Museum officials look at acquisition of specimen for their collections on a case by case basis. They look at the provenance of the animal - was it hunted legally? What were the intentions of the hunt? How would you decide? When does conservation, education and research make a hunt OK? Continue the conversation ...
While I agree that there is a dilemma between hunting and respect for life, I do not believe that you can say that hunters have no respect for life. National Geographic magazine recently came out with an article regarding the conservsation effort of hunters. It discusses how the nation's 12.5 million hunters have become essential partners in wildlife management -- paying more than 700 million dollars for duck stamps, which have added 5.2 million acres to the National Wildlife Refuge System since 1934, when the first stamps were issued, paying millions of dollars for licenses, tags, and permits each year, which helps finance state game agencies and contributing more than 250 million dollars annually in excise taxes on guns, ammunition, and other equipment, which largely pays for new public game lands.
The money used for conservation comes from both "trophy hunters" as well as those that hunt more to consume what is killed. The article also discusses how hunting enhances conservation efforts on private property (Ted Turner's ranch and elk conservation).
I certainly do not feel that I am disrespectful of life by hunting and am very proud of the my "hunting heritage" -- a heritage I am passing on to my children.
LIFE EATS LIFE...! a byproduct of limited resources and a ever increasing demand. The human animal breeds itself into extinction, while justifying its own behavior, as free will.
Perhaps you should address that these trophies have little to no scientific value. As only the skin in 'collected' in many of these cases, the skeleton and DNA is left in the country of origin and not preserved for additional study. The trophy mentality cannot even grasp that their effort could often work in synergy with the scientific effort. Why not preserve skeleton and tissue in these cases. This is more proof that they are only interested in the trophy aspect of 'conservation'.
12/04/2007 11:24:23 AM
© 2009 KUER, 101 S. Wasatch Dr., SLC, UT 84112