Tag Archives: Georgia

Activists Complain about Mitt Romney's Canned Hunt

Posted on by
1

Animal rights activists are up in arms after Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney bagged some quail on a hunting trip while on a trip to Georgia.

According to the Boston Herald,

. . . the political outing backfired when it was revealed the birds had been fenced in.

Humane Society of the United States’ Michael Markarian complained about Romney hunting at the Cabin Bluff animal preserve, telling the Boston Herald,

Many of these private hunting preserves are basically providing drive-through killing animal opportunities. These animals are often tamed and bred on the property, fed by people and accustomed to people. They have no chance of escape. It’s like shooting fish in a barrel.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals spokeswoman Jennifer McClure told the Boston Herald,

Stalking and shooting animals is a cowardly, violent form of recreation, and if Romney wants to keep his political career alive, then he should stop supporting this dying blood sport.

Right, because hunting really killed the careers of politicians such as George W. Bush and John F. Kerry.

Anyway, opponents of such animal preserves like to call them canned hunts or refer, as the Boston Herald does, to the fact that the animals are fenced in. But this sort of criticism is silly in the case of preserves like Cabin Bluffs which sits on no less than 45,000 acres.

That’s one incredibly large can.

Source:

Mitt under fire for hunt: Romney catches flak after quail kill. Dave Wedge, Boston Herald, January 5, 2006.

Don't Tell Joan Dunayer: Scientists Use Wasps to Detect Chemical Weapons

Posted on by
Reply

Researchers at the University of Georgia-Tifton have been exploring an interesting way to check for trace amounts of explosives or chemical toxins — they’re using wasps of all things.

The wasps, Microplitis croceipes in this case, is trained using conditioning methods to detect a chemical odor. According to USA Today,

To do their work, five wasps — each a half-inch long — are placed in a plastic cylinder that is 15 inches tall. This “Wasp Hound,” which costs roughly $100 per unit, has a vent in one end and a camera that connects to a laptop computer.

When the wasps pick up an odor they’ve been trained to detect they gather by the vent — a response that can be measured by the computer or actually seen by observers.

The wasps are able to detect chemicals when exposed to concentrations as low as four parts per billion.

Researchers hope to go to pilot testing soon and could have commercially available applications of their wasp research available within 5 to 10 years.

Just don’t tell activists like Joan Dunayer who think even insects should be given the benefit of the doubt when it comes to rights.

Source:

Scientists recruit wasps for war on terror. Mimi Hall, USA Today, December 27, 2005.

Georgia holds Lottery for September Alligator Hunt

Posted on by
2

In July, George held a lottery to award permits to the 300 hunters who will be allowed to hunt alligators in that state’s second alligator season.

Each hunter will pay a $50 permit and anyone accompanying a licensed hunter must also pay a $50 fee to the state of Georgia. The bag limit is 1 alligator per permit.

In the 1960s, Georgia’s alligator population neared extinction, but today there are an estimated 200,000 of the animals in the state. In its 2003 alligator season, 180 hunters killed 73 alligators.

According to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, about 450 nuisance alligators are removed every year with trapping.

Source:

Alligator hunting season starts in Ga. Elliott Minor, Associated Press, July 7, 2004.

Alligator Hunting Season for 2004. Press Release, Georgia DNR.

Yerkes Researchers Demonstrate Efficacy of Combination Therapy to Reduce Cocaine Use in Non-Human Primates

Posted on by
Reply

Researchers at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center of Emory University in June published the results of their research showing that a combination of drug therapies significantly reduced cocaine use in nonhuman primates conditioned to self-administer the drug.

The researchers administer a combination of drugs that inhibit both dopamine and serotonin transport to a group of rhesus macaques who were conditioned to self-administer cocaine. In press release announcing the forthcoming publication of the results in the Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Yerkes’ Leonard Howell said,

It appears DAT (dopamine transport) inhibition serves to substitute for cocaine while SERT (serotonin) inhibition may limit the abuse potential of the medication. Our results, therefore, showing a combination of DAT and SERT inhibition were more effective than either alone are very promising.

According to Yerkes, this is the first time that a combination therapy has been shown to reduce cocaine use in nonhuman primates. According to the Yerkes press release, Howell will continue research into the combination therapy, turning to finding the optimal dosage level for reducing cocaine use.

Source:

Yerkes researchers discover combination of drug therapies reduces cocaine use in primates. Press Release, Emory University Health Sciences Center, May 24, 2004.

Jean Barnes Bizarre Letter about World Week for Animals in Laboratories

Posted on by
Reply

It’s been awhile since this site has reported on Jean Barnes, but in April she sent out an e-mail describing a protest that the Primate Freedom Project held outside Emory University. You might remember Barnes as the activist who thinks that research into gender assignment is inherently homophobic. She also turns out to be the activist who thinks her opponents are just sitting at home waiting for her to call. In her e-mail, Barnes wrote (emphasis added),

We had lots of media — including a one hour visit at WNNX where show hosts had invited at least 12 different Emory U. researchers to participate in an exchange with Ingrid [Newkirk]. None of Emory’s ‘trained medical professionals’ had the backbone to take on Ingrid — who to my knowledge — has no medical training. After WNNX was unable to secure an Emory dr. or researcher, they called around the US trying to get a medical type to discuss research with her. Again, no takers.

WNNX finally decided to try Ted Nugent. Ted could conveniently not be reached . . .

Yeah, I’m sure Nugent was home quaking in his boots at the thought of being called about a protest organized by Barnes.

Dang, they should have called me — I’d have debated that twit Newkirk. How convenient that Barnes didn’t bother!

Source:

Who’s Afraid of Ingrid Newkirk? Jean Barnes, Primate Freedom Project, April 28, 2004.

Georgia House Resolution 985 — Constitutional Amendment to Protect Hunting and Fishing

Posted on by
Reply
House Resolution 985 (COMMITTEE
SUBSTITUTE)
By: Representatives Morris of the
120th, Lane of the 101st, Coleman of the 118th,
Skipper of the 116th, and Porter of the 119th

A RESOLUTION
Proposing an amendment to the Constitution so as to provide
that the tradition of fishing and hunting and the taking of fish and wildlife
shall be preserved for the people and shall be managed by law and regulation for
the public good; to provide for submission of this amendment for ratification or
rejection; and for other purposes.

BE IT RESOLVED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF
GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
Article I, Section I of the Constitution is amended by
renumbering Paragraph XXVIII as Paragraph XXIX and inserting a new Paragraph
XXVIII to read as follows:

“Paragraph
XXVIII. Fishing and hunting. The tradition of fishing and hunting
and the taking of fish and wildlife shall be preserved for the people and shall
be managed by law and regulation for the public
good.“

SECTION 2.
The above proposed amendment to the Constitution shall be
published and submitted as provided in Article X, Section I, Paragraph II of the
Constitution. The ballot submitting the above proposed amendment shall have
written or printed thereon the following:
“(  )  YES


(  )  NO
Shall the Constitution be amended so as to provide that the
tradition of fishing and hunting and the taking of fish and wildlife shall be
preserved for the people and shall be managed by law and regulation for the
public good?”
All persons desiring to vote in favor of ratifying the
proposed amendment shall vote “Yes.” All persons desiring to vote against
ratifying the proposed amendment shall vote “No.” If such amendment shall be
ratified as provided in said Paragraph of the Constitution, it shall become a
part of the Constitution of this state.

Georgia House Approves Ballot Question for Hunting/Fishing Amendment

Posted on by
Reply

In January, the Georgia House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved a ballot measure that would provide a constitutional guarantee of the right to fish and hunt in that state.

By a vote of 154-14, the House approved asking voters in November whether the foll0owing should be added to the Georgia constitution,

Paragraph XXVIII. Fishing and hunting. The tradition of fishing and hunting and the taking of fish and wildlife shall be preserved for the people and shall be managed by law and regulation for the public good.

The proposed ballot measure is now making its way through the Georgia Senate. If it is passed by a supermajority there, then it could go to voters as early as November 2004 where a simple majority vote would result in its adoption.

The full text of the proposed ballot question can be read here.

Source:

Hunting/fishing ‘right’ must be written. Ledger-Enquirer (Georgia), February 8, 2004.

Alabama State Senator Introduces Deer Baiting Bill

Posted on by
Reply

Alabama state Sen. Myron Penn recently introduced a bill in that state’s legislature that would make it legal for hunters to bait deer.

Penn said the change is needed to keep Alabama hunters from going to other states to hunt,

In this part of the state, hunting is king where cotton used to be. So many government officials are spending all of their time today trying to bring new industries to their towns, but I think the first thing we have to do is make the most of what we’ve already got. We have great hunting opportunities here, and we can’t make the most of them with so many people traveling out of state to hunt in places where baiting is already legal.

According to the Ledger-Enquirer, 26 states currently allow baiting of deer, including Alabama neighbor Georgia.

Groups opposed to baiting, such as the Alabama Wildlife Foundation, argue that baiting increases the risk of spreading diseases such as chronic wasting disease. According to the Foundation,

Wildlife research has shown that baiting deer causes them to unnaturally concentrate around baited areas. This increases the likelihood of spreading diseases between animals by direct contact and through eating bait contaminated with disease causing agents shed in feces, saliva or other excretions.

Penn, however, points out that supplemental feeding of deer is legal when hunting season is out, and there doesn’t seem to be any evidence that such supplemental feeding has increased the spread of disease among deer.

The full text of the bill can be read here.

Source:

SB49/HB518 – It’s a Bad Bill Don’t Take The Bait!. Press Release, Alabama Wildlife Foundation, Undated.

Proposed idea up for de-bait. Ledger-Enquirer (Columbus, Alabama), January 25, 2004.

Fund for Animals: The Bible Condemns Hunting

Posted on by
2

In September, the Fund for Animals called on the Special Youth Challenge Ministries of Dallas, Georgia, to end its sponsorship of hunting trips for terminally ill and disabled children.

According to its website, the Special Youth Challenge Ministries,

. . . is a non-profit, 501(c)(3), national volunteer ministry to reach people for Jesus Christ through Christian lifestyle witnessing by teaching physically challenged youth ages 13 ? 19 how to overcome some of the obstacles of shooting and hunting through special training and events.

The Fund for Animals spiritual outreach director Norm Phelps, however, claimed in a press release that the Bible specifically condemns hunting. Phelps said,

Killing animals for sport is a form of animal abuse that teaches cruelty instead of love and mercy, is contrary to the gospel of Christ, and is condemned by the Bible.

The press release went on to provide the following justification for those statements,

Phelps, the author of Dominion of Love: Animal Rights According to the Bible (Lantern Books, 2002), pointed out that while hunting is never mentioned in the New Testament, Jesus taught kindness to animals on several occasions. Noting that people are prosecuted for doing to dogs and cats what hunters do to deer and geese, Phelps called hunting “legalized cruelty to animals.” In the Old Testament, Genesis describes Esau as “a skilled hunter” and his twin brother Jacob as “a peaceful man” who did not hunt. (Gen. 25:27) The prophet Malachi says that God “hated Esau and loved Jacob.” (Malachi 1:2-3) According to Phelps, “The condemnation of hunting could not be clearer or more vehement.”

But, of course, neither in Malachi nor elsewhere in the Bible does it say that God hated Esau because he was a hunter. Rather, God seems to have hated Esau because he sold his birthright and failed to repent (Hebrews 12:16-17: “Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.”)

The only thing clear and vehement here seems to be Phelps’ distortion of the Biblical text.

Source:

The Fund for Animals Calls For An End To “Sick” Hunts. Press Release, The Fund for Animals, September 9, 2003.

Karen Davis: Slaughterhouses Cause All Known Social Problems

Posted on by
Reply

In September, four Georgia Southern University students were arrested and charged with burglary and cruelty to animals after they broke into a chicken house and decapitated several animals. The students videotaped their actions which apparently was motivated by a desire to learn if chickens really can continue to move after their heads have been cut off.

In a news story on the arrests, Bulloch County Chief Deputy Gene McDaniel was asked what he thought an appropriate punishment for the students might be and he replied,

I?d like to see them put in about 40 hours at a poultry plant and see if it?s that much fun killing chickens for a living.

This brought an angry retort from United Poultry Concerns’ Karen Davis,

The seven young men and women who reportedly abused chicken and videotaped the abuse should get the maximum punishment for their crimes, as well as counseling. However, putting them to work in a chicken slaughterhouse, as proposed by Bulloch County Chief Deputy Gene McDaniel (perhaps in jest), is an inappropriate punishment if the goal is to rehabilitate them. Killing chickens for a living does fuel cruel and sadistic impulses in many employees, how vent hatred of their jobs on the chickens, their spouses, their children, their neighbors and themselves. Torturing the chickens at the plant becomes a job-related pleasure for many frustrated poultry workers, whose relationships to the birds is, after all, a completely violent one.

Alcoholism, amphetamine use, mental illness, assault with deadly weapons, manslaughter, child endangerment, child abuse, domestic violence and animal abuse are endemic to the slaughterhouse milieu.

For some reason she forgot to blame slaughterhouses for poverty, world hunger and the AIDS crisis.

Sources:

Chicken killings traced to cues in spring kids to be cruel. Press release, United Poultry Concerns, September 12, 2003.

Conyers Teens Charged In Chicken Killings. Barbara Knowles, Rockdale Citizen, September 4, 2003.