Queensland, Australia, has permanently ended bird hunting through a regulatory ruling, joining New South Wales,the Australian Capital Territory,and Western Australia.
From the January/ February issue of Shooting Sportsman (not on line):
" 'This is not an appropriate activity in contemporary life in the Smart State" [sic], announced Premier Peter Beattie. The number of citizens who wrote letters opposing recreational hunting was nearly twice that of the number of licensed hunters, and when the matter went before an Animal Welfare Advisory Committee, it "advised that the likely rate of wounding was unnacceptable and consequently the level of pain and suffering through wounding would be unreasonably high.' "
Lessons?
Ask not for whom the bell tolls...
Democracy is NOT a panacea...
Australia, beloved of the sort of neocons and liberals who believe in a mythical "Anglosphere", is one of the ultimate nanny states... ask any Aussie of libertarian sentiments. We won't even mention Canada.
Meanwhile in England, where despite the government freedom- minded people seem to be more active then in the Antipodes, innovative sportsmen continue to improvise. Sir Terence Clark tells me that muzzled greyhounds are being run in what are being called "trials". Hares are driven out of a wood onto a field, and two greyhounds are slipped to "flush" them. They pursue the hares across the field to another field, where two guns await them. Since the hounds don't do the catching, he adds, "All of this is legal within the Hunting Act". !! Similarly, other English friends with salukis that formerly coursed have added saker falcons to the team as the ultimate catchers.
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