Around the Web...

Back from a great weekend of wildlife watching, mushroom hunting, and eating and drinking with bloggers- more below (Or rather, above). But first let me catch up with the news, serious, unserious, amusing and distressing...

On our perrenial concern, AR, anti hunters and so on: the LAT does a fawning profile of Wayne Pacelle. Apart from the obvious two thing come to mind. First is his attitude to his girlfriend's cat. She says: "He just lets her be. So, of course, she just crawls on the counters and he lets her crawl up and sit on his chest. If he needs to work, he'll ask me to remove her."" I second Matt in finding that creepy!

Second: doesn't that whole crowd in the photo look like they are in dire need of cheeseburgers?

Anti- hunting: Vladimir Beregovoy sent a link to New York Post story on a proposed "Animal Rights" curriculum for New Jersey schools.

" "The Zargon Connection" is part of a free "Humane and Responsible Teachers" curriculum designed for grades pre-K-9. Created by the New Jersey Animal Rights Alliance (NJARA), the package includes classroom exercises, activities and lesson plans. These documents include NJARA advice like discouraging field trips to zoos and aquariums because they "perpetuate the belief that it's acceptable to imprison animals."

"One of NJARA's issues is the killing of wildlife for management or sport, and the Zargon Connection is the educational tool they want teachers to use - on sixth graders. It is a science fiction story in which Earth is invaded by Zargonians-aliens that hunt and eat human beings for sport.

(Snip)

"Occasionally, in a technique known as baiting, Zargonians will set up a fast food restaurant or pizza parlor and burst in on us while we eat, with their street sweepers blazing." "

Meanwhile, another uncomprehending anti weighs in in the Seattle P. I. (HT Tom McIntyre.) It is one of the worst rants I have seen yet.

"Speaking of happiness, there are many things that make me happy: visits from out-of-town friends, unsolicited hugs from my daughter, Kozy Shack Chocolate Pudding. But one thing stands out from all those warm and fuzzies, and that's when hunters are attacked by the animals they hunt.

(Snip)

"Call me callous and hard-hearted, but I can't help but cheer on the animal that defends its life against the human dressed up in clothes that resemble shrubbery armed with the high-powered rifle, night-vision scope, GPS unit, tree-stand, animal scents and alcohol-fueled macho bravado.

"Recent headlines that have given me great pleasure include:

"Hunter injured by rhino," "Mountain lion pounces on local hunter" and "Swedish hunter attacked by elk."

(Snip)

"And you know how hunters are. Once they get the big green light to overhunt, they are eager and more than willing to do so. Hey, bring the kids! Junior's old enough for his first kill."

Yeah, she knows how hunters are. BTW, she is described as a comedian.

From the same paper, Wendy Parker sent this story on the roller pigeon breeders who killed raptors. There is now an amendment to the Federal Migratory Bird Treaty in the works to make killing a protected bird a felony. I think this is overkill-- it has been illegal for years. Rebecca has a better and more thoughtful idea.

"Pigeoners lose hundreds of birds a year to hawks. Some racing pigeons may be worth tens of thousands of dollars. Even the rollers, not worth much more than a couple of bucks a piece, constitute thousands of dollars in birds, feed and labor not to mention love. The pigeoners have no great solutions for how to manage their two greatest foes, Cooper’s hawks and falcons. USFWS will neither allow them to trap the birds for relocation nor do they offer help to figure out how to live with raptors in their backyard. It is a challenging quandary. It is, in fact the sort of problem-solving that would be a worthy challenge to some talented avian trainers. In the smallest component the behavior to decrease is the raptor grabbing the pigeon."

RTWT.

Veganism is bad for the environment, says Wesley Smith.

(And isn't it always the veggies and antis who sound intolerant? Ever hear a carnivore say something like the PETA supporter he quotes: " When actress Jessica Simpson recently wore a T-shirt bearing the words “Real Girls Eat Meat,” the animal-rights zealots pounced. “Jessica Simpson might have a right to wear what she wants,” a PETA spokesperson said, “but she doesn’t have a right to eat what she wants...")

Enough gloom! Next, food; then, fun & cool stuff...