Milk River Stickman

A good question was raised on the "Professional Hunting "Tour" !?!?!? thread.Isthe majority of sportsmen who are opposed to the WHA and its intentions opposed to it soley because it takes place on captive animals,soley because of the technique used to "harvest" an animal, or both?

Washington Hunter

I think the majority of the hunting community is opposed to the WHA because of everything it stands for.

We dislike it because of the way it will make all hunters look if it is allowed to continue.

bawanajim

It has nothing to do with hunting ! Even peta could not dream up anything to make real hunters look this bad.

NO RESPECT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dr Andy

If you want catsh and release hunting, use a camera! Seriously how do you judge where a tranquilizer dart hits,a rump shot still results in a captured animal. Why not rig a camera to a bow with crosshairs in the viewfinder,you can trigger the shutter with your release,and the crosshairs determine the accuracy of your shot! Oh I forgot,no photo-op w/ ypur socalled "trophy". I recall someone came up with the idea of a hookless fly for fly-fishing,had a little velcro =like deal on it and you could feel the strike and supposedly this would be enough. Right, like I don't want to feel the fight on the way in? Please,enough of the madness. Hunting in it's essence has the finality of the kill,not to mention all the backstrap and sausages after the kill!

marcusjb

The list of problems withtheWHAis too long to write here.

formula1

I oppose the pens, but I also oppose the darting and the exclusivism. If a hunting contest includes fair chase and actual hunting including the harvest and tries to include as many hunters (not professionals) as possible, I would be all for it.

That's not much different than your clubs hunting pool or a statewide big buck contest (we have that in GA). It'scannot be money-oriented, but hunting oriented and all-inclusive (i.e. anyone can get in it).

MA Jay

Because it happens in Pens, you can't call it "hunting"

Because you don't actually kill an animal it is not hunting

Because it is a contest and the goal is to catch the critter with the largest antlers, it is not hunting. Eventhe largest QDMA advocate would admit that harvesting the "biggest" buck is not their goal,but tokilllarger antlered and more mature deer.

They should be sued by any and all true "hunting" organizations (including state Fish and Game departments) for defamation and potentially irrepairable damage.

Greg / MO

Precisely why I'm going to cut-and-paste my own response on the original thread; notice I never mention the word "pen."


I once saw the tagline which read that hunting was not a "catch-and-release" sport; yet this gentleman is attempting to make it one.

I don't hunt for fame, glory or a paycheck. If I was ever fortunate enough to be recognized for my efforts and sponsored at a level akin to Bill Winke, Greg Miller or Milo Hansen (and I'm not even placing myself in the category of any of those persons...) I would love to be able to sustain my family monetarily from the industry thereby allowing me to pursue my passion.

And therein lies the problem: Mossy Oak's PR guys nailed it when they referred to the passion and obsession most of us feel about our sport. A pseudo "tour" as proposed and described here removes that passion, and turns the game into one which a person just tries to "win" at.

Obviously, most of us have watched most of the professional anglers pursue a living, even if only in passing through the lens of a televised tournament, and I wonder how many have thought the same thing that I have: This really doesn't even look "fun" for these guys anymore; instead, it just looks like work. The only joyful emotions I see on these guys' faces is when they win. I for one hope I neve lose the joy in reeling in a two-pound bass, simply trying to boat it as quickly as possible so I can get my lure back in the water and hopefully place "in the money." I never want the excitement to diminish as I watch a bobber dance across the water as a bream attempts to swim off with my cricket.

That's what I would fear with such an event. Rather than feeling theirleft leg start to shake uncontrollably as a yearling doe approaches, I think one involved in such an even would be thinking the same thing: How quickly can I put this thing down and move on to the next "round"? When you begin commercializing and densensitiving a sport by throwing money at the participants, you lose the essence of the sport itself. We've seen it done to baseball and football players and just about in every other industry.

I heard a great talk once about how our fathers' generation revered, honored and often held as heroes baseball players that they grew up. While I would be remiss in stating that I am aware that there is now thousands of other things out there to compete with their attention, the speaker asked the audience as to why we thought that baseball players were no longer revered and held in high esteem and held as "heroes" like they were to our fathers? The answer, of course, had to do largely with the commercialism of the game and the fact that we as fans feel that the players are too concerned with chasing the almighty dollar bill as opposed to playng the game anymore because they're passionate about the sport. I think that's one reason why so many appreciate what Cal Ripken, Jr. did: It was obvious he wasn't JUST playing the game to fatten his bank account.

kevin1

I oppose it because it's nothing but a sick , disgusting spectacle whose only motivation is greed , and the fact that it endangers helpless animals needlessly . The pens are irrelevant to me , they couldn't legally pull that bullsheit in the wild without getting arrested . If they made it real weapons under fair chase conditions I wouldn't like that either since it furthers the commercialization of the sport I love , but I don't have the last word there .

Bullhound

It goes against evry fiber of my being & literally pisses me off!
Now, ya want to hear how ZI really feel about it?



Read what Eastmans thinks about it

http://eastmansshop.com/columns/Dialed.php