Maine Friends Of Animals Reveals Its Real Agenda
May 7, 2007
Robert Fisk Jr. of Falmouth, Maine, president of the Maine Friends of Animals, shows all of Maine what’s really on his mind in an editorial in the Portland Press Herald this morning.
The dictionary defines “hunt” as 1. “to pursue (game or wild animals) for food or sport” or 2. “to seek out, to search for.” There is one common thread in the three methods Maine allows in the killing of black bears: there is no hunt or pursuit. There is no pursuit in shooting a bear from a tree stand with its head in a bait bucket, a hound-treed bear or a trapped or snared bear. Hunting without pursuit is just killing.
Mr. Fisk is discussing the upcoming public hearing at the Augusta Civic Center on Tuesday in which concerned Maine citizens can voice their opinions about a proposed bill LD1635 to ban bear trapping. The bill is about bear trapping but Maine Friends of Animals is about banning hunting and trapping. Fisk clearly states his agenda above.
He also calls the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine and the Maine Trappers Association as “conservative and inflexible a hunting lobby as there is in this country”. This is because they don’t see things the way he does. What good would it do to call the Maine Friends of Animals the most liberal, inflexible animal rights lobby in this country? This is not the issue. The issue is what the people of Maine want not the ideals of people like Fisk.
I take exception to much of what Fisk writes about but I want to focus on two issues he brings up. The first is his statement about extreme measures of the hunting lobby.
Hunting numbers continue to drop in conjunction with the rapid growth of non-hunters moving to southern Maine, yet extreme positions on wildlife issues by Maine’s hunting lobby continue.
Is Maine Friends of Animals interested in the truth? The reason the number of hunters has decreased in Maine is because of loss of hunting lands. This is the number one cause of reduced hunting participation nationwide. The reason there is a loss of hunting lands is because non-hunters, as Fisk calls them, are moving into Maine and buying up the land once inhabited by our wildlife. These same people who Fisk tries to convince us are out to save the animals are doing more to kill them than any hunter or trapper in Maine ever has. Isn’t it time to talk about the real facts instead of a continued barrage of false claims and incomplete facts?
Whether Mr. Fisk would ever admit it or not, it is organizations like his that has forced Maine and its people to take up positions that he refers to as extreme. Maine’s extreme positions have resulted in hunters and trappers giving up a lot and getting nothing in return except more lawsuits and referendums. When MFOA clearly states that its objectives are to ban bear hunting, there is absolutely no reason for Maine trappers and hunters to show any interest in giving once again.
The second issue is Mr. Fisk’s impression that his idealistic world of urban wildlife management and fantasy lands living should be crammed down the throats of the Maine people. He throws out facts and figures in an attempt to convince the Maine people that the majority of Maine citizens want his lifestyle.
Non-consumptive users of wildlife — such as sightseers, kayakers, primitive outdoor campers, bird watchers, hikers and photographers — outnumber all hunters and fisherman combined in Maine 2 to 1. For the past 15 years, the number of non-consumptive users of wildlife has grown each year while the number of hunters has decreased yearly — another political and economic reality the hunting lobby disregards.
The reason that it is disregarded is because it’s not true. What Fisk fails to point out is that even though the number of hunters in Maine is outnumbered by non-hunters, the overwhelming majority of Maine residents support hunting, fishing and trapping as a necessary part of wildlife management and it is a strong part of Maine’s heritage.
Calling sightseers, kayakers, etc. non-consumptive users is a misnomer. Although these recreational activities mostly do not directly consume wildlife, the effects they have on the environment can and do negatively effect our wildlife.
What Fisk fails to mention as well is the fact that it has been the hunters, fishermen and trappers that have paid the money so Maine wildlife is available for all to enjoy. The problem is he and is ilk have no room for others. It’s all about them and their wishes without a thought or care for those who find hunting, fishing and trapping a necessary and respected part of their lifestyles.
As long as there are extreme animal rights groups like Maine Friends of Animals, Humane Society of the United States, PETA and dozens more, it is clearly in the best interest of Maine’s residents to fight tooth and nail against those wishing to force their ideals onto others.
In 2004 the voters spoke. Perhaps then the Maine people weren’t sold on bear trapping but they were skeptical of the long range goals of groups like Maine Friends of Animals. They should remain skeptical as well and fight these groups.
History shows truth and the truth is these groups NEVER stop with one victory. Should this bill pass the legislature, I guarantee it will not stop. It never does. There is not one case in the U.S. where any animal protection group has won a case and went away satisfied. Not one. They always come back. Maine Friends of Animals will not stop until they have successfully banned all hunting, all trapping, all fishing and given animals more rights and a better lifestyle that the citizens of Maine.
Tom Remington
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