Bunny Hugger Watch.

The Humane Society.

The Humane Society's statement on trophy hunting:

Every year, hundreds of thousands of wild animals, representing hundreds of different species, are killed by trophy hunters. Trophy hunting is a type of hunting that is for the purpose of procuring a “trophy” that the hunter can take home and mount on a wall or in his den. Trophies range from the whole animal, often stuffed in naturalistic poses, to the head with antlers or horns, or the tusks (such as elephant tusks). Trophy hunters also often participate in contests with other hunters to see who can kill the largest animals, or all animals of a certain type (such as bears).

While the trophy hunting of endangered and threatened species—African elephants, cheetahs, leopards—attracts a great deal of attention, the vast majority of wild animals that trophy hunters kill—such as impala, black bears, common zebra, warthogs, eland, African buffalo, African lions, giraffes, and baboons—are not protected from hunting by laws. Trophy hunting is one of the main threats to the survival of many wild species. In fact, often the rarer the species, the more it is sought by trophy hunters.

Trophy hunting, like other types of recreational hunting, is inherently cruel. Animals are shot with guns—some hunters even use bow and arrows—in a manner that does not cause immediate unconsciousness, causing the animals to suffer. Often animals that are wounded but not killed are never recovered by the hunter because they run away and the hunters cannot find them. These animals suffer from their wounds and often experience a slow, painful death.

HSI opposes trophy hunting and works to establish laws and regulations that stem this cruel sport.

One of the Humane Society's " accomplishments "reads as follows:

"To the dismay of wealthy trophy hunters around the globe, we were able to secure report language approved by the House that encourages the U.S. Agency for International Development not to fund programs that support or promote recreational, sport or trophy hunting as a conservation tool. We have to keep on this, but this action brings us closer to stopping the U.S.-subsidized trophy hunting programs in Africa."s as follows:

This misguided, dangerous piece of poisonous diatribe would have serious implications for all of the pro-utilization conservation efforts across Africa.

Watch this edition of Safari Newsreel's conservation issue on the CAMPFIRE project in Zimbabwe.

Below is the Humane Society’s take on dove hunting. Note the lie about wildlife watchers spending more money than hunters on their activities!

Dove Hunting:

The Bird of Peace as Target Practice Mourning doves are the traditional bird of peace and a beloved backyard songbird. They delight millions who engage in bird watching or who lure the gentle birds to their backyard feeders.
But a minority view mourning doves as nothing more than live targets, sometimes referring to them as "cheap skeet." More doves are killed each year—more than 20 million—than any other animal in the country. But there is simply no good reason to shoot a dove.

Dove hunting is unnecessary and serves no wildlife management purpose. Mourning doves—also known as the "farmer's friend" because they eat pest weed seeds—pose no threat to crops, homes or anything of value to people.

No one has even suggested that doves are overpopulated.

Mourning doves have significant economic value as live songbirds and are an important part of the multi-million dollar bird-watching and feeding industry. The mourning dove is the second most-frequently reported bird at feeders.

More people participate in wildlife-watching and spend more money doing it than in all forms of hunting combined.

Doves are not a viable human food source. Even if shot properly, doves have very little edible flesh on them. During hunting seasons, doves are actually at their lightest body weight for the entire year.

Doves are an important source of food for protected birds of prey such as eagles, falcons, hawks and owls.

Shooting doves is known to produce orphaned young because doves are known to still be nesting during many states' hunting seasons. Doves mate for life because both parents are required to raise their young. When one parent is killed, the chicks can die of starvation.

There is an unacceptably high wounding rate for dove hunting. Scientific research studies confirm an average wounding rate of 30 percent in hunted area—meaning that nearly one in three birds is wounded and not retrieved.

Shooting doves produces mistaken identity kills, including American kestrels, sharp-shinned hawks and several other federally protected species that look similar to doves.

Dove hunting contributes to the discharge of enormous amounts of toxic lead shot in the environment. For every dove bagged, hunters discharge an average of eight shots, according to a long-term study conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey and the Fish and Wildlife Service. Cumulative lead deposits pose a significant risk to ground-feeding doves and other wildlife.

CONTINUED.......