tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8400018814519499369.post4190788733093504371..comments2024-03-13T10:11:14.165-04:00Comments on Fair Chase Hunting: Open letter to the Fish and Wildlife Board re: Retrieval and Utilization RuleEric C. Nusehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08415209205400590485noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8400018814519499369.post-14810654136320433162009-04-09T17:42:00.000-04:002009-04-09T17:42:00.000-04:00Killing wastefully is a genetic based and environm...Killing wastefully is a genetic based and environmentally nurtured activity. Clearly, many people choose to make poor decisions. I think they should be held responsible. <BR/><BR/>Worrying that someone is going to get cited for a minor violation [in light of the gross violations that now abound] is like worrying about getting a ticket for going 2mph over the posted limit between Burlington and Montpelier.......it ain't going to happen.<BR/><BR/>Native VT hunter<BR/><BR/>It's 80%, 20% of the time, not 10%, 100% of the time IMO.Alec Sparkshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10680892945288189330noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8400018814519499369.post-91630304846511206642009-04-04T02:17:00.000-04:002009-04-04T02:17:00.000-04:00Anon,I agree, the head in the sand - let's not tal...Anon,<BR/>I agree, the head in the sand - let's not talk about it because it will give the antis ammo, is a counter productive way to go. sportsmen see more and hear more about hunter behavior than non-hunters. Surveys also reveal that hunters hold a lower opinion of other hunter's behavior than non-hunters. When I was a field warden I would shake my head at what I would see supposed good hunters actions. Admittedly I was exposed to a lot more of the underside than most, but it made you wonder at working for these people. <BR/>One thing I have learned is the way to build credibility is to be the best source of bad news. And then take action to do something about it. If the organized sportsmen don't think we need a regulation on wanton waste - then they need to take action in other ways. Doing nothing doesn't make it!Eric Nusehttp://www.huntright.orgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8400018814519499369.post-4956868929193709532009-03-25T08:31:00.000-04:002009-03-25T08:31:00.000-04:00Should every decision be based on biological neces...Should every decision be based on biological necessity? Hunting and fishing isn't a biological necessity. Certainly, it has a useful place but the world would not end without it.<BR/><BR/>People need to rise about what the lowest common denominator is if they want the respect they think they deserve.<BR/><BR/>I think Eric has called a spade a spade in a very non-divisive way.<BR/><BR/>Naming anyone "divisive" that doesn't agree with some sportsman's "hands off us, we're all wonderful saviors of wildlife" point of view is more divisive IMO.<BR/><BR/>Many "sportsman" aren't and giving them the excuse that properly addressing their dead quarry is "biologically unnecessary" will just give the "kill for fun/animals are little more the live target practice" yahoos another excuse to continue [if not increase] abominable behavior.<BR/><BR/>Native Vermont hunter.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8400018814519499369.post-16804888478602438252009-03-24T19:37:00.000-04:002009-03-24T19:37:00.000-04:00Jim L,Thanks for your thoughtful comment. I couldn...Jim L,<BR/>Thanks for your thoughtful comment. I couldn't agree more on most of your points. Where we disagree is over drawing a line and making the worst behavior illegal, calling the next notch up unethical and proclaiming the rest OK to exemplary. In this case I think sportsmen should set the line for two reasons. 1st if we don't society will. Commissioner LaRoache told the committee and the FW Board that if the Board does not act several legislators told him they will take the issue up. I'd much rather be discussing this with you than a bunch of folks that have never killed anything. 2nd reason is we should be willing to tell our less ethically disciplined sportsmen that we will not tolerate such poor behavior. You are probably right about my experience as a warden. And you have a point that many violations go undetected and no arrests are made. But, a fair number are apprehended and when you combine a fair enforceable law, with strong public support the combination helps raise the level of compliance to a level that society can accept. In this case the non-hunting/fishing/trapping majority will hopefully say - the sportsmen and the wardens are doing the best they can to police their own ranks, even though I don't hunt it is fine with me that they do because they are trying to do it right.<BR/>Perhaps the divide between those of us who favor a regulation and those that don't is we find this behavior intolerable and the others find it tolerable and are willing to accept the status quo. I'd be interested in your thoughts on this.<BR/>The alternative I'm afraid is the view that we just talk the talk and don't walk the walk. And even if we do we don't have the fortitude to impose even a low level of restraint on those that don't care.<BR/>The worry that a hunter is going to be arrested for wounding a deer is not grounded in fact. For over 40 years we have had the regulation in the waterfowl laws that hunters must make a reasonable effort to retrieve and make the animals part of their bag and bring them out of the field. As far as I know their have been very few if any complaints on how that is enforced by the wardens. I don't see why that would be any different for land animals where it is even easier for a person to check for blood sign, etc.<BR/>As far as hunter education training - I think we are doing a good job teaching about the ethics of retrieval and usage. I've been an instructor for over 30 years and teach nationally on effective ways to teach hunter ethics. I wish we could get the job done thru education and peer pressure, but I'm afraid we are always going to have that percent who believe if it isn't illegal it must be alright.<BR/>With regards,<BR/>EricEric C. Nusehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08415209205400590485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8400018814519499369.post-91433583247033546572009-03-24T15:57:00.000-04:002009-03-24T15:57:00.000-04:00Mr. Nuse, Although I applaud your work on ethic...Mr. Nuse,<BR/> <BR/> Although I applaud your work on ethical hunting, but I have to disagree with support of the Retrieval and Utilization Rule. I think your years as a Field Warden my have tainted your view since you did have to deal with the 1% that didn't care about rules or the fish and game they pursued. I consider myself a very ethical hunter and fisherman and would like to believe I set an example for others. I have been hunting since I was 12 years old and fishing since I was 8. My dad was my mentor and the golden rule was you eat what was shot or don't take the shot, if you don't put it back in the brook or the lake you take it home to eat. Easy rules to follow. These are same rules I taught my sons. Hunting and fishing is our heritage and still today takes up a lot of my free time. <BR/> I am currently the Vice President of the Rutland County Bassmasters, a bass fishing club affiliated with the national organization FLW Outdoors. Our clubs practice only catch and release fishing. A member in a contest is penalized for not keeping their fish alive so that it/they can be released after weighing in the catch. It is a great sport and one that has a practice that should be leveraged to all types of fishing release the fish if you do not plan on eating it. There is nothing wrong with taking home a fish to eat if it is a legal caught.<BR/> As a hunter, we all have an obligation once the shot is made. That obligation is to make all reasonable attempts to recover that game. A wounded animal must be tracked or trailed and quick follow up kill shot made. It is this obligation that must be taught and can not be "enforced" by a law. And this is my point. The comparison I will make is the litter we see along our roads. There is a $500 fine for littering on our highways, yet it happens every day. In the spring you can see it very clearly. Does having this fine on the books prevent littering by those that are ignorant or don't care? No, it don't. <BR/> Another point I would like to make regarding eating of fish and game. The State prints recommendations about eating fish in their publications. They tell the public not to eat some fish because of high mercury levels that some now believe have been there for eons. A fisherman brings a fish home and the wife says I am not eating that, it has mercury in it. So the fish gets thrown out. Further, in the Dakota's a doctor decided to check for lead levels in donated venison at a food shelf. He found trace elements and the food shelf threw out the meat. What a waste. The media jumped all over it. I say this is the wrong message, and is only promoted by the anti's that don't like fishing or hunting. <BR/> Further, we as Sportsman, whether newbies, wantabies or old timers need to make sure the State provides the proper training during Hunter Safety training, print it the rules book, print on the licenses and get it in the media. We need to be policing ourselves. We should be promoting what 99% of all fisherman and hunters practice and not give the anti's ammunition the first time a violation of the Retrieval and Utilization is brought before a Judge. I can see the headlines now. "Hunter is fined for wounding a deer". This is not what we need and therefore I can't support it. <BR/> <BR/> Tight lines,<BR/> <BR/> Jim Lynch<BR/> Bomoseen, VTUnknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06365609891532924592noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8400018814519499369.post-47650137062101056552009-03-24T15:24:00.000-04:002009-03-24T15:24:00.000-04:00Jim,I can empathize with the idea of "educate don'...Jim,<BR/>I can empathize with the idea of "educate don't legislate" view. However, in this case and at the level proposed that mind set does not hold up. <BR/>I suspect it would not be ok with you if some fisherman decided to dump their small perch in the access areas during the LCI while spectators and the press looked on. Currently it is not a violation, under the draft rule it would be. <BR/>Is this OK with you?Eric C. Nusehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08415209205400590485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8400018814519499369.post-31623203852169962952009-03-24T12:26:00.000-04:002009-03-24T12:26:00.000-04:00James Elhers emailed the following:It is really a ...James Elhers emailed the following:<BR/>It is really a shame, in my opinion, that some hunters, such as Mr. Nuse and the Orion Institute, would resort to painting fellow hunters with whom they disagree as unethical to advance a position that even the professional scientists acknowledge is biologically unnecessary and backed by animal rights activists. Those are facts. All the rest is a matter of personal opinion. <BR/><BR/> <BR/><BR/>It certainly seems ironic to engage in the unethical behavior of name-calling supposedly in the name of ethics. Not sure why Mr. Nuse and his organization are so invested as to publicly demonize and divide the very people they claim to represent. Surely ethical hunters can disagree on whether more regulation of their already intensely regulated constitutional right is necessary.<BR/>Sincerely,<BR/>James EhlersEric C. Nusehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08415209205400590485noreply@blogger.com