Browsing "Hunting and Conservation"

Spain’s Proposed Animal Rights Law Collides with Rural-Urban Divide

Hunting has a long history and remains popular in Spain, generating a respectable 5 billion Euros annually. But just as in many other Western countries, hunting is considered a more rural activity, while urban folks are less likely to hunt and more likely to look down on or even disapprove of it.

A recently proposed animal rights law in Spain places this urban-rural divide on stark display. In a nutshell, a law was proposed by the ruling Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE), that reads as if someone tried to thoughtlessly cobble together every low-hanging concession to animal rights activists they could come up with before lunch break. Unfortunately for the PSOE, this law contained provisions about abandoned animals, training, and breeding that really ticked off a group of key supporters: rural voters. More specifically, hunters. Hunters considered the law an attack with the potential to “legislate hunting out of existence.” This led to a last-minute amendment excluding hunting dogs and other rural activities… and raised questions about the viability of the proposed law as a whole.

It is a positive that the disagreement between the party’s urban and rural bases led to a favorable amendment (and, ideally, towards the law being shelved altogether). However, this example also serves as a troubling reminder of how non-stakeholders often feel perfectly fine about passing their values onto others. “I live a different lifestyle than you, and, for various reasons, have never or will never hunt. But never mind that: let me tell you how you need to do it.” If you are involved in animal sports or hobbies of any variety, you know you’ve heard a variation on that theme before!

Resources
★     Study Shows the Benefits of Hunting in Rural Areas
★     Farm Bureau: Fast Facts About Agriculture & Food

Bycatch Begone

For such an anodyne-sounding term, the word “bycatch” can be quite the grenade. It is generally associated with commercial fishing, and, at its most basic level, refers to any species of animal you didn’t intend to catch while fishing. Crabs, the wrong species of fish, and – perhaps most famously – dolphins all come to mind as examples of bycatch. However, while the term is accurate, albeit vague, “bycatch” is also viewed as an enraging, industry-manufactured euphemism by animal rights activists and some of the more vociferous critics of commercial fishing. To them, it is a term that “sugarcoats the indefensible” – waste, suffering, ecological devastation (you know the drill). OK, that’s predictably over-the-top, but we’ll concede that bycatch sits among industry buzzwords like “harvest” or “free-range,” that, even when well-intentioned, have the potential to raise at least as many questions as they answer.

Love your fishsticks? Hug an Alaska pollock today!

Subtlies of language aside, bycatch is indeed a serious problem (ask the world’s 10 surviving vaquitas their opinion on this issue). However, it must be acknowledged there have been many recent techniques and tools devised to reduce bycatch, several of which have already been implemented. Some of them are already enjoying dramatic success.

Off the coast of Alaska, where pollock are caught (pollock are the white groundfish that often end up in fish fillet sandwiches), there is a long history of salmon bycatch. This is bad news, as there are indigenous people who depend on salmon for food, and some of the Pacific salmon species are endangered. However, the nets used by Alaskan pollock fishers now use salmon excluders, which allow salmon to escape from pollock nets.

A more colorful solution comes from Oregon, where it was recently discovered that an ecologically vital smelt, the eulachon, will follow LED lights (especially green ones) placed on the bottom of a shrimp net, keeping them from being inadvertently scooped up. Interestingly, nobody is quite sure why eulachons follow the lights – but follow they do, and that is the important thing.

For seabirds, the oft-forgotten victims of bycatch, streamers (called tori lines or, more aptly, bird-scaring lines) have been equipped on many boats, flapping threateningly over fishing lines, and more importantly, over the tantalizing bait that birds sometimes attack and get hooked on. When used properly, these lines have been hugely successful.

And finally, for our beloved cetaceans, instead of visual cues, a device called a banana pinger (surprise! – it looks much like a mechanical banana) is now being attached to fishing nets, emitting obnoxious high-frequency pings when submerged. The good news so far: dolphins and porpoises are not fans of it! There has been some fear that hungry porpoises, clever as they are, would become habituated to the noise, and begin exploring the delicious interiors of fishing nets once again, but so far, there is little evidence of that happening.

While none of these innovations are perfect, they make a difference and are chasing an important ideal… and more are finding their way into the field (and the water) every day.

Resources
★     Streamer (tori) lines
★     A sound idea: ‘Banana Pinger’ audio device could help reduce porpoise bycatch
★     ‘Cocaine of the sea’ threatens critically endangered vaquita

Bipartisan Agreement in Maine: Go Away, HSUS!

In Maine, even Democrats and Republicans can agree: “wildlife management laws should be determined by scientists and protected from emotional campaigns bankrolled by out-of-state interest groups” (read: HSUS).

Yes yes, we know: allowing scientists to determine wildlife management is crazy. Wouldn’t want pesky things like facts, expertise, and personal experience shaping our policies, now would we?

Just kidding. At NAIA, we want wildlife management policies shaped by experts rather than anti-hunting activists. We’re totally cool with that. It’s the anti-hunting activists who want this debate settled entirely through emotion and advertising dollars (remember when their coalition threw a hissy fit last November, and tried to prevent the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife from stating their opinion on the [failed] anti-hunting referendum?).

It is great to see sanity alive and well in Maine. We will be keeping a close on this story as it develops.

Death Threats for Bow Hunter: Can You Feel The Love?

How do animal rights activists show appreciation to an amazing person who teaches kids hunting and other outdoors skills?

Oh, by sending them death threats and vicious insults of course!

Because what could be worse than getting kids off the couch and off their phones to teach them responsible hunting, conservation, and sparking a lifelong respect of the outdoors? Yes, what a horrible, horrible woman indeed!

We kid, we kid! We think passing on these skills to the “next generation” — especially when so few have regular (or any) exposure to nature — is a pretty great thing!

For more: here’s a radio interview with Jen Cordaro, where she explains why she started #BringaKidHunting, the skills and values that are learned (the virtues of patience and delayed gratification especially!) and the importance of educating kids about hunting and weapons safety.

Hunting