Vermonster.
Sent an email to the ATA group listed above.
ATA Personnel
In the last few days I have become aware of a potential threat to bowhunting's future that you may already know of- its name is WHA - their website is
www.worldhunt.com - it is an event involving high fenced whitetails, hunted with tranquilizer darts using bows and guns, for prizes and/or money. If we are to believe Mr Farbman, the "commissioner" of WHA, it will be on television, on pay per view, and in print and DVD formats also.
The stated purpose is to educate the public on how wonderful hunting is, to improve the health of "our" deer herd, and grow the numbers of new hunters.
First of all, penned deer in a high fence hunting enclosure such as the first venue in Gladwin, MI don't affect the health of wild deer in any way, unless they carry CWD, and thus far, in my experience, there isn't any way to cure CWD in a captive, or wild whitetail. So that cannot be accomplished through this activity.
Deer shot with tranquilizers, now we know something about that, don't we? Cleveland Amory was against hunting as you know, and organized a deer rescue in the Everglades, where an annual herd thinning is conducted each year. If my information is accurate approx. 50 percent of those captured died as a result of stress or the drugs themselves, and an additional 25% died later after release as a side effect of the trauma experienced in this trap and transfer operation.
Not to mention that participation in this activity as a "player" or as a sponsor could land you in jail, as it appears based on Michigan law that this would be considered harrassment of wildlife and animal cruelty. Additionally, veterinarians who may participate are going to run afoul of the oath they took when they became vets, and might find their license revoked.
Grow the number of hunters? Hardly. Will real hunters participate in an event staged like a WWF wrestling match? I don't believe so, do you? We will certainly get young people willing to participate in this type of event, because they are malleable and when something is presented on TV its naturally going to be gussied up and polished so that a certain segment of the population will participate, but they aren't going to be hunters.
Let's face it- what Mr. Farbman is doing is providing sales for his real estate business: he is going to have ready made "venues" all surveyed out in Michigan just ready to be purchased and turned into new WHA "tracks" (how do you like that Nascar euphamism?) - and he will be the beneficiary. Not to mention his position as Commissioner...wonder if he will make as much as the NFL commissioner does?
He will or perhaps already has sold it to you and most of your membership as a ready supply of willing participants who will all have to buy the "approved gear" that ATA members can manufacture. Wow- won't that be great? He has carefully selected folks for their voting positions in ATA and approached them to be sponsors, this much we know. I'll give him this much- at 34 years old,he is either very crafty or he has had assistance from some able partners in planning this venture!
Folks, this thing is beyond scary in my opinion. You've got a guy willing to create an event where people play with the lives of living creatures for amusement, fame, cash, girls, and cars? What more could our detractors hope for us to do? There's an old saying I really like and it goes something like " I have seen the enemy, and he is US!" This Mr. Farbman cares nothing for the future of hunting and only about the "bucks" to be made off the back of hunting, and it will likely be the nail that finally closes the lid on hunting in America as we know it today.
Do you really think we need to alienate the 80% of our population that is in the middle- the ones who at this time are neither against, nor for, hunting, but who will ultimately be the people to decide our fate when the inevitable day comes and hunting's future is on a ballot? If this farce goes on as planned, we are doomed.
And, we have not even discussed the ramifications of hundreds, perhaps thousands of "players" with a controlled substance at their disposal- are we going to do background checks on everyone participating so the Jeffrey Dahmers, rapists, and killers in our society don't have an easy, cheap, and efficient means of hurting others, instead of deer?
This thing is laden with pitfalls and no one seems interested in thinking it through far enough to understand its impact. What Mr. Farbman HOPES will happen WILL NOT- he is starting a rock down a hill that will become an avalanche of negative public perception that will be out of his control and ours. You do understand that in our society today the TRUTH doesn't matter, right? It's all about the perception- the soundbite. Do not allow your membership to be drug into this morass by the lure of increased sales. These short term gains will pale in comparison to the losses they'll experience when the public comes out in force against this bastardization of an important American heritage- hunting.
I urge you to disseminate a formal statement to your membership urging them to stay away from WHA and Worldhunt activities for the good of hunting.
Thanks for taking the time to read of my concerns.
Ray Hammond
President, Suburban Whitetail Management of North Georgia, Inc
Life Member, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation
Life Member, PBS
Life Member, Traditional Bowhunters of Georgia, Inc
State Vice Chairman- National Bowhunter Education Foundation- GA Chapter
Topic: THE BIG GUNS THAT NEED TO SPEAK UP AGAINST THE WHA (Read 5983 times)
