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The Bloody Business of the Trophy Hunters

September 11, 2007 By: SoVeg Category: Hunting Sucks

The following article can be found http://independant.co.uk

By David Randall and Jonathan Owen

Published: 09 September 2007

Rich “sportsmen” are paying up to $35,000 per trip to hunt down and kill polar bears, which are then stuffed and mounted for display.

An IoS investigation has identified 10 companies offering polar bear hunting trips. On many of their websites are images of bloody bear carcasses, besides which a grinning hunter poses with gun or crossbow.

Some animals appear to have several wounds, indicating that their deaths were less the climax to a sport and more a slow execution on ice. Experts estimate that around 1,000 of the world’s 22,000-25,000 remaining polar bears are killed each year.

About 150 of these are shot by hunters in Canada, 200 by poachers in Russia, and the remainder by native peoples in Canada, the US and Greenland.

And the number of officially sanctioned kills is increasing. Two years ago, Canada upped its quota for hunting by 28 per cent to 518, Greenland (in an attempt to stem the 250 or so unofficial kills) laid down an annual quota, and Russia, where poaching is a major problem, is about to lift its ban on hunting for the first time in 50 years.

In Canada, each Inuit community decides how many polar bear “tags” it will retain, and how many it will sell to trophy hunters. Hunting trip firms then sell these “tags”, plus travel and accommodation, as part of a package deal. Alaska Hunting Safaris, for example, invites hunters to “Join us on the adventure of a lifetime for the thrill of chasing the Arctic’s greatest trophy animal, the polar bear!”

Demand is strong. Alaska-based Adventures in the Wild has already sold out its polar bear hunting trips for next year and reports that polar bear tags are selling out within days of becoming available.

Once in the Arctic, the clients travel by dog sled accompanied by local guides. On sighting a bear, the dogs chase down the bears until, exhausted and trapped, they can be shot at by the tourists.

Companies assure clients that local back-up is on hand to help “finish the job”. In a Safari Club International newsletter, one hunter, who went with Pokiak Guiding and Outfitting in Canada, describes the killing of a 10ft bear: “I squeezed off my .416 [gun]. I heard the immediate WHACK – but he didn’t go down! The bear lunged toward the open water… I continued to shoot, and I could hear the rounds hitting, but this grand old bear would not go quietly.

“All of a sudden, he crashed through the ice and finally succumbed in a pond-sized area of slushy ice water… I watched from the hard ice as James and Jacob went to work to recover my prized trophy… An exhilarating moment!”

Polar bear trophies are also in demand from collectors. Rugs can sell for $10,000 apiece, with illegal kills in Russia believed to be the main source. But skins are available in Canada, too.

An IoS reporter was offered one by www.Bear-SkinWorld.com. “We have one polar bear rug which has just been completed from our production line. We have not yet posted this polar bear on our web site. He measures 7ft 6ins from nose to tail. Price is $12,000, plus shipping.”

Canadians say polar bear hunting is properly managed to ensure the viability of bear populations, and Inuit representatives say that the income from sports hunting is vital for the survival of their communities.

———I’d love to hear you opinions. Feel free to comment. Trophy hunting is a brutal waste of life as far as Mr. SoVeg is concerned.

I recently moved, and decided to get digital cable at the new place. I neeeeed my National Geographic and Animal Planet. For the first few months we get all of the channels that are available. I noticed on the guide a channel called Wild TV. It sounded like another fun nature channel to me…

Turns out Wild TV is a hunting and fishing channel. I found out quite quickly as they were just shooting a walrus as I flicked to it. I find it hard to believe that people find killing innocent wildlife entertaining. Not only to participate in, but to watch on TV with a bowl of popcorn in their stupid lap.

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Great Vegetarian Quotes # 2

September 06, 2007 By: SoVeg Category: Vegetarian Quotes

“If slaughterhouses had glass walls, everyone would be a vegetarian.” - Paul McCartney

“The love for all living creatures is the most noble attribute of man.” - Charles Darwin

”Wild animals never kill for sport. Man is the only one to whom the torture and death of his fellow creatures is amusing in itself.” - James A. Froude (1818-1894)

“I am not systematic at all when it comes to religion. I just love life. And I’m not judgmental. And I’m a vegetarian.” - Erykah Badu

“I’m a vegetarian - I think there’s a strong possibility, had I not become a vegetarian, I would not be working now. I became a vegetarian about 25 years ago, and I did it out of concern for animals. But I immediately began having more energy and feeling better.” - Bob Barker

“I’ve been a vegetarian for years and years. I’m not judgemental about others who aren’t, I just feel I cannot eat or wear living creatures.” - Drew Barrymore

“Intellectually, human beings and animals may be different, but it’s pretty obvious that animals have a rich emotional life and that they feel joy and pain. It’s easy to forget the connection between a hamburger and the cow it came from. But I forced myself to acknowledge the fact that every time I ate a hamburger, a cow had ceased to breathe and moo and walk around.” - Moby

“I think there’s something odd about eating another living anything.” - Shania Twain

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One Year Since Steve Irwin’s Death

September 04, 2007 By: SoVeg Category: SoVeg & Slightly Random

It has been one year since a man who loved animals for a living died doing what he loved. Steve Irwin passed away after being fatally pierced in the heart by a stingray barb. He died chasing nature.

Not everyone agreed with what Irwin he did for a living, but no one will disagree with that fact that he felt he was doing the right thing. No one will disagree with the fact that he educated and inspired millions of people to not only care about the future of those animals, but also our environment.

His passion and fate were reminiscent of another animal loving environmentalist named Timothy Treadwell, who filmed but did not complete the documentary, “Grizzly Man“, before he was killed, by a member of the very species he was trying to protect. The fourth anniversary of his untimely death is just over one month away.

Many thought Treadwell was crazy, they found he was doing nothing but interfering with nature, and causing those animals to stop fearing humans. This may be correct, but both Irwin and Treadwell were great people that should be remembered and looked upon in a positive manor.

What these crazy humans were truly passionate about was educating humanity about these animals in order to protect and conserve them and their habitats.

-Mr. SoVeg

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Al Gore Isn’t Vegetarian? WTF?!?

September 04, 2007 By: SoVeg Category: The Environment

I’m in a bit of shock right now after stumbling over this video on youtube. Yes, Glen Beck is a dick head, but this video is worth watching. I have always assumed that Gore was a vegetarian or vegan. Silly me. How can he preach to the world about global warming when he is not making the most important step himself? With his movie, “An Inconvenient Truth”, and the speeches he has made world wide, how can this be? Oh yeah, don’t forgot about Live Earth. Live Earth was/is Gore’s brain child. Watch this video, and leave your thoughts if you wish.

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Cheap Vegetables Everywhere

August 31, 2007 By: SoVeg Category: SoVeg & Slightly Random

Who would have figured moving out of the big city would give me more options? In the city there was only one near by farmers market that was only open for a hand full of hours on Saturday morning. Now that I have moved back to the country, I live within walking distance of two wonderful and CHEAP fruit and vegetable markets.

Today I decided I needed to barbeque some corn, even though it was pouring outside. I picked up eight monster ears of corn, 5 pounds of lil’ baby potatoes, and a big honkin’ zucchini for 5 bucks. Then I stopped into the other market and bought a pound of fresh blueberries, a loaf of freshy baked brown bread, a bunch of bananas, a few bulbs of fresh garlic, and four giant tomatoes for 10 bucks! 15 dollars and I can feed an army.

I absolutely love being a vegetarian. Everything you eat is so clean and fresh. There is no need to worry about foodborne illnesses such as salmonella, and E. coli. Not only that, but you are helping save the world living meat-free, especially if you support your local markets and keep produce transportation to a minimum. Livestock production is an absolute earth killer. Eat your beets and carrots!

-Mr. SoVeg

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