Saturday, November 24, 2012
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Tejon Ranch Slaughter of Mountain Lions--A Disgrace and Proof that Greed Knows No Limits
From PEACE to CA's DFG Strategic Vision Program, Sect'y of NR; DFG; FGC, Assemblyman Huffman:
We were pleased when Assembly Member Huffman’s AB 2376 passed. We have been guardedly optimistic, have followed the DFG Strategic Vision process, and appreciate all the transparency with the online information. Although we believe that the Stakeholder Advisory Group is unfairly balanced in favor of recreational killing and thus not reflective of the state’s population; that some of the comments regarding the Mountain Lion Initiative and the Governor Brown administration are inappropriate; and that other political comments made by the consumptive SAG members indicate some SAG members do not want to face reality, the wonderful level of professionalism and intelligence exhibited by others were enough to offset those irritants. We want to remain hopeful that the Strategic Vision process will result in positive changes to DFG and FGC.
Now, however, with the news of the horrific and arrogant disregard for the law by Tejon Ranch, with officials claiming no knowledge of illegal mountain lion killing (for no reason other than greed) and expecting the public to swallow it, with fines that are so small as to be meaningless, and with a continuation of trophy hunts to continue when the Tejon Ranch officials so decide, all bets are off the table with regard to our optimism. This disregard for the law, little to no enforcement, and phony proclamations of being ethical hunters, have created and reinforced the tainted public perception of recreational killers and the cozy cronyism with DFG as a good ol’ boy “hunt” club. As a result, with DFG marching lockstep along with the perpetrators, it’s no wonder the public doesn’t think highly of DFG. Game Wardens are another story, but the DFG itself has another black eye.
Although the Tejon Ranch SAG member may have been unaware, the bottom line is that because these illegal killings are rumored to have been in practice for decades (with a disdain of the Mountain Lion initiative mentioned more than once by another SAG member), Tejon Ranch has absolutely no business serving on the SAG, any more than a “Poacher Alliance” would. The representative should resign, or be asked to step down. Otherwise, it’s just another “wink, wink” story, indicative of where DFG’s alignments really are, how paltry penalties are the norm, and how law enforcement is subservient to money and politics.
The involvement of Tejon Ranch in the Strategic Vision process is disgraceful and brings all SAG member real motives or “agendas” into question, especially if their organization is guilty of such an atrocity against wildlife and/or our natural resources. To be fair, probably many, if not most, of the other SAG members may be serving in good faith with integrity, but now, we can never be certain—all are suspect.
Randall Cleveland for the PEACE Team
We were pleased when Assembly Member Huffman’s AB 2376 passed. We have been guardedly optimistic, have followed the DFG Strategic Vision process, and appreciate all the transparency with the online information. Although we believe that the Stakeholder Advisory Group is unfairly balanced in favor of recreational killing and thus not reflective of the state’s population; that some of the comments regarding the Mountain Lion Initiative and the Governor Brown administration are inappropriate; and that other political comments made by the consumptive SAG members indicate some SAG members do not want to face reality, the wonderful level of professionalism and intelligence exhibited by others were enough to offset those irritants. We want to remain hopeful that the Strategic Vision process will result in positive changes to DFG and FGC.
Now, however, with the news of the horrific and arrogant disregard for the law by Tejon Ranch, with officials claiming no knowledge of illegal mountain lion killing (for no reason other than greed) and expecting the public to swallow it, with fines that are so small as to be meaningless, and with a continuation of trophy hunts to continue when the Tejon Ranch officials so decide, all bets are off the table with regard to our optimism. This disregard for the law, little to no enforcement, and phony proclamations of being ethical hunters, have created and reinforced the tainted public perception of recreational killers and the cozy cronyism with DFG as a good ol’ boy “hunt” club. As a result, with DFG marching lockstep along with the perpetrators, it’s no wonder the public doesn’t think highly of DFG. Game Wardens are another story, but the DFG itself has another black eye.
Although the Tejon Ranch SAG member may have been unaware, the bottom line is that because these illegal killings are rumored to have been in practice for decades (with a disdain of the Mountain Lion initiative mentioned more than once by another SAG member), Tejon Ranch has absolutely no business serving on the SAG, any more than a “Poacher Alliance” would. The representative should resign, or be asked to step down. Otherwise, it’s just another “wink, wink” story, indicative of where DFG’s alignments really are, how paltry penalties are the norm, and how law enforcement is subservient to money and politics.
The involvement of Tejon Ranch in the Strategic Vision process is disgraceful and brings all SAG member real motives or “agendas” into question, especially if their organization is guilty of such an atrocity against wildlife and/or our natural resources. To be fair, probably many, if not most, of the other SAG members may be serving in good faith with integrity, but now, we can never be certain—all are suspect.
Randall Cleveland for the PEACE Team
Monday, January 2, 2012
Instead of attending any bull riding events this year, gather other humane, like-minded folks and picket the events instead of paying to watch mayhem.
Bull riding and rodeo event promoters will try to hide behind meaningless claims of family values, the flag, patriotism, and, oh yes, honoring the troops in order to try to wrench support for a horribly cruel exploitation of otherwise gentle farm animals. They will try to gain attendees by elevating their self-created pedestal for the American cowboy.
The truth of the matter is that cowboys NEVER rode bulls. They understood cruelty, and they didn’t need to prove their manhood with such arbitrary and contrived animal abuse. We can only hope that citizens will not be suckered into all the phony hype and rhetoric that is used to mask the inhumane treatment of animals.
Communities are now recognizing the suffering these types of animal exploitation events inflict on innocent livestock and are rightfully forbidding them from taking place within their boundaries. Contact your city council; write your letters to the editor: Bring dignity and integrity back to your community and region, instead of being bullied into holding such obnoxious events. If it’s the bull ride they want, then get mechanical bulls and spare the unwilling participants.
Bull riding and rodeo event promoters will try to hide behind meaningless claims of family values, the flag, patriotism, and, oh yes, honoring the troops in order to try to wrench support for a horribly cruel exploitation of otherwise gentle farm animals. They will try to gain attendees by elevating their self-created pedestal for the American cowboy.
The truth of the matter is that cowboys NEVER rode bulls. They understood cruelty, and they didn’t need to prove their manhood with such arbitrary and contrived animal abuse. We can only hope that citizens will not be suckered into all the phony hype and rhetoric that is used to mask the inhumane treatment of animals.
Communities are now recognizing the suffering these types of animal exploitation events inflict on innocent livestock and are rightfully forbidding them from taking place within their boundaries. Contact your city council; write your letters to the editor: Bring dignity and integrity back to your community and region, instead of being bullied into holding such obnoxious events. If it’s the bull ride they want, then get mechanical bulls and spare the unwilling participants.
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