Last month, we brought up the topic of pigeon shoots, which is a sport which is still practiced in Pennsylvania. Though I would not take part in a pigeon shoot myself (I have enough trouble hitting clay birds, let alone real ones), I have no problem with the sport. You see, pigeons are vermin. In urban and suburban environments, they are trapped and killed, or poisoned, because they are filthy and spread disease. Poisoning is less humane than shooting them.
This weekend Jeff Soyer wrote a post that was unfavorable toward pigeon shoots. Bitter immediately took exception to it, pointing out that the sport might be politically incorrect, the tactic that HSUS is using pigeon shoots and dove hunting for is exactly the same tactic anti-gunners have used to go after assault weapons. As Countertop pointed out in the comments, the proposed ban on pigeon shoots would also have the unintended (intended on the part of HSUS) consequence of banning dog training.
I will be honest here, I think HSUS will succeed in destroying hunting in North America. Why? Because hunters show a complete willingness to throw other hunters off the lifeboat when the animal rights nut-jobs come knocking, because they personally don’t participate in their sport and don’t think highly of it. I will agree that pigeon shoots aren’t the best public face of our sport, and I kind of wish the people who organize these things would stop. But I’m not going to join HSUS in calling for it to be outlawed. Apply all the shame and social pressure you want, but I’m not going to stand with HSUS on destroying any type of hunting or shooting. They have an agenda, and a tactic. Their tactic is to divide and conquer. It’s the same tactic the Brady Campaign and VPC used with shooters when they went after assault rifles. It didn’t work with shooters. I don’t see any indication why it’s not going to work with hunters. You’re going to lose your sport guys, and you’ll only have yourselves to blame.
They came first for the pigeon shooters, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a pigeon shooter.
Then they came for the dove hunters, and I didn’t speak up, because I don’t hunt dove.
Then they came for the bear hunters, and I said not a word, for I do not hunt bear.
Then they came for the deer hunters. I am a deer hunter, but when they came, there weren’t enough hunters left to speak up.
It is a shoot, not a hunt.
Other than that, go to it. They are rats with wings.
I agree with you but if hunters loses the ability to hunt, then the whole culture goes down and the tradition of hunting that bolsters the idea of gun rights nad freedom.
We do have to fight this and educate our own why it is important to support shooters and hunters in all their sports. That is why Jeff brought down so much comments because he could not see the connection.
Jones, go read Countertop’s comment at Jeff’s as to why this is a hunting issue. The shoot itself might not be hunting, but this is a shot at hunters.