From: Josh Carney
North Vernon
This is in response to the gentleman from Greenfield regarding hunting (published Oct. 12, Page A5). I have never seen that much uneducated misinformation about hunting. His claim is basically that hunting is detrimental to wildlife and should be stopped.
Let me set the record straight. Nobody in this country donates more funding to wildlife than hunters. It is an industry that is in the billions of dollars. License sales from hunting, trapping and fishing in Indiana go directly to habitat. These funds provide sound wildlife management and payroll for biologists, conservation officers, DNR staff, etc.
Hunters are maintaining a healthy balance and assisting state biologists who determine what populations should be.
Teddy Roosevelt was an avid outdoorsman. He saw the need to protect our wild lands and animals, and he used his political clout to pass laws that still are in effect today. The Pittman-Robertson Act was a big one. It is a 10 percent tax on any hunting-related product sold in this country. Guns, arrows, clothing, hunting gear, etc. The Dingle-Johnson Act was another. It taxed any product sold for fishing.
Still think these numbers are small? Hunting and fishing provides more money than anything else for wildlife. If you really want to do something for the benefit of wildlife, buy a hunting license.
Get your facts straight. We live in a world today that is backwards. Upside down at times. People need a reality check. The only difference between harvesting a deer in the wild or buying chicken at the store is you paid a middle man to do the killing. And nothing was donated to benefit wildlife.
The habitat that has been created by golf courses, residential waterways, and urban sprawl has created an explosion in the Canadian geese population. These areas are often off limits, limiting hunters from harvesting them. As a result, geese are in serious threat of depleting nesting ground areas up north.
I’m an avid outdoorsman. I am proud of it. The preparation and hard work that is involved makes the reward of a nice venison stew all worth it.
