Carl Clark, Naples
Animal farm
A story on "60 Minutes" shows pictures of Scimitar oryx with their magnificent horns and tells of a Texas rancher who buys these and other exotic animals from Africa and brings them to his vast ranch.
His intent is to preserve the species while allowing controlled hunting. He allows public tours on his ranch. The animals thrive and increase in numbers.
Along comes a woman to protest animal cruelty. Never mind that the animals are healthy and living a peaceful coexistence with others. To shoot some of their numbers is simply inhumane and should be stopped.
Enough of a protest is made that our government steps in and passes a law requiring a federal hunting permit which is practically impossible to obtain. The rancher's plan is ruined.
The protesters say it is all right to hunt and kill these animals in their native land but not on U.S. soil.
As I see it there are five ways for the oryx to die in Africa: famine, disease, hunters, predators and old age.
On the Texas ranch there are only three: disease, hunting and old age.
With the availability of veterinarians, disease can, for all practicality, be eliminated, so that leaves just two.
Apparently being torn to pieces by a crocodile or having their throats ripped open by a lion pack is preferable to being killed by a single high-powered rifle shot. Forgive me if I see the logic here.
Once again, "Big Daddy" steps in to protect us from our foolish ways.
Oh, give me a home where the zebras all roam;
Where giraffe and the oryx can play;
Where the government said you can't hunt on your spread;
But to hug a large tree is OK.
Collier County arrests 05-23-2012
Collier County arrests 05-22-2012
Editorial Cartoons: May 23, 2012
Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group
Comments » 4
Arushure writes:
1) It seems that the judge's concern was with the "blanket exception" given by Bush:
From the judge's opinion: "Blanket exemptions under regulations are anathema to [the intentions of the Endangered Species Act] because they allow the FWS to permit a great number of exemptions at once without providing the detailed information to the public that would be required in an individualized analysis."
2) No, you can't just go and hunt protected species in their native land.
"International travel to accomplish the same task [hunt these species] has long been banned by the Endangered Species Act and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna.]
3) This issue is not about "merciful" methods of killing (a single shot). Animals in the wild are, after all, part of the food chain.
eyewash writes:
The rancher's primary intent is no more the preservation of the species any more than African community tourism is motivated by altruism.
It is that foremost, there is profit to be made and if a positive spin can be found within that may enhance more profit it will be the focus. There will be no forfeiture of profit, any more than absolutely required to maximize it.
For instance, natural selection is out the window because the weaker and older animals don't bring the highest price for trophies.
That is always why we need government regulation and rules.
The2012RevolutionHasBegun writes:
There are several ranches of this type located in central and western Texas. Some of them import the animals strictly for protection and preservation, some of them import the animals for other reasons such as "stateside" safaris and hunting.
As a side note, there is a little-known organization in northeast Florida near Jacksonville called 'White Oak Plantation' that does much the same thing as some of these ranches in Texas. In fact, 'White Oak Plantation' is home to three species of animals that are extinct everywhere else on the planet. So, preserves of this type do have a value.
I had the opportunity to visit a couple of these ranches when I lived in Texas. Both times, it was in conjunction with work that my company does in support of the Wounded Warrior Foundation. One visit was a photo safari with a group of wounded soldiers recently returned from Iraq and Afghanistan. The other visit was a hunting trip with a group of wounded soldiers recently returned from Iraq and Afghanistan.
I understand that there are legitimate arguments that can be made about both sides of this issue. However, I disagree that more government micromanagement is the answer to the problem.
ChiDem writes:
Have you noticed that no one complains about the dependency voter plantations that LBJ spoke so eloquently about setting up? More shootings on the Democrats voter plantations some weekends than these ranches in a year combined.
For those that haven't heard LBJs statements, as a public service we'll post them again:
“These N*gg**s, they’re getting pretty uppity these days and that’s a problem for us since they’ve got something now they never had before, the political pull to back up their uppityness. Now we’ve got to do something about this, we’ve got to give them a little something, just enough to quiet them down, not enough to make a difference. For if we don’t move at all, then their allies will line up against us and there’ll be no way of stopping them, we’ll lose the filibuster and there’ll be no way of putting a brake on all sorts of wild legislation. It’ll be Reconstruction all over again.”
“I’ll have those n*gg**s voting Democratic for the next 200 years.” = LBJ, Democratic President of the United States.
The LBJ's theory was to take the most vulnerable, move them on to voting plantations where they will be housed, and fed but will not receive a success building emotional reinforcement education.
The plan is to never lose another election because a minimum of 14% of the population will be voting democrat because they are dependent on them.
Notice the shrieks of horror when Newt suggested kids work in school?? But having kids drop out of school to make $30 on the plantation as lookouts for drug dealers is OK.
Here is a private school, that allows kids to pay tuition by working a janitors and landscapers. I worked while going to college. How many others here did?
http://www.psm.k12.il.us/
Their Mission Statement is repeated every morning:
""At Providence-St. Mel, we believe. We believe in the creation of inspired lives produced by the miracle of hard work. We are not frightened by the challenges of reality, but believe that we can change our conception of this world and our place within it. So we work, plan, build and dream - in that order. We believe that one must earn the right to dream. Our talent, discipline and integrity will be our contribution to a new world, because we believe that we can take this place, this time and this people and make a better place, a better time and a better people. With God's help we will either find a way or make one!"""
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