Reprinted from a Jan 13, 2008 column in the Morgantown Dominion Post
Hunting black bears is not politically correct. Just listen to the CNN reporters talk about bear hunts in New Jersey or Maryland, where antis continue to curb bear management, and you learn quickly that it is politically incorrect to hunt bears.
No matter that bear populations are growing. No matter that in many areas citizen complaints are high. No matter that bear/human encounters are climbing. Listen or read most urban media, and bear hunting is politically incorrect. Grizzly hunting is too.
I received a great book for Christmas and it is must reading for hunters and non hunters alike. Frank Miniter’s " The Politically Incorrect Guide to Hunting" is filled with great information that the media won’t tell you. For example, in Alaska you have twice the chance of being attacked on National Parks land than on private lands even though the percentage of Alaska in National Parks is rather small. Why? One reason might be that bears are not hunted in National Parks.
It makes common sense, an animal that is hunted will be more wary around people. For most wild animals, being wary around humans is a good thing. Treat bears like pets and you end up with more human attacks, more negative human encounters, and the bears lose in the end. That hunting is often a good thing is something that the urban media will never understand.
I’ve written several columns about using bows to curb suburban deer populations. There is no question that in some (most) suburban areas, deer numbers are increasing and causing problems. Where deer aren’t hunted in suburban areas, you have more deer/auto collisions, more Lyme Disease in humans, more damage to gardens, shrubs, etc. As Minitar points out in his book, in many suburbs there are over 50 deer per square mile, while in rural areas it is more common to have 30 deer per square mile.
And yet, every time, and I mean every time citizens get their gut full of deer damage in their suburb, and propose to do something to curb deer numbers, antis will suggest using chemosterilants rather than hunting. No matter that we know bowhunting works in thousands of suburbs to curb deer. No matter that there never has been one accident involving non hunters in suburban bow hunts. No matter that research shows that chemosterilants just don’t work in the wild on deer. No matter that the costs to even try chemosterilants are huge. No matter that a huge majority of suburban citizens support bowhunting in their area. Listen or read most urban media and it is politically incorrect to hunt deer in the suburbs.
The Humane Society of the United States is a huge anti hunting organization. Their officials have made public statements to the effect that even though hunting was important in years gone by, humans have changed and we don’t need to hunt today. In years gone by we needed to hunt for meat, but we don’t need to do that today. Even though man evolved as a hunter, the intimation is that all of a sudden man has changed, that the humans of years gone by were more blood thirsty, but today our genes have changed and we need to love all people, all animals, and just let wildlife live peacefully in the wilds.
When most wildlife biologists hear such jibberish, they just get a little sick feeling in the pit of their stomachs. The idea that thousands of years of evolution have changed over night is just ludicrous. And from a wildlife perspective, the idea that wildlife will survive peacefully if we stay out of management is just not accurate.
Minitar’s book lists example after example about hunting being politically incorrect. Politically incorrect because hunting leads to species being listed as endangered. Hmmm. Interesting suggestion, but the truth is that legal hunting has never led to the endangerment of one species on our continent. Most species increase in numbers when hunted..
Politically incorrect to hunt alligators because they are endangered. Are you kidding me? Quite a few Floridians may disagree. Politically incorrect because hunting is not safe. I’ve written a ton on this subject so won’t go over it again, but the truth is that hunting is very safe.
Then there is the idea that vegetarians are doing the politically correct thing. I’m not here to bash vegetarians, but understand that vegetable farmers kill deer, rodents and rabbits that are eating their produce. Minitar cites a study showing that if hunting ended within three years every citizen would pay an additional $500 annually for fruits and vegetables.
Like I said. This is a wonderful book full of really good information. The paperback version is published by Regnery Publishing and available at amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com. Read this book then loan it to a friend. It is the politically correct thing to do.
