“Hunting is a crime against wildlife and the natural world.”
Letter to Taos News 8-11-12
To the Editor:
A recent article mentioned a bill introduced by Rep. Martin Heinrich which would require several government agencies to develop a plan to provide sport hunters access to federal lands previously out of reach. Bill HR 6086 is harmful and should be opposed by those of us who wish to preserve and protect wildlife and their habitat.
Hunters already have access to millions of acres of land on which to needlessly kill wildlife and HR 6086 threatens to befoul some of our last remaining natural areas outside of wilderness, national parks & national monuments. It is supported by extremist special interest groups that promote violence as recreation and will degrade our natural world even further than it has already been degraded.
The sport hunting industry is in panic mode. Every year there are fewer people who hunt and the age of the average hunter increases (according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 72% of hunters are aged 35 or older). Hunters are dying or otherwise dropping out of the sport faster than young people can be recruited and this threatens state and federal hunting agencies that depend upon hunters to fund their wildlife-killing programs.
Hunting is a crime against wildlife and the natural world. To learn what you can do to prevent this bill from becoming law, join our members and supporters in New Mexico and throughout the country in visiting www.AbolishSportHunting.org. The future of wildlife and habitat rests in our hands.
Joe Miele, President
The Committee to Abolish Sport Hunting
Box 13815
Las Cruces, NM 88013-3815
575-640-7372