A canned hunt

Elizabeth Marino
Goffstown
To the editor,

From October through December, hunters and their dogs will go to 64 different locations around New Hampshire that have been stocked with a total of 11,535 adult, farm-raised, non-native red-necked pheasants and “hunt” them. This is essentially a “canned hunt” as these farm-raised birds have no survival skills. Hunters are told when and where, and they begin showing up and shooting as the birds are taking their first flights of freedom. Pheasant hunting license fees pay for the birds each year, but overhead costs are paid for by the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department. This yearly hunt is quite expensive to orchestrate and includes salaries for those supervising, trucks, truck drivers, biologists, Fish and Game employees to distribute the birds, etc. One could surmise that the cost is significant. Problems include:

This is not a fair chase hunt but is basically a “canned hunt.”

Salaries to Fish and Game employees and other overhead expenses to run this event are NOT covered by the fees that the hunters pay.

This is animal cruelty in that a number of the birds don’t survive the journey or arrive seriously injured from farm to field.

The Fish and Game Department has been struggling with keeping itself relevant and funded. Ending this hunt would save the department thousands of dollars that could be applied to essential programs.

I find it abhorrent that my tax money may be used to subsidize this farce of a hunt. If you agree, please contact the Fish and Game Department.

 

Elizabeth Marino

Goffstown