Trembow,

I'm not really concerned about what Hardcore thinks. I've heard enough out of himto make my own decisions about his opinions.
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Back on topic, I think this IS an idea that both sides of the issue need to be explored.Big bucksare a finite resource. If those guys want to go out and kill fifty trophy bucks tofilm their show and appease the television masses, they have the manpower and the money, and they're entitled to it.

In a perfect world, they'd just leave everything alone and drop the ball on their hunting contest. That's not gonna happen. They see Bassmasters and can smell the money. They've got themoney to finance this endeavorand they're going to take their shot.

I understand that they're mostly hunting in enclosures, which, likealmost everyone else,I'm opposed to. However, I must say that canned hunting is easier to swallow when they're not actually killing anything. The vast majority of their downedbucks will recover and live to their full genetic potential, being selectively bred or culled by "hunters" (guys who paid to sit inside the fence) sometime later down the road. We can question the ethics of those guys some other time.

On level of offense, I'd argue that killing deer for sportinside an enclosure is more offensive than just tranquilizing them for sport inside a fence. It's still not fair to the animal, and a little pathetic. As a matter of degree, however, I'd say that the idea of using the trank gun in lieu of a deer rifle or bow is more favorable. Seriously, these guys don't want the deer they kill, they probably don't even want the antlers, so why not use non lethal force?

I guess if you look at the end results, it becomes more obvious.

What would you prefer? (Remember, there are only two options)

A.) A hunting contest that you dislike where they award a million dollars to a "pro" who kills 53 trophy bucks inside a big fence. They give the meat away and the racks are laying in a garage or barn somewhere.

B.) A hunting contest that you dislike where they award a million dollars to a "pro" who kills 2 trophy bucks, and tranquilizes 51 others inside a big fence. The meat from the two bucks is inedible and thrown away,while the two racks are laying in a garage or barn somewhere. Of the remaining 51 deer who were tranquilized, 10 lived full lives and died of natural causes. 41 others were shot by paying customers, most of whom mounted the racks in their homes and ate the venison that they harvested. Five of them were harvested by disabled kids on charity hunts. All of the bucks were selectively bred for the rest of their respective lives.

You pick.