Posted on 10/08/2004 10:13:50 AM PDT by neverdem
Darn, we missed it.
Sept. 25 was designated ``Turn in Your Tackle Day'' by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, and I forgot to get it done.
The animals-before-people group targeted recreational anglers for their combined wrath, and had marked Sept. 25 as the day for all of us who are feeling guilty about barbing bass, snatching snook and whacking wahoo to get it off our conscience by turning in our instruments of torture.
PETA has one bureaucrat with what has to be the politically correct job title of the decade: fish empathy project manager. And readers of this column won't want to miss the Web site FishingHurts.com - you'll find urgent suggestions such as substituting a tasty slab of tofu for your grouper fillets, demonstrating at local fishing tournaments, asking local government to ban fishing in local lakes, and retiring the fishing merit badge for Boy Scouts. They don't want us wearing leather shoes or riding on leather auto seats, eating hamburgers, or using animals to develop new drugs that might save millions of human lives.
Presumably they also oppose the use of animal products in dog and cat foods. While my dogs will eat pretty much anything that hits the floor, including erasers and cardboard, my cats eye anything that does not come out of a Friskies can with great suspicion. Veggies are not among the things they deign to consume. Some of this would be laughable were it not for the numbers of people who have bought into this silliness over the past 24 years. PETA claims 800,000 members, and if those are all paying members at $16 a pop - or more - that's more than $12 million a year they have to lobby for wiping out our favorite sports. And they have proven very good at getting public attention.
Actually, if PETA could restrain its more radical elements, there are some ideas for rational people to support in the program. They value all life on the planet, right down to caterpillars and catfish, as we all rightfully should. They're a strong voice in stopping cruelty to animals of the sort that no decent person can tolerate, including dog fights and rooster fights. But the fact they actively are trying to destroy hunting and fishing makes them a danger to sportsmen everywhere, and by extension to wildlife management areas, huntable wildlife and recreationally targeted fish, all of which have benefited enormously as a result of billions of dollars worth of support from sportsmen in the past 70 years.
FISHING SHOW: The Florida Sportsman Fishing Show comes to Florida State Fairgrounds east of Tampa next weekend. The show includes an 80,000-square-foot tackle and boat supermarket, plus continuous how-to seminars at Expo Hall.
Show director Robin Smillie said the hands-on learning aspect of the show is the major draw.
The show also features casting instruction for kids. Hours are 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday. Admission is $7 for adults and free for children under 12 with parents. Discount coupons are at www.floridasportsman.com
SEMINARS: Rusty Chinnis, outdoors editor of the Anna Maria Sun and an Orvis fly-casting instructor, presents a free seminar Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. at the Tampa Bay Fly Fishing Club meeting at Compton Park Rec Center in Tampa Palms. Non-members are welcome. ... Captain Randy Rochelle joins captain Mel Berman of WFLA, 970 AM, for an offshore clinic Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Park Auto Mall, 8000 Park Blvd. in Pinellas Park. For more information, call (727) 545-3100. ... Captain Dave Pomerleau presents a free snook seminar Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Minnows & Monsters Tackle, 3811 S. Manhattan Ave., Tampa; (813) 835-1512. ... Captain Larry McGuire presents a free grouper/snapper seminar Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. at Boater's World on State Road 60 in Brandon.
QUOTA PERMITS: Leftover quota permits are available from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission for hunting on state wildlife management areas this fall. Some 5 million acres of public lands are available. Visit www.MyFWC.com for details.
CONDITIONS IMPROVE: Despite dirty water, trout are becoming active around Tampa Bay, particularly in waters beyond the Sunshine Skyway, where Gulf tide changes are helping to clear the murk. Anglers fishing potholes near the mouth of the Manatee River reported good catches last week.
This story can be found at: http://outdoors.tbo.com/outdoors/MGBTWGXFUZD.html
Well I'll do my part to help PETA...Y'all e-mail me to get my address so you can send me your lures, rods and reels, especially the Orvis and Loomis (they really murder the fish)...
Heck, I'll go all the way and take any type of fishing boat (don't forget the trailer)...
*shifts my eyes*..no comment
I have yet to hear PETA complain about the mistreatment of gerbils in San Francisco. Maybe they should start there, with a close investigation of these horrors.
LOL!
Yes, it's a proctickle matter of integrity.
BTTT!!!!!!
Didn't have time to read the whole article because I have to clean my deer assult weapon so I can kill some deer this fall.
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