My view from the peanut gallery:

Do you guys really care what PETA thinks? Honestly? Or do you think they actually care what we think? Newsflash:Our (and their)decisions are already made, irrespective of what Vabowmen, NEW61375, or myself dares to post on this hunting forum. Nobody in their right mind would come here to look for an intelligent, unbalanced debate on this issue. This site is about as "fair and unbalanced" as Fox News or the Humane Society's website.

And secondly, do you think anything that happens on this message board actually matters, in the grand scheme of things? Well, it doesn't.

As far as I'm concerned (and I've been around this sport long enough to know) - hunting seems to attract the lowest socioeconomic demographic of individuals - and they'llfaithfully do their part to drag the state of Hunting through the mud. Now, I'm not sure exactly why we get the dredges of humanity - but we do - and there's next to nothing we can do about it. As far as people who "make hunting look bad"are concerned, Vabowman is probably the last guy you should be pointing the finger at. If you want to complain about somebody who isn't doing us any favors, let's talk about the walking stereotypes:theingrate with the "People Eating Tasty Animals" sticker in thepickup truck window, or the idiot who invariably manages to shoot an elementary school with his deer rifle on opening day, or theReal Man of Geniuswho drives a 6 mpg jacked-up GMC with Bowtech stickers all over it - and makes fun of the"tree hugger" driving a hybrid.

I mean, if you think the Big BadHunting Ban Monster"BBHBM"is coming to disarm you because of Vabowman's position on Giraffe hunting - boy, you've fell out of the stupid tree, andsmacked every branch on the way down.


Somebody get out the smelling salts. Blackfish is down.


While you probably won't see me signing up to do any Giraffe hunts anytime soon - it should be noted that a giraffe is an expensive animal to shoot. This is an animal that would invariably have been poached for bush meat at some point - so hunting is generating $$$ in depressed areas that would otherwise be in a state of anarchy, replete with poaching. Now, local guides have a monetary incentive to police poaching activity to protect these valuable resources. So in that regard, anytime you have people paying to shoot animals, you are indirectly protecting that herd.