They're good for you.
Posted on 02/26/2010 2:54:37 PM PST by SJackson
PETA is calling on the Boy Scouts of America to retire its "Fishing" and "Fish and Wildlife Management" merit badges (to read PETA's letter to Milton H. Ward, president of the Boy Scouts of America, click here). Fishing is no longer considered a benign activity. It is hunting in the water, and the idea of a scout armed with a gun or rod, setting out to actively attack animals who were minding their own business, is not in keeping with the image of scouting, now or in the past.
Fishing is also inconsistent with the Boy Scout law, which states, "A Scout understands there is strength in being gentle. He treats others as he wants to be treated. He does not hurt or kill harmless things without reason." Clearly, there is no reason to inflict the pain and suffering that fish endure at the hands of anglers.
Promoting fishing teaches young people that hooking, maiming, suffocating, and killing is acceptable. This is a dangerous lesson, one that hurts not only the fish struggling for their lives at the end of a hook, but all of us. According to FBI profilers, the American Psychiatric Association, law enforcement officials, and child advocacy organizations, cruelty to animals is a warning sign often seen in people who eventually direct violence toward humans. In fact, published reports show that in every single case of recent school shootings, there has been one consistent factor: All the young killers abused or killed animals before turning on their classmates.
Of course, not every child who abuses animals will hurt or kill a human being. But every child who picks up a gun or a rod and uses it to harm another living being must deaden a piece of his or her heart. Adults—parents, teachers, scout leaders, and others who work with children—must start making lessons of compassion a priority. Showing children how to use a camera, instead of a rod and reel, teaches them the valuable lesson of empathy.
What You Can Do:
Please write to the president of the Boy Scouts of America, urging him to replace the outdated "Fishing" and "Fish and Wildlife Management" merit badges with a "Waterway Cleanup" badge. Scouts could perform a marvelous service to the community and to the environment by clearing fishing debris from rivers, ponds, lakes, and other waterways. Scouts can also learn to appreciate nature, rather than destroy it and its inhabitants, through birdwatching, hiking, and many other humane outdoor activities that merit badges. Please send your letter to:
Milton H. Ward, President
Boy Scouts of America
P.O. Box 152079
Irving, TX 75015-2079
Fax: 972-580-2079
How come peta hasn’t gone after the auto industry? More wildlife is killed by cars and that meat usually goes to waste.
Oh, horse pucky.
"Minding their own business"?
I know for a fact that pretty much any game fish a Boy Scout would be interested in catching is constantly in the act of pursuing and killing some other form of life. Bass are predators. So are trout and pickerel. And pretty darn good ones too.
How does PETA feel about that?
Still funny, though. :)
It takes a special kind of lad to become an Eagle Scout.
I oughta know. My boy is an Eagle. Damned proud of that young man. He off getting his degree in Nursing now.
You tell those two lads who work for you to keep their eyes on the horizon and reach for the stars. They'll make it. Most Eagles do. A large number of our Marines and a majority of our Astronauts are Eagles.
Cool! Instead of replacing the fishing badge, why not add a badge for "Waterway cleanup". I hate it when I'm floating down a river, fishing, and there's all kinds of trash. I have been on a stream team myself helping to clean up the riverways.
Obviously, PETA has no issue attacking people who are minding their own business.
Bump.
I learned how to fish (and clean the fish) when I was 5 years old.
Grandpa took me to his favorite trout fishing place and we went through the process from catching it to cleaning it for Grandma to cook.
They're good for you.
It's still stupid today, even if it is nearly ten years later.
ML/NJ
Yum! Fish!
Smoked is excellent.
Pan fried in some butter with morel mushrooms.
Braised with olive oil, butter, lemon juice, white wine, leeks and tarragon.
G-d created man an omnivore, and I intend to live up to His intentions!
I agree. :)
A number of years ago I saw an article from an anti-hunting group, could have been PETA, which contended the increase of deer-car collisions, not just in the fall during rut, had nothing to do with the rut, and everything to do with hunters walking in the woods and scaring the poor babies out of the woods and onto the roads. Might have posted it, though I doubt I can find it now. Radicals of all stripes have an answer for everything.
I bought two hotdogs, and offered one to the naked PETA protester lady.
:-)
This is a joke...It’s from kookoo.com
I hate cleaning fish, which is why I don't fish much, other than when kids are around. They have to learn these things, preferably at a young age.
Libertarianism goes cross-genus.
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