Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Three-pronged Assault on Texas Hunting

I dunno if this has been discussed on these boards. I just posted this up on the 'Fire too...

Three assaults currently on Texas hunting, not coincidentally all can be found on the Humane Society of the United States' website.

First was a special on canned hunts featuring a sting operation done by the HSUS "Most Unfair Game...

http://video.humanesociety.org/video/1010446395001/

Second is a bill aimed at banning the transport of exotic game for purposes of hunting....

http://www.humanesociety.org/news/press_...ess_061711.html

The Sportsmanship in Hunting Act of 2011, H.R. 2210, would prohibit the interstate transport of exotic (non-native) mammals for the purpose of killing them for trophies or entertainment in fenced areas smaller than 1,000 acres.

The sting operation was legit, and some folks here might agree with HR 2210 above.

For my own part, I could care less if they shot 'em someone's back yard as long as it was quick, safe, and reasonably humane. This is a billion dollar industry in Texas and keeps a lot of ranches as ranches and not subdivisions.

But to me the last is the most egregious, restoring full Endangered Species protection to scimitar-horned orynx and two other species bred in Texas....

http://www.humanesociety.org/news/press_releases/2011/07/canned_hunt_lawsuit_antelopes_070811.html

A lawsuit filed by The Humane Society of the United States over the sport-hunting of endangered antelopes at captive hunts, also known as �canned� hunts, has resulted in a new proposed rule by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to prohibit the shooting of these species without individual permits

This completely overlooks the fact that these species have reached such exemplary numbers in Texas precisely BECAUSE they have been bred for hunting/shooting whatever you want to call it.

The only thing I would like to see is a breeders' registry, designed to keep the very small original wild gene pool of these species as represented in Texas as diverse as possible.

On account of it will be put in place by appointees, I expect the USFWS regulations to be put into place. For the house bill, I expect the Humane Society is PO'd they didn't pull all this off before the last election.

Birdwatcher

It's a shame that it is an impasse to get beyond the emotional and irrational mentality of these folks.

Bamberger Ranch has one of if not the best breeding programs in the world for Scimitar Horned Oryx with exemplary record keeping and scientifically based breeding programs. Yet they are constantly under fire on the surplus animal issue.

Most of the original range is either a War zone or an area of failed croplands and starvation, so there is no place to relocate the surplus animals if it were possible.

Hope SCI and other groups stay after it. Even the Wildlife Federation understands the value of captive breeding and the need for it to be self sustaining.

I understand their distaste for folks shooting animals in a small pen. Certainly not my preferred method of hunting. What I take issue with is how the humane society and lots of others sell these acts as being the most prevalent method "hunting."

John

I believe that is the absolutely worst state for such a proposal.

Unfortunately Texas is a trophy state plain and simple. I do not hunt for trophies (I hunt for meat), and refuse to pay someone to shoot cattle in a fenced-in enclosure. I disagree with high-fence operations, but if it's legal and that's what you enjoy by all means enjoy your canned hunt.

A buddy of mine, and myself could have killed 3 elk each for the cost it took use to hunt on public land in Colorado by simply going to a high-fence ranch in Texas. No sport in that, we took the "no guarantee" hunt and went on public land.

I'll grant you that I haven't read the Endangered Species Act (probably should one day), but I don't see how any non-native animals (especially animals that are essentially livestock in the case of the animals bred on ranches) are considered covered by an act intended to protect animals native to the U.S. If the folks in India suddenly had a change of heart and ate all the cattle they have wandering around their country, would the Brahma cattle in the U.S. then be subject to ESA protections?

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On another topic, if someone wants to shoot livestock, that's between the shooter and the person who owns the livestock. I'm not disparaging those who hunt exotic species on large high-fenced areas of ranches. There are species bred and raised in Texas that have practically disappeared in their native habitat in the Old World, and there should be incentive, not disincentive, for ranchers to keep the species alive.

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On yet another topic, I'm surprised that Texas ranchers don't have hunts for feral ("wild") Brahma cattle. Can't see how buffalo hunting in Africa would be any more dangerous than hunting herds of wild Brahmas on a 20,000 acre ranch. Could sell the meat as free-range beef, too, if the shooter didn't want all of it. Perhaps such hunts are available and just aren't publicized.

The most important issue here is the fact that exotic hunting in Texas is in fact preserving endangered, threatened, and animals that are next to extinct in the wild. Since the animals generate cash there is a concerted effort to preserve the animals with a nice diverse genetic base. If north Africa was ever to be able to sort out their socio economic issues Texas could repopulate all of the large mammals. GRF

These animals are livestock, nothing more. If it's illegal to transport or shoot them, then it should also be illegal to transport or shoot a steer for beef. Of course the HSUS would be more than happy to make that illegal, too.

I am not a pen guy and I would not want to go to Texas to hunt. But I am against any thing HSUS is for so I would support you guys as much as possible. I am so tired of these tirds trying to force their beliefs and ideas on us. Hope you guys give them a licking down there. The big issue is they are rentless and will just keep hammering away until they get their way.