Continued from Page 1, Letters to the Editor
From: Cleve Nash
Cambria
Brant geese, the beautiful birds whose epic migrations were described in the Tribune by John Lindsey, are turning up on the shores of the Morro Bay estuary having been wounded by hunters. The State Department of Fish and Game has jurisdiction over the shores from Windy Cove south including the sand spit. It is Fish and Game that enables the hunting of waterfowl and protects the right of people to engage in hunting. Therefore it is incumbent on that agency to protect the right of other citizens not to be subjected to witnessing the neglected suffering of victims of those activities.
Brant season ends on December 13. However, the hunting of other species will continue through January. If you see injured waterfowl, please call Fish and Game at 831-649-2801. Please also monitor whether there is a timely response, a humane rescue, and if possible, whether the bird receives appropriate diagnosis and treatment from qualified veterinary or wildlife rehabilitation personnel. If you are not satisfied with the actions of Fish and Game, please write to
State of California
Fish and Game Commission
1416 Ninth Street
Sacramento, California 95814
From: Pat and Jim Reed
Morro Bay
John Lindsay recently wrote an article in the Tribune about the return of the Brant to Morro Bay. These birds fly thousands of miles side by side with their mates, but sadly when they reach their destination they are met by guns and killers. The killers set up shop from Grassy Island to the south end of the estuary, generally disturbing all the inhabitants of the bay, human and animal alike. In a confined space occupied by sailors, kayakers, hikers, and bird watchers this is a ridiculous and dangerous activity. Gunshots ring out from 7:00AM until dark, and although the killers are allowed to kill only 2 birds, there is no accounting for the numbers that are wounded and subsequently die. Certainly Fish and Game is not interested in those numbers and all this for a bird no one wants to eat. Fish and Game continually ignores the pleas to stop this "sport". They really are just issuing a license to kill.
From: Mandy Davis
San Luis Obispo
A Letter From 1 Degree South:
This is the time to reflect and head into a new season with equity, evaluating the past and adjusting ones perceptions (if necessary) and actions to be alignment with intentions for the future. There is no better way to do this than to remove yourself from that which is familiar, that which you may be mired in, to gain perspective. At 1 degree south of the equator, moored off a small archipelago in the middle of the Pacific, in the company of some of the most dedicated wildlife activists on Earth, I have had that opportunity.
The Galapagos Islands are; or let me rephrase that - were, before the cruel onslaught of man, a paradise. Creatures endemic to this isolated group of islands survived and thrived in the sometimes harsh conditions. Now, centuries after man’s arrival, many of these valuable species are extinct or on the brink of extinction. Anyone with half a brain and an ounce of compassion will walk this extraordinary place with conflicted feelings; feelings of awe at the remaining indigenous flora and fauna, and feelings of absolute disgust at the devastation that mankind has advertently and inadvertently wrought. It is in this context…our seeming inability as a species to recognize our profound relationship to, and responsibility for the natural world around us that I address the issue at hand: the ongoing issue of the appropriateness of hunting on the Morro Bay National Estuary.
I HAVE AN APOLOGY TO MAKE. An apology to the Earth, the creatures, myself, my human friends, and my community. For years I have been in the process of advocating for change in the hunting regulations to better serve the community, both human and non-human. In an effort to be equitable and to work within the biased and antiquated system that is now in place, I, against my own personal non-hunting ethics and lifetime preservationist viewpoint, adopted a "compromise" stance. One asking for a reduction in hunting days and territory in an effort to positively impact the migratory and indigenous wildlife and the surrounding communities. This stance in retrospect was incredibly flawed. Flawed as a result of making some assumptions that should never have been made. These assumptions were: 1) That the hunters were responsible, respectful adults and would behave as such. 2) These men, true to their claims to be "conservationists"* would acknowledge their negative impacts on a degraded ecosystem and act accordingly. 3) The hunters would recognize their responsibility to the community as a whole, and make decisions based on community ethics. 4) The California Fish and Game Commission would
act as an agency for the entire populace of the state and base regulatory decisions based on their own mission statement and ethical mandates. ……..Well you know what they say about assumptions. I was wrong!!
One thing is definite. I will never make this mistake again. There are no compromises when it comes to the future viability of the Earth and the creatures that inhabit her. Why should we compromise with people that are so detached and disrespectful of our home and our future generation’s legacy that they would kill creatures for sport, ego gratification and in the name of tradition? It is my tradition to honor and respect the Earth and to behave accordingly. It is our heritage and responsibility to preserve that which we are such an integral part of for our children and generations to come. To systematically and consciously destroy the diverse creatures of Earth is suicide!
I ask that you join me in renewing your commitment to, and not just render lip service to environmental concerns. I challenge you to get up off your fanny and act! Join me and the tens of thousands of people opposed to hunting on our own little piece of paradise, the Morro Bay National Estuary. Say "No!" unequivocally to the hunters. Say "No more!" to the California Fish and Game Commission. Say a big "No *!!-/-!*?/**#!! ing way!" to a federal government that values short term capital gain for a select few more than the survival of the last remaining natural resources on the Earth, and the value of diversity.
We have a choice! We have a voice!!
*Footnote: The definition of conservation is as follows; The act of keeping or protecting from loss or injury. For conservationist; One who advocates conservation of natural resources. So it follows that if you are saving a habitat and the lives of creatures with the intent of harming the creatures at a time in the future, then you are NOT a conservationist! As Farley Mowat so simply put it…"How do you love an animal with a gun?" |
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