The Life and Times of Madoktor.: 9/4/11

Thursday, September 08, 2011

Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency - Feral Hog/Wild Boar

Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency - Feral Hog/Wild Boar:

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Survey Shows Hunters are Getting Kids Involved

In recent surveys conducted on www.HunterSurvey.com, www.ShooterSurvey.com and
www.AnglerSurvey.com, responses revealed sportsman overwhelmingly take the time to introduce kids to the joys of hunting and fishing. Asked if in the past 12 months they had taken a child hunting or fishing, just over 45 percent of hunters said they had taken a son, daughter, nephew, niece or other young person hunting, while a whopping 61 percent of fishermen said they had taken a child fishing.
While the relation of the child to the angler would be assumed to most often be a son or a daughter that is the case only half of the time. The survey revealed 30 percent were nephews, nieces or another young relative; 15 percent were an unrelated child and 4 percent was as part of an outing with a Boy Scout troop, church group or other youth organization.
Where hunting was concerned, the relation of the child to the hunter was a son or a daughter 54 percent of the time. The survey revealed 29 percent were nephews, nieces or another young relative; 14 percent were an unrelated child and 4 percent were as part of an outing with a Boy Scout troop, church group or other youth organization.
“These numbers certainly boost the future of hunting, fishing and conservation as more young people are introduced to and learn the joys of these sports,” said Rob Southwick, president of Southwick Associates, which designs and conducts the surveys at HunterSurvey.com, ShooterSurvey.com and AnglerSurvey.com. “While every child taken hunting or fishing may not continue doing so as an adult, it’s expected a good number of them will.”
To help continually improve, protect and advance this treasured way of life, all hunters and anglers are encouraged to participate in the surveys at HunterSurvey.com, ShooterSurvey.com and AnglerSurvey.com. Each month, participants who complete the survey are entered into a drawing for one of five $100 gift certificates to the sporting goods retailer of their choice.

Slaughter on the Island: Highjacking the Flag of Conservation

By Lacey Biles, NRA-ILA Hunting Policy Liaison
Nestled in the Pacific Ocean approximately 30 miles from the mainland of Santa Barbara sits a beautiful island where majestic Roosevelt elk and Kaibab mule deer roam free. Ferried across a treacherous channel, these grand species were brought to Santa Rosa Island some 80 years ago, but their days are officially numbered. A complete slaughter of these magnificent animals is scheduled to occur before the midnight tide rises on Dec. 31, 2011. Sharpshooters will be en route to the island soon to comply with a 1996 court settlement and 2007 legislation that reinstated the extermination order.
The 83-square-mile island was privately owned for more than a century before being sold to the National Park Service in 1986 for $30 million. Used as a cattle and sheep ranch for much of its modern history, overgrazing disrupted the balance of the island`s ecosystem. The 1996 lawsuit settlement required the removal of all cattle, sheep and feral hogs from the island, followed by a phased reduction of elk and mule deer to culminate at the end of 2011 with complete extermination.
As this is a government-mandated animal slaughter, you may ask where the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) have been in the process. They have been curiously absent, giving us a clear picture of their definition of "conservation." In fact, HSUS` congressional allies, U.S. Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer and U.S. Rep. Lois Capps, blocked NRA`s efforts to prevent the slaughter in 2007 by inserting a provision into the omnibus appropriations bill that reinstated the extermination order. The animal-saving law blocked by the three lawmakers would have allowed disabled veterans to hunt the majestic elk and mule deer based on biologists` harvest recommendations.
The battle over Santa Rosa Island illustrates diverging definitions of "conservation." Theodore Roosevelt was largely responsible for sparking America`s conservation movement after witnessing the detritus left behind by the 19th century`s commercial big game slaughter. An avid hunter throughout his life, Roosevelt could not countenance big game populations dwindling below sustainable hunting levels. He helped to create the North American Wildlife Conservation Model, which used regulated hunting as an essential tool to bring back numerous species from the brink of extinction and help them thrive again.
Regulated hunting of Roosevelt elk and Kaibab mule deer on Santa Rosa Island has been employed and celebrated for decades, keeping populations in check that have no natural predators. Although the presence of such majestic beasts enriches the experience of all who visit the island, HSUS and PETA seem to prefer total extermination of the elk and deer populations rather than allowing one more hunter to take to the field. Again, these anti-hunting extremists refuse to acknowledge that hunters are largely responsible for preserving America`s wild lands and the wild things that Roosevelt held sacrosanct.
Animal "rights" extremists have tried to seize the word "conservation" and change its definition to remove hunting as a tool. Unfortunately, they have had some success and Santa Rosa Island may be their next victory.
The impact that domestic cattle and sheep, and feral hogs, can have on a unique landscape such as Santa Rosa Island is well known. A total of 1,175 hogs were killed during the `90s, but estimates put the number of hogs as high as 3,200 prior to a major drought in the late `80s. With voracious appetites, it is no wonder that the flora and fauna suffered tremendously. Some states see significant habitat impacts with similar hog populations. After the removal of domestic cattle, sheep and feral hogs, Santa Rosa`s ecosystem dramatically rebounded.
So why have the elk and mule deer been sentenced to die when the island`s ecosystem is rebounding? No reasonable answer has been given; the only explanation is that the two ungulate species are "non-native." Allowing the North American Wildlife Conservation Model to prevail through elk and mule deer management would mean a modicum of impact on the island`s environment. That is apparently too tall an order for HSUS and PETA because it would mean continued hunting of a few animals. The animal "rights" folks instead sit idly by as government-paid sharpshooters are scheduled to perform a 19th century-style slaughter, with the modern twist of using helicopters instead of horses.
There are only three native terrestrial mammals on Santa Rosa: the deer mouse, island fox and spotted skunk. With the domestic cattle, sheep and feral hogs gone from the island, a proper ecosystem could be easily maintained with the continued inclusion of scientifically managed elk and deer herds.
Roosevelt elk and Kaibab mule deer are only found in a small segment of North America and they are a celebrated part of Santa Rosa for a multitude of visitors from hikers to hunters. The isolated island population of these magnificent animals represents an important insurance policy if disease ever broke out on the mainland that could lead either species to extinction. Having an isolated species pool, a Noah`s Ark of sorts, can prove invaluable as proper elk and mule deer habitat on the mainland continues to erode because of urbanization, leaving species` health prone to widespread disease events.
President Roosevelt eloquently wrote of elk in 1902:
"Surely all men who care for nature, no less than all men who care for big game hunting, should combine to try to see that not merely the states but the Federal authorities make every effort, and are given every power, to prevent the extermination of this stately and beautiful animal, the lordliest of the deer kind in the entire world."
I believe that the president who sparked the American conservation movement would write the very same words about the Santa Rosa slaughter today. The elk and mule deer herds could be so managed through hunting and other means as to have minimal impact on the island`s various flora and fauna with a continued existence as balanced members of the island`s ecosystem. This would continue the North American Wildlife Conservation Model that has become the envy of the world, albeit to the angst of the animal "rights" crowd simply because hunting would continue. It makes one wonder if these anti-hunting extremists would prefer to see more animals exterminated so that, in their twisted minds, no "suffering" would exist. It is hard to see any other way they would be satisfied given their inaction on Santa Rosa.
Rest assured that NRA will continue the fight to save the Santa Rosa elk and mule deer to the final hour. Join the fight;contact your United States senators and representative and ask them to call off the sharpshooters. If all concerned NRA members join forces, perhaps we can prevent the senseless slaughter of these remarkable animal populations and keep the animal "rights" extremists from taking hunting out of conservation.

More women receiving gun permits in Tenn.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – More women are going through the proper training to obtain their gun carry permits in the state of Tennessee.

Retired Metro police officer Buford Tune runs the Academy of Personal Protection and Security and teaches a training course that allows gun owners to obtain a carry permit.

According to Tune in recent months he has seen an increase in the number of women going through the training to receive their permits.

"We've had a big increase in classes for the Tennessee gun permit as far as women go. We get calls daily from women and men as well, but we've seen the classes go up big time," he said.

Tune told Nashville's News 2 he believes more people, particularly females, are turning to guns for personal protection largely due to crime and economic fears.

"People see this on the news, in the paper, on the web and they're concerned and want to be able to protect themselves," he said.

Women give reasons such as living alone, working late at night or having husbands who travel as some of the main reasons why they want to take the class.

Local gun dealers also said they've noticed a change too in what customers are buying.

Instead of hunting guns, they're selling more handguns for home protection and many of their customers are women.

Tune tells Nashville's News 2, "It's kind of like the old saying, 'Seconds count when help is minutes away, so what are you doing in the meantime?' You've got to be able to protect yourself and your family while you are waiting for the police to get there."

Nationally, FBI background checks for gun sales are up.

Statewide, the TBI reports the total number of background checks for individuals trying to buy guns has increased every year since 2002.

So far in 2011, gun sales have also increased over last year.

NRA-ILA :: Heads Roll In Wake of BATFE “Fast and Furious” Scandal

Friday, September 02, 2011

In the latest development in the on-going Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE) “Fast and Furious” scandal, the Department of Justice announced this week the appointment of U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesota B. Todd Jones to serve as Acting Director of BATFE, replacing Kenneth Melson. The DOJ also announced that Dennis Burke, U.S. attorney for the district of Arizona, has resigned. And the Wall Street Journal reported that Emory Hurley, the assistant U.S. attorney responsible for the day-to-day operations of “Fast and Furious,” has been removed from his post and reassigned to the department’s Civil Division.

As we have frequently noted in this Alert, the reckless and utterly failed BATFE operation known as “Operation Fast And Furious” was run out of the BATFE’s field office in Phoenix. The bungled operation put thousands of guns into the hands of violent criminals in Mexico.

The more information comes out about “Fast and Furious,” the more clear it seems that knowledge of the operation, and approval for it, went higher than the Phoenix field office, or even BATFE. There is clear evidence, uncovered by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee headed by Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), that senior Obama Administration officials were aware of this disastrous operation. And as the evidence continues to mount, it’s looking more and more likely that what we’re seeing unfold is a large-scale cover-up.

A Thursday Fox News story reported that federal officials quickly tried to cover up evidence that a gun found at the scene of Border Patrol agent Brian Terry’s murder was one the government intentionally helped sell to the Mexican cartels via the “Fast and Furious” program. The article also reported that late Thursday, the office of Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, revealed that 21 more “Fast and Furious” guns have been found at violent crime scenes in Mexico, up from 11 the agency admitted to just last month. According to the article, Sen. Grassley and Rep. Issa said Thursday they are expanding their investigation into the scandal, and have sent a strongly worded letter to Anne Scheel, the new U.S. attorney for Arizona, requesting interviews, e-mails, memos and even hand-written notes from members of the U.S. Attorney's office that played key roles in the failed program.

Regarding this week’s shake-up, Rep. Issa released the following statement: "While the reckless disregard for safety that took place in Operation Fast and Furious certainly merits changes within the Department of Justice, the Oversight and Government Reform Committee will continue its investigation to ensure that blame isn't offloaded on just a few individuals for a matter that involved much higher levels of the Justice Department. There are still many questions to be answered about what happened in Operation Fast and Furious and who else bears responsibility, but these changes are warranted and offer an opportunity for the Justice Department to explain the role other officials and offices played in the infamous efforts to allow weapons to flow to Mexican drug cartels. I also remain very concerned by Acting Director Melson's statement that the Department of Justice is managing its response in a manner intended to protect its political appointees. Senator Grassley and I will continue to press the Department of Justice for answers in order to ensure that a reckless effort like Fast and Furious does not take place again."

Sen. Grassley released this statement: "[This week’s] announcement is an admission by the Obama administration that serious mistakes were made in Operation Fast and Furious, and is a step in the right direction that they are continuing to limit any further damage that people involved in this disastrous strategy can do. There's a lot of blame to go around. As our investigation moves forward, and we get to the bottom of this policy, I wouldn't be surprised to see more fall out beyond the resignations and new assignments announced today. The Justice Department and the ATF have yet to answer a majority of the questions and still must produce many of the documents Congressman Issa and I have asked for. We're looking for a full accounting from the Justice Department as to who knew what and when, so we can be sure that this ill-advised strategy never happens again."

And House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) said: "The announcement by the Department of Justice to reassign Kenneth Melson is not the resolution Congress and the American people need. This move by the Administration indicates that Director Melson may be being used as a scapegoat for a much larger problem within ATF and DOJ. It appears that other senior officials at DOJ may have been involved in this deadly operation. The American people and Congress will not be appeased until we have the whole truth about how and why Operation Fast and Furious was authorized. Congress will not ignore an agency so out of control that its decisions and operations cost American lives."

Meanwhile, Attorney General Eric Holder has insisted that he knew absolutely nothing about “Fast and Furious.” As the investigation continues, hopefully we’ll find out if that unlikely insistence is the truth.

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Your right to self-defense shouldn’t end at state borders.

This Labor Day weekend, many families will pack up the car for one last road trip to the beach, lake or park before summer ends. Unfortunately, many of them will have to check their right to self-defense at the state border. Thankfully, there is legislation making its way through Congress that would fix this.

The bill is the National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act (H.R. 822) and it would allow any person with a valid, state-issued concealed firearm permit to exercise their right to carry a firearm in any other state that affords that right to its own residents.

The bill was introduced by Congressmen Cliff Stearns (R-FL) and Heath Shuler (D-NC) and it currently has 242 co-sponsors and the full backing of the National Rifle Association. By any benchmark, H.R. 822 has overwhelming bipartisan support.

Currently, 49 states have laws that permit concealed carry in some form or another. In all but eight of those states, the average, law-abiding citizen can carry a firearm without having to navigate an overly restrictive — and in some cases intentionally impossible — bureaucratic process. Only the state of Illinois completely forbids its citizens from carrying concealed firearms outside their homes and workplaces.

The problem is that interstate recognition of these various permits is not uniform. Some states have broad laws in place that liberally recognize permit holders from other states. Other states are more restrictive, and still others refuse to recognize any state’s permit but their own. This can create issues for travelers.

The National Right-to-Carry Act would solve this problem by requiring the various states that allow concealed carry to recognize each other’s permits — much in the same way they recognize each other’s driver’s licenses.

Imagine if America treated state driver’s licenses the same way we treat the right to carry, and every time you drove across a state line you weren’t sure if you were allowed to legally operate a vehicle in that state. If you knew you weren’t allowed to operate a vehicle in a certain state, you simply couldn’t drive there.

There are some who agree with the spirit of H.R. 822 but are concerned that it would create a “federal gun licensing” system. This is simply not true. The bill explicitly protects the right of each state to issue its own permits and determine its own rules and regulations with regard to concealed carry — such as where carrying is prohibited and where it’s allowed.

This is similar to how one highway can have different speed limits, depending on the state in which you’re driving. You can drive on the highway regardless of which state you’re from, but you are required to obey each state’s basic rules of the road.

Others have voiced concern that H.R. 822 would violate the Tenth Amendment right of every state to make its own laws. Again, this is not the case. The Second Amendment guarantees the fundamental, individual right of every law-abiding citizen to bear arms. This is an inalienable right that neither the federal government, nor any state government, may infringe upon. And in fact, the 14th Amendment gives Congress the power to protect citizens from state infringement of their constitutional rights.

Our basic right to self-defense has been recognized in law for centuries. We shouldn’t be forced to forfeit this right at the state line. Call your representative today and ask if he or she is a cosponsor of H.R. 822. If the answer is yes, please thank them and urge them do what they can to push this bill forward.

If the answer is no, then please urge them to become a co-sponsor today, and to support your fundamental right to defend yourself and your loved ones … regardless of which state you happen to be passing through.

Chris W. Cox is the Executive Director of the National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA) and serves as the organization’s chief lobbyist.

The Life and Times of Madoktor.