science ( when it suits them ), means undeniable data with concrete outcomes among a world of variables . Population surveys , reasonable data and scientific principles that have been wildly successful in the recovery and management of wildlife for more than a century are no longer acceptable . Their answer is to pause all hunting until we have that data and all associated possibilities of it in hand , which is impossible to ever obtain or keep current . We ’ ve seen this tactic deployed during the Washington and California bear fights this spring .
BREAKING IT ALL Whether it ’ s denying science or evoking legitimacy , democracy and public opinion , the goal of the animal-rights movement is the same : to end all hunting . To do so , they ’ re focusing on predator hunting . Predator management is just one cog in the model , but it ’ s the one cog that can single-handedly bring down the entire model .
By ending predator management , mountain lions , wolves , coyotes , black bears and grizzly bears proliferate and have free reign . Increased predators on the landscape means increased pressure on ungulate populations . As ungulate populations drop to lower and lower levels due to predation , habitat loss , invasive species and severe weather , state fish and game agencies will have no recourse except to continually reduce the number of tags available for hunters .
As sportsmen , we hunt the biological surplus of available animals within specific habitats . If there is no surplus , then there are no tags issued and there is no hunting season . Without hunting seasons , especially for deer , there is no revenue stream through license and tag sales or via excise taxes on equipment sales .
At this point , the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation will collapse upon itself . Without a model that manages wildlife and provides funding , habitats , ecosystems and wildlife itself will all suffer . A broken model gives the animal-rights movement the opportunity to introduce a new model that reflects their utopian beliefs . some , “ keystone ” species . In North America , those species are usually large predators .
The three pillars work together to create a circular argument completely devoid of reality and the presence of society . The expansion of large carnivore ranges also works to fuel further extension and protections for core and corridor ranges . The model allows for endless goalpost moving : if all three aren ’ t complete , then more protections are necessary . Once all three are in place , then the goalpost is moved again until the exchange of genetics is legally documented and consistently established between core habitats .
We ’ re seeing this exact model and argument in action when it comes to the delisting of wolves and grizzly bears . A crux of delisting through Distinct Population Segments is the impact of one population upon the other , the threat of the loss of genetic diversity and the need to connect one population with another — each of which has scientific and legal thresholds to satisfy .
This is the ultimate goal of true believers in animal rights — to break the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation by ending predator management and removing hunters from the model . Eliminating tools such as sporting dogs , trapping , public-land access and lead ammunition from the model will damage it , but removing predator management will eventually destroy it .
This is what they ’ re attempting . This is what the Sportsmen ’ s Alliance has fought for four decades . This is why deer hunters in the South , East and Midwest need to step up to protect predator hunting in the West . Because as they win the West , the army of activists will move across the country demanding the same legal protections and scientific documentation of wolves , mountain lions , bears and coyotes that they ’ re pushing in Washington , California , Colorado and Arizona now .
As grizzly bear , wolf , mountain lion and other predator populations increase , wildlife managers are faced with reducing the number of big-game tags available to hunters .
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REWILDING : ACTIVISTS ’ FANTASY The unrealistic model espoused by animal-rights advocates is that of “ rewilding .” First coined in 1990 by the radical environmental group Earth First !, rewilding sounds reasonably simplistic to the uninformed . Its basic mantra is : cores , corridors and carnivores .
CORES : True to its extreme environmental roots , rewilding works hand-in-hand with preservation ( as opposed to conservation ) and relies on the protection of vast amounts of wilderness from multiple use and the effects of mankind — even the involvement of man in any way .
CORRIDORS : Once forests and wildernesses have been protected , corridors with sufficient habitats to allow the travel of enough of an animal species from one core to another core area is required for genetic diversity .
CARNIVORES : Animals that have a disproportionate impact on an ecosystem compared to their numerical abundance are , according to
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