Opinion: Glen Wunderlich
Lansing, Michigan – -(Ammoland.com)- Wolf hunting licenses went on sale Aug. 3 2013, reminds the Michigan Department of Natural Resources – a fact despised by the nation’s most powerful animal rights organization, the Humane Society of the United States
(HSUS, not to be confused with any local animal shelters.)
In fact, The anti-hunting coalition, called Keep Michigan Wolves Protected (backed by HSUS), has launched a petition drive to stop control of the burgeoning wolf population. If paid workers can gather enough signatures, Michigan voters will decide on November 4, 2014, whether to overturn Senate Bill 288, which granted authority to designate game species to the state Natural Resources Commission.
If the most recent signature drive proves successful, Michigan citizens will be deciding on two anti-hunting issues on November 4, 2014 – the first to remove wolves from the game list, and the second to strip the Natural Resources Commission’s new authority to determine game species.
“All of these efforts have little to do with the number of wolves in Michigan, which have vastly exceeded their recovery goals, and has everything to do with the potential for a wolf hunting season,” said Nick Pinizzotto, U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance president and CEO. “The possibility of a hunting season is simply unacceptable to these anti-hunting groups.”
Michigan United Conservation Clubs (MUCC) states that the summary language also introduces language outside of the law being challenged – the fact that NRC members are appointed by the Governor – without also saying that the NRC is required to use sound science (by 1996’s Proposal G) or that their terms are staggered so that they are not all appointed by the same Governor
Michigan’s ballot referendum process was developed before the advent of paid signature gatherers. A referendum should be the exception, not the rule. But when campaigns can pay signature collectors three dollars per signature – as Keep Michigan Wolves Protected admitted it was doing during its first referendum – one has to question motives.
And, through the use of exaggeration and hyperbole – never conceding one inch to the notion of hunting anything – this is their actual language used to persuade the uninformed:
“Allowing the killing of wolves just for sport is unnecessary and will accomplish nothing. People don’t eat wolves, and it’s just pointless trophy hunting for no good purpose. Wolf hunting may involve especially cruel and unfair practices, such as…, hunting over bait, aerial gunning from helicopters, and even using packs of dogs to chase down and kill wolves. And it won’t stop there. Sandhill cranes and other rare wildlife species…”
Really? Aerial gunning? The NRC does not allow “aerial gunning from helicopters,” for any game species in Michigan; the suggestion that it would be approved for wolves is a purposeful and misleading attempt to startle the uninformed.
The bottom line is: that the HSUS and its minions are never in favor of any type of hunting – no matter the means of take. And, its false claims about the nature of sound, scientific wildlife management will never view hunting fair. And, that’s why HSUS is correctly classified as the world’s largest anti-hunting organization.
About Glen Wunderlich
Charter Member Professional Outdoor Media Association (POMA). Outdoor writer and columnist for The Argus-Press (www.argus-press.com) and blog site at www.thinkingafield.org Member National Rifle Association (NRA), Michigan United Conservation Clubs (MUCC), member U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance (USSA), Quality Deer Management Association (QDMA), Commemorative Bucks of Michigan (CBM). Adjutant of Perry, Michigan Sons of Amvets Post 4064 and Chairman Perry (MI) Youth Hunt Extravaganza, a sanctioned event of Perry Sons of Amvets held the fourth weekend of September each year.