Saturday, October 01, 2005
Pig Follies again
A judge has upheld the ruling to kill exotic opigs on Santa Cruz Island, and Animal Rightists are upset, of course. I think Reid Farmer has the right idea: "It's a scary thought if one of these suits wins. I mean, in principle, I'm all for pig condoms. But I think the plaintiff and his attorneys should be stationed at the island to help the pigs put them on."
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3 comments:
I have nothing against killing the pigs, of course. But I do wish that it could be accomplished by hunters rather than New Zealand "sharpshooters" (who are the ones who the contract for this).
It seems that certain folks believe it is better if no one actually enjoys killing the pigs. I think it would be better just to have a no-limits, no restrictions pig season. Hunters get pig meat and a fun hunt for a good game animal.
The same goes for the fallow and axis deer they are killing at Point Reyes.
I have hunted sika deer on the Virginia coastal island of Assateague. Yes, they are non-native, but they were a great game animal. The idea that "non-native animals are evil" has become a bit of dogma in conservation circles. It's a complicated topic but the animals themselves are not evil. And you have to respect the way they thrive in a new setting.
Matt, I agree with you 100%. Anyone who reads this knows I am not reflexively anti-"exotic", and I think hunters are a MUCH better way to deal with the problem, though I don't know if it's possible (politically) in southern Cal under Federal rules.
Tom McIntye has a piece coming out (Field and Stream?) on the sadness of totally exterminating beautiful game animals we put there just because they are non- native. I am sure there is a level of deer population, for instance, that natives could live with, IF they are hunted.
Frankly the issue with getting hunters to Santa Cruz Island to exterminate pigs is more a matter of logistics than game laws. In essence, in the state of California there is year-round open season on pigs and no bag limit. To be more precise, you have to have a pig tag for each pig - the tags are $1 apiece - and you can buy as many tags as you want.
On the mainland, pigs are plentiful, and there is plenty of BLM and USFS land to hunt on. If you want to hunt pig is it very easy and has been for many years.
To get to Santa Cruz it would cost you $60 for a ferry ticket, plus you would have to pay a NPS camping fee as there is nowhere else to stay, plus your hunt would have to be completely on foot as you cannot take a vehicle. Vehicles are discouraged for the same reason
You could waive some fees, but why would a hunter go to the trouble of going to the island when you can more easily and cheaply hunt in your own backyard?
I agree with you emotionally, but as a practical matter I don't think it would work.
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