help us out on this!

[todd secker]

Ray I would think Rick Story at US Sportmen's Alliance should have connections there.  As I understood it he is a full time lobbiest that is paid to represent hunters on such matters.  I know they are aware of the situation and they may be in the process of contacting DC now.  I have a contact in IL, but I don't know if he has the weight to reach that high.  I will check.

[vermonster13]

I think this needs to be said. I posted this exact post on another site. I spoke with one of the WHA "hunters" today, and while he was very angry and unwilling to hear my take on this, I still understand some of his points.

"Contacting employers of these hunters outside the scope of the WHA and potential sponsors looking for positions is unacceptable. This is a hunting issue and needs to be kept within that framework. Harrassing or insulting these hunters is also stepping over the line. I think they have made a bad choice in signing onto the WHA and I believe this event needs to be stopped. These fellows made what I would consider a bad choice and that is my opinion, but I won't condone or support anyone taking this over into these men's personal lives.

I also believe that any of these hunters that reconsider this decision should be forgiven and accepted back by any sponsors they may have lost, and accepted back by the hunting community in general. everyone is allowed a mistake, but it takes character to admit and correct that mistake. I personally would be willing to help any of these fellows get any lost sponsors back if they were to honestly see the damage the WHA is poised to do in this format and state so.

Any WHA hunters who wish to share their side with me are welcomed to e-mail or pm me so long as they are willing to honestly consider my views too. The WHA is a mistake, I would like them to see the reasons why."

[vermonster13]

Guys what really need now is to confirmation that each of our home states can't host a WHA hunt. We need to know where else other than Michigan a WHA event could happen.This has become priority 1 now. Thanks for all the help in advance.

[Rob DiStefano]

883  STOP WORLDHUNT NOW!  emails and counting ...

[vermonster13]

Folks you've done a great job on sponsors and organizations. We really need to know where each states DNR stands on this kind of a hunt at this point. We need to identify possible venues and do what needs to be done. Colorado and Kansas are of great concern.

[freeman]

"harrassing or insulting these "hunters" is also stepping over the line" ??? -------Did someone get threatened with some kind of lawsuit or something? Screw world hunt and EVERYONE involved...promoters or participants they're all in the same pot. You involve yourself in something like this and expect that you're not going to be insulted and criticized??? Retardation is not an exemtion from personal responcibility in my book. I think someone got dropped by a sponsor (read "lost money") and started threatening folks with lawsuits.

[Ray Hammond]

Freeman-  I had a question about Vermonster13's post also..it was not clear.

What happened is that someone from another website has contacted the participants at their regular, daytime jobs, which have nothing to do with bowhunting or archery, and also is calling their homes and threatening them personally.

This is unacceptable behavior. We are above that sort of thing in this endeavor.

Contacting their archery sponsors, and discussing their participation in WHA events? Perfectly OK -that's where the focus should be...their participation in WHA does not mean we should be contacting their "day" jobs and harrassing their families at home, though. One of the participants little children took the brunt of someone's anger on the phone when the participant was not at home to take the call. That's going beyond the pale in my book and thats why David posted the above info.

I believe everyone needs to keep this thing in perspective.

[non-typical]

David/Ray,

great post. Identify the particpation in WHA as unacceptable; refrain from personal attacks.

[Pinecone]

Ditto what Ray said.  

Claudia

[Don Thomas]

Vermonster -- Could you drop me a PM sometime? (I'm not smart enough to do it myself). I'd like to get in touch with you about writing something up about this. note -- I will be out of the country until late July, so if I don't get back to you right away I'm not ignoring you. Don

[vermonster13]

Sorry I wasn't clearer in the above post. I am very serious about stopping this WHA, but I also believe that if we resort to PETA type tactics, we aren't being much better than what we are trying to prevent. Thanks for clearing up my post Ray.

I have a three year old son myself and if he was subjected to someones anger over this, I would be real hard to convince to listen to the opposing view also.

All I ask is that we keep our focus on the real enemy here, the WHA and sponsors of this fiasco.

I sent you a PM Don. You can e-mail and we can talk.

[vermonster13]

The WHA has a new video on their site with three of the "hunters" in it.