Posted on 04/05/2005 5:57:50 PM PDT by wagglebee
GERING, Neb. -- The ibex head was jammed next to the moose, whose velvety antlers brushed against a rare red lechwe and an African bongo. Below them were several preserved bobcats, and at the far end of the storage container stood endangered leopards, frozen in lifelike mid-prowl.
In all, there were more than 800 big-game and exotic animals piled into an old railroad car behind the Wyobraska Wildlife Museum, a modest and lightly visited facility here, far from any population center. It was just one of four large containers packed with animal mounts and skins -- trophies shot on expedition or safari to places such as South Africa, Mongolia and game-hunting parks in Texas.
Most of the animals are destined for auction, often at bargain-basement prices, but they're in Gering largely because they remain surprisingly valuable to one group in particular -- the hunters who shot them and had them preserved.
Often appraised for many times their market value, the trophies can yield hefty income tax deductions if nonprofit organizations agree to accept them as charitable gifts. And the Wyobraska museum and others have been more than willing.
According to critics in Congress, top officials at natural history museums and animal rights advocates, this form of charitable giving allows wealthy hunters to go on big-game expeditions essentially at taxpayers' expense -- an arrangement so blatant that one animal trophy appraiser advertises his services under the headline: "Hunt for Free." The taxpayer subsidies also encourage hunters to track down and shoot the largest, fittest and rarest of the world's animals, the critics say.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Another example of the rich getting all the breaks! :)
What can I get for an old gnu?
I support any loophole that allows government to steal less from us.
Me too. I was thrilled when I found out about the SUV loophole a few years back.
Freaking weirdo's!
What? And the poor folks get screwed again? Sheesh, when will this conservative nightmare stop!
:)
I knew this would amuse you!
Some of us have to have fun. Being serious all the time is for libs.
If they'd put a bounty on socialists, we'll save the taxpayers billions.
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