Special message for ya from the peanut gallery!
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
I could get my hands on a few traps if you are having an infestation problem.....eeeewwww!!!
Muskellunge Pike. 42", 22 lbs. Also caught its little brother which came in at 41", 18 lbs.
That's a mighty big "IF" in my book. There is a restaurant (can't recall the name) on Anna Maria Island in Florida that serves up the best grouper sandwiches I've ever tasted. No way would I give that up. Heck, I'd run over a PETA protester and use them for chum, before I'd give up grouper.
I'm getting ready for rabbit & squrril season now! I fish when I can, not as offten as I would like to though.
Well, nice,,bon Appetite...
Caught a 7 pound Walleye on my last trip to Hot Springs.
not that big but the biggest I ever caught
Special message for ya from the peanut gallery!
Rats make very good pets, and yours are adorable!
J - cute rat ping.
Be careful where you whack your wahoo...
(Just had to say it - just for the halibut - okay, I did it on porpoise. Yes, the joke smelt, but you don't have to carp on it! Okay, I'm done now - fin-ished.)
I heard feeding vegetable-based meals to cats would cause them to go insane and die, and that most vegetarians who own cats do so.
Very cute.
It's the rat's tail, something about the tail that just spooks me out. I can tolerate the mouse, however.
ROCK ON MEAT LOVERS!!!!!
We need an organization that fights these kooks, and to proclaim a "GET A LIFE DAY" for animal-rights wackos.
Wish I would have known about this earlier. I would have sent hubby to stock up on his supplies.
Thanks! It was the wife who was interested in ratties in the first place. Now we adopt the hard luck cases that nobody else wants. What's really awesome is how quickly the little furbabies turn around for the better when they get a healthy does of tender loving care. : )
turn in your Leatherman Day
I hear ya. The tail wigged me out at first, too. But I got used to it as I watched the little ones use their tails for balancing and grasping when they did their acrobatics. The tail is actually something of an "emergency leg" in case they lose their grip on something. Now they don't have any creep factor at all. : )
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.