PUBLIC FORUM : READERS OFFER THEIR VIEWS ON WHETHER TO BAN HUNTING.Some will say that hunting is an anachronism a·nach·ro·nism n. 1. The representation of someone as existing or something as happening in other than chronological, proper, or historical order. 2. , something for barbarians, and that the sport's decline reflects a refinement of society. While hunting is not as popular as it once was, this is not due to a decline in public approval as trumpeted by anti-hunters. The leading reasons are habitat loss and the accompanying decline in wildlife populations, increased urbanization, rising costs and the breakup of families. Anti-hunting campaigns are emotion-based and in the coming years it is certain that activists will continue their attacks on hunters and fishermen. As they do this, it is important for non-hunters and non-fishermen to stop and ask which group - hunters or anti-hunters - is offering an honest, proven approach to wildlife management and has preserved all types of wildlife for everyone to enjoy. Mike Norris Mike Norris can refer to different people:
Woodland Hills Hunters and fisherman have been much better conservationists than the rest of the public. In their desire to preserve hunting and fishing grounds so that future generations can enjoy the same outdoor experiences they now enjoy, they bought and preserved hundreds of thousands of square miles of wilderness that would now be developed if not for their efforts. Scott Yollis Granada Hills Contrary to some opinions, wildlife is not on the earth to be destroyed by hunters and other humans. The animals and all fauna and flora evolved in their intricate roles that form the web of life, making life possible on the planet, including that of humans. And yet we unconscionably continue to try to destroy all that which we cannot own or control - the very things that give us life. I don't believe God is too fond of people who brutalize bru·tal·ize tr.v. bru·tal·ized, bru·tal·iz·ing, bru·tal·iz·es 1. To make cruel, harsh, or unfeeling. 2. To treat cruelly or harshly. and wantonly kill his beautiful and innocent creatures for nothing - in the names of ``sport'' and ``fun'' and ``profit.'' Florence F. La Fantasie Reseda The Make-A-Wish Foundation The Make-A-Wish Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that grants wishes to children (2.5 years to 18 years old) with life-threatening medical conditions. has in the past been an organization that celebrated life. To support the taking of a life for the sport of it seems to me to be terribly hypocritical. Hunting for survival is an age-old tradition. The key word is survival. I doubt very much that the majority of hunters hunt for that reason. They seem to have a deep-seated sanguine need to prove their dominance by killing something. I also think that the use of the word hunt may be a misnomer misnomer n. the wrong name. MISNOMER. The act of using a wrong name. 2. Misnomers, may be considered with regard to contracts, to devises and bequests, and to suits or actions. 3.-1. . In many instances the word murder may be more appropriate. L.A. Calabro Northridge To the animal activists who are thinking of withholding their donations to Make-A-Wish Foundation because the organization fulfilled a boy's desire to go bear hunting: If you want to donate just to those who agree with your philosophy of animal rights or any other philosophy you may hold, then you should set up your own organization and tell the kids they can have anything they want, just so long as it's something of which you approve. I wish you luck and hope you will do as much good for children as Make-A-Wish Foundation. Ron Honthaner Studio City First off, the question of whether hunting should be banned should not be put to urban-dwelling citizens who know so little about nature and whose arguments against it are based entirely on emotion. When it is judged by qualified people, hunting proves beneficial to all of nature. Not only does it keep populations of game animals at levels that habitat can support, but monies generated through the sales of licenses and equipment are used for the betterment of non-game species as well. As that tumor-stricken kid from Minnesota proved in Alaska, the words ``hunting'' and ``killing'' should never be used interchangeably. Sure, I was rooting for him to get his bear, but I was 10 times prouder to see him come home without one and pronounce the trip a success anyway. In doing so, he paid respect to nature. Robert Lucian Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. It's beyond me why anyone would want to go out and kill another living species for sport and recreation. I would feel awfully nervous if there were, say, a group of beings on Earth who felt higher than humans, and went around hunting us. I'll admit, however, that my daily diet consists of eating food that comes as a result of different animals being killed and turned into food. I'm sure that those who are in favor of hunting would use that as a defense that hunting is a necessary task that lets us lead a better life. But to go out and kill just to have fun, like the youth recovering from surgery requested, seems totally wrong. Tom Rockey North Hollywood The movement to ban hunting is being led by animal-rights extremists and anti-self-defense activists, who see it as a step toward banning guns. These groups hope to capitalize on Cap´i`tal`ize on` v. t. 1. To turn (an opportunity) to one's advantage; to take advantage of (a situation); to profit from; as, to capitalize on an opponent's mistakes s>. the general public's lack of knowledge of legal hunting and nature in order to promote their own goals, which benefit neither our nation's wildlife nor it's citizens. Steven Gates North Hills I was horrified hor·ri·fy tr.v. hor·ri·fied, hor·ri·fy·ing, hor·ri·fies 1. To cause to feel horror. See Synonyms at dismay. 2. To cause unpleasant surprise to; shock. when I first heard news of the dying boys' last wish to hunt and kill a Kodiak bear. I was even more horrified when it was granted by the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Should hunting be banned? You betcha. Claire Dougherty Palmdale A hunting ban would not only take away an important conservation tool, but would also stop funding for numerous programs designed to improve crucial wildlife habitat. Mike Pro Simi Valley Simi Valley (sē`mē, sĭm`ē), city (1990 pop. 100,217), Ventura co., SW Calif. in an oil, fruit, and farm region; laid out 1887, inc. 1969. Hunting should not be banned. Hunting is controlled by the Department of Fish and Game, which determines limits each year and adjusts those limits in accordance with sound game-management practices. R. Breiner La Crescenta Death is a sad aspect of life. Sadly it happens, sometimes too soon. But why grant a wish that might cause another's? I myself do not understand nor accept hunting for pleasure or sport. Dawne Rust-Goracy Van Nuys Those who would like to take away from man an activity that is absolutely in harmony within nature's environment do not love animals. They hate mankind and are already so removed from the true essence of nature as to not be able to leave the paranoid life of their urban environment to truly join nature as it was intended. Curtis Hermann State Chairman California's International Bowhunter Education Program Camarillo These ``antis'' tell us that hunters are cruel and inhumane in·hu·mane adj. Lacking pity or compassion. in  hu·mane ly adv. if they kill a deer. Yet they support the mountain lion's burgeoning numbers, knowing that this lethal predator has to kill two deer a week in order to survive. They never mention that mountain lions in this state kill hundreds of thousands of birds, small mammals and domestic pets each year. The only people who put money into the conservation of wildlife are hunters and fisherman. Frank G. Carlisi Calabasas The only argument the anti-hunters have is that they are offended by hunting. But if merely offending the sensibilities of some is a valid reason for legal banishment banishment: see exile. Banishment Acadians America’s lost tribe; suffered expulsion under British. [Am. Hist.: Jameson, 2; Am. Lit. , then anything offensive, like Playboy, Joe Camel Joe Camel (officially Old Joe) was the advertising mascot for Camel cigarettes from late 1987 to July 12, 1997, appearing in magazine advertisements, billboards, and other print media. and the evening news would be outlawed. The anti-hunters are welcome to try to persuade people by the force of their arguments to choose not to hunt. But outlawing my right to hunt to satisfy their prejudices is simply tyranny. Robert Harding Granada Hills Isn't it a shame that dying children and an organization that puts immeasurable value on the remainder of their lives are subject to the ridiculous bylaws The rules and regulations enacted by an association or a corporation to provide a framework for its operation and management. Bylaws may specify the qualifications, rights, and liabilities of membership, and the powers, duties, and grounds for the dissolution of an of political correctness politically correct adj. Abbr. PC 1. Of, relating to, or supporting broad social, political, and educational change, especially to redress historical injustices in matters such as race, class, gender, and sexual orientation. ? Bradly Gerber West Hills Why is it that so many people want to ban one thing or another? Isn't it time we all started to try to make this country work? Let's stop arguing about passing new laws New Laws: see Las Casas, Bartolomé de. and start talking to Noun 1. talking to - a lengthy rebuke; "a good lecture was my father's idea of discipline"; "the teacher gave him a talking to" lecture, speech rebuke, reprehension, reprimand, reproof, reproval - an act or expression of criticism and censure; "he had to our children and teaching them to be moral adults. Hunting is part of our national heritage. It is one of the safest forms of outdoor activities. It is used as a valid and responsible means of managing animal populations in our nation's increasingly small wild areas. The money generated - several billion dollars a year from hunting and associated fees and taxes - pays for wildlife management and conservation. The vast majority of hunters respect the wildlife and work to preserve it. It makes me sick when people who have never heard an elk bugling in the Rockies decide what is best for me and the wilderness while driving their gas-guzzling luxury cars down to the corner to buy a newspaper. John Thomas
John Thomas is the name of: A politician: Winnetka Should hunting be banned? Yes, if we as a population have no desire to continue to manage wildlife or any other resources in our State. For if we choose to abstain and allow wildlife to go on its way, we will have made a most egregious decision. You may not want to hunt or maybe you are even opposed to the thought, but it is the hunter's dollar that gave you the opportunity to take that picture of that cute little fawn or that curious squirrel. Ban hunting? Yes, but don't forget to contribute millions of dollars to the economy to take the place of to be substituted for. - Berkeley. See also: Place all the dollars lost on licenses, motels, ammunition, restaurants, clothing, wildlife preserves, stream preservation and transportation. And by the way, save some time to build a water guzzler guz·zle v. guz·zled, guz·zling, guz·zles v.tr. 1. To drink greedily or habitually: guzzle beer. 2. in the desert for the quail and bighorn sheep Bighorn sheep a tall (up to 3 ft), heavy (up to 300 lb body weight) wild sheep that lives in inaccessible mountain country where it exercises its principal achievement of prodigious leaping and climbing. Called also Ovis canadensis. Several regional varieties, e.g. O. c. in your spare time, because hunters donate time for these projects. Yea, let's ban hunting and all of us develop a forest in our back yard so our grandchildren can see squirrels, coyotes, bears and deer, because you won't find many of those critters in the woods. William R. Kughn Granite Bay, Calif. The killing of an animal is a violent, morally bankrupt act. Persons who attempt to defend hunting should undertake some soul searching. R. Burton Pacific Palisades Palisades, cliffs along the west bank of the Hudson River, NE N.J. and SE N.Y., extending from N of Jersey City, N.J., to the vicinity of Piermont, N.Y., with a general altitude of from 350 ft to 550 ft (107–168 m). This week's Public Forum topic (``Should hunting be banned?'') would get a resounding re·sound v. re·sound·ed, re·sound·ing, re·sounds v.intr. 1. To be filled with sound; reverberate: The schoolyard resounded with the laughter of children. 2. ``yes'' from me if it applied only to gangs and murderers who kill innocent victims. Otherwise, ``no.'' Charles Richards Charles Richards is the name of:
Canoga Park CAPTION(S): Photo Photo: On the hunt: A sport one should enjoy? Daily News |
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