Wildlife Alliance Of Maine Misleading Voters Already
April 30, 2007
LD1635 is another bill to end trapping bear in Maine. The problem is, like with all bills presented by preservationists and animal rights groups, that is not their full intent and that’s the part that is most disturbing.
What most people in Maine and across the United States don’t understand and are seldom given the chance to make up their own minds based on facts, is that there is not one known case where an organization such as the Wildlife Alliance of Maine, has waged a battle to end one aspect of hunting or trapping and went away satisfied with their successes. No, they only go away to ready themselves for the next campaign to end one more aspect until they have achieved their final agenda – a hunting and trapping free society.
They won’t admit it because doing so reveals to the people who they really are so they resort to tactics of misinformation, distortion of facts, fear mongering, deceit and threats to get what they want.
The Wildlife Alliance of Maine is making another attempt at banning bear trapping. In 2004 voters said no, as WAM teamed up with other outside the state animal rights groups, to end bear trapping, bear baiting and hunting bear with dogs. Some thought they bit off too big a chunk and that if they had only gone after trapping, it would have passed. As was predicted, they are back and we are to believe they only want to ban trapping?
How stupid are Maine people? Can they be hoodwinked into believing that WAM ONLY wants to stop bear trapping? WAM is attempting to make their case now.
On May 8th, there will be a public hearing at the Augusta Civic Center to discuss this bill. Everyone is encouraged to attend. Leading up to that meeting, WAM has gone hi-tech and has produced a video to run on You Tube.
The video clearly depicts who is behind the effort and what their long term goals are. It is labeled as a “spoof” in an article in today’s Kennebec Journal.
Daryl Dejoy, head of the 700-member Wildlife Alliance of Maine, said the video on YouTube is meant to be a spoof that shows a “good looking guy in his 30s” who is out for a day of bear hunting.
Aside from the fact that the guy is not a hunter – and please don’t ask me to explain how I know that – and the guy “ain’t from around heeya is he”, I want to know what happened to the ban on trapping?
WAM is the sponsor of LD1635 which is to stop bear trapping, yet this video, admittedly created by WAM, shows a guy setting a box of Dunkin’ Donuts down under a tree and steps back to wait for a bear to come out. When this happens the “city slicker” with a gun tells himself to “sshhhh!” and then shoots the bear. He ends that with, “Now that’s trapping!”
When someone uses a manipulative tactic such as this to con the public into believing this is what bear trapping is like, they label it as a spoof to deflect attention away from the fact that it is nothing more than a tactic to wrongfully misguide the voters.
Then DeJoy lets readers no how sensitive a man he really is.
“We have real bear trapping videos we would never show because they are very disturbing,” he said.
The real issue here that Maine voters need to focus on is what is the intent behind LD1635? Whether you as a voter believe that trapping bears should or shouldn’t be part of Maine culture, I’m reminding you again of past history. It will not stop here. It will not stop after they have banned hunting bears with dogs. It will not stop once they have banned the use of baits. It will not stop once they have banned hunting. Whether you want to believe that or not, that is your business but you can’t argue with facts and the facts are clear. This is why I am opposed to LD1635. I’m finished with always giving and getting nothing in return. I’m putting my foot down.
Skip Trask, head of the Maine Trappers Association and the Maine Professional Guides Association, issued a letter last week encouraging everyone to attend the public hearing in Augusta.
Good afternoon -
The public hearing on LD 1635, An Act To Prohibit Recreational Bear Trapping, will be held at 1 PM on Tuesday, May 8th, in the Androscoggin Room at the Augusta Civic Center. This bill could represent the beginning of the end for all trapping in Maine.
This bill was submitted by WAM, a Bangor-based animal protection group. WAM and other animal protection groups are going “all out” to get this bill passed. If they are successful, they plan to go after hunting bears with dogs and bear baiting. WAM has recently stated publicly that they oppose all recreational trapping. These same people, under another name, eliminated the coyote control program with threats of a lawsuit. WAM is currently working cooperatively with the Animal Protection Institute on the lawsuit filed in Bangor to eliminate all land trapping in areas frequented by eagles and lynx. WAM is desperate for any kind of victory in their efforts to ban activities with which they don’t agree – a victory on the bear trapping bill would build their confidence, increase their membership and generate the donations necessary to finance their future attacks on hunting and trapping. We cannot let that happen!
Trappers and other sportsmen must defeat this bill. We must fill the Civic Center on May 8th! WAM is bragging that they will have 500 people there. Although I question if they can generate that kind of turnout, we must generate a bigger “show of force” than they do. This bill is going to be very difficult to defeat. If we don’t send a strong enough message on the 8th, the bill will almost certainly be enacted. Our bear trapping will be done and other activities that we enjoy will be much more vulnerable. Please come to the Civic Center on the 8th. Get there at noon if possible. The MTA will be passing out orange MTA decals to all our supporters. We have 1000 decals, and we’d love to use them all! Other sportsmen’s organizations are also calling on their members to attend the hearing, but trappers and guides have always turned up at these types of hearings in the greatest numbers, and we need for you to do it again.
It would be great if some of you could come to the hearing prepared to say a few words about why this bill should be defeated. Explain how the bill would be detrimental to you or your business. If you plan to speak, plan to be very brief – two minutes is plenty (if a lot of people show up to testify, speakers may be instructed to limit their comments to a couple of minutes). I’ll try to be the first to testify – I’ll be speaking officially for both the MTA and the MPGA. That will set the stage for others to speak in opposition to the bill. If you plan to speak, I’d encourage you to know what you’re going to say ahead of time – write it down. The more people that testify, the better, but KEEP IT BRIEF. Long drawn out testimony irritates legislators, and they loose interest.
I’m a little concerned that it might be difficult on a nice day in early May to get the kind of turnout we need on this bill. For planning purposes (and also to give me some peace of mind), it would be great if you could email me quickly and let me know that you are planning to attend the hearing,whether or not you plan to testify and how many folks you will be bringing with you.
The work session on this bill is scheduled for 1 PM on Thursday, May 10th, in the F&W Committee Room (Room 206), in the Cross Office Building – the large grey building directly west of the State Capital Building. We also need to fill that room with trappers, guides and other sportsmen on the 10th, but it is much more important that you attend the public hearing.
Thank you in advance for your help and support on this critical issue. Our future is at stake!
Skip
Tom Remington
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[...] Over this weekend I was talking with Tom over at the Black Bear Blog about this topic. So when I came upon this article I sent the link to him. Tom had already been up and about this morning and had covered the story on his Black Bear Blog. Tom does a fabulous job describing this issue in great detail. To read what Tom has to say go to the Black Bear Blog. [...]
What lame video. And how many bears do you see out in the dead of winter?
We have to fight these people every step of the way. I’ll be there on the 8th to at least fill a seat.
Great job as usual on the article Tom.
Thanks, Albert. You know I have so many things come at over this foolishness, I never thought about the winter issue. Great work! I’[m glad you’ll be there on the 8th. I’m still in Florida otherwise you can bet I’d be there.
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