Posted on 11/15/2005 12:16:35 PM PST by Flavius
GARDINER, Mont. - Montana's first bison hunt in 15 years opened at sunrise Tuesday, with a 17-year-old boy bagging the first buffalo within 90 minutes.
The hunt, aimed at thinning out the bison population near Yellowstone National Park, came after years of protests from animal rights activists.
State and federal officials say the hunt will help manage a population that has grown to an estimated 4,900 animals, more than some fear the area can support. Some ranchers are also worried some diseased bison could spread illness to cattle.
George Clement, a teenager who took the day off from school, killed the first bison near Gardiner.
Montana's last bison hunt was in 1990. Other hunts since then were canceled because of protests over the way wardens would lead each hunter to an animal, which was then shot at close range, often while peacefully grazing.
This year, there are new limits. For example, wildlife officials cannot tell hunters where bison have wandered outside the park, and no more than 50 bison overall can be killed during the three-month season.
Fifty hunting licenses — entitling hunters to kill one bison each — were made available.
"historical connection"
Do you mean a pointed rock tied onto a stick?
"would you prefer they push them out the windows?" LOL, that was one of the many memorable lines from Archie.
Similar to "hunting" a cow. I am not anti-hunting but I wouldn't call it a sport. If shooting an animal with a high powered rifle using a telescopic sight is a sport, so is ambushing anything a sport. If a hunter were to chase down a deer and kill it in hand to hand combat I would call that a sport. Otherwise it is just thrill killing.
""... which was then shot at close range, often while peacefully grazing."
lol...that reminds me of a story of when my pastor (who's also a fanatical upland bird hunter), went into Wally World to pick up some shotgun shells. He get's to talking with the gal behind the counter about quail hunting (Gambel's Quail here in AZ), and after describing for her a recent hunt we had been on she made a comment to the effect "You mean you shoot at those quail when their running on the ground?" whereupon my pastor/friend replied. "Well yes, but I prefer to shoot them when they're just standing still."
"... which was then shot at close range, often while peacefully grazing."
Personally, I would rather chase it around for awhile--stressing it out a little bit, thereby pumping tasty adrenalin into the muscles.
I'm much more modern then that. I tie a cheeto on one end of a string and tie the other end to my rifle. Then I just drive near the herd of what ever I'm 'hunting', hang the rifle/bait out the window and wait.
I've never understood the need to pack out an animal.
4,900 animals... Sad.
Have you ever hunted? Judging by your post I would think not. You really have no clue as to what has to happen for a hunt to be succesfull. Especially here in the West.
Out here you have to spend time and sweat, countless hours glassing, and tracking. Then once you actually come across that big Bull Elk, you need to make the perfect stalk to get within range for a humane kill. If your shot was perfect he may drop in his tracks, but 9 out of 10 times something was a little off and now you have to follow a blood trail, usually in low light conditions. And then once you have located your kill the fun really begins. Now you have to gut and quarter your elk so you can pack his big a$$ out over the same rough rough terrain you came in on.
Yeah it's nothing more than shooting some poor animal with a high powered rifle and scope. Oh did I mention your freezing your butt off the whole time too?
And with all this I can't wait untill next year, I will be hoping and praying I get drawn for that Elk tag!!
I did do that - sort of. A few years ago I spined a deer with an arrow. I approached him and wrestled him and pulled the arrow out and reshot him with the same arrow. Blast away. I'm ready. Oh and the deer was peacefully browsing when I ambushed him.
I wonder. Are cows peacefully doing something when they're slaughtered? Or are they all riled up about something?
The sporting way to finish him off would have been to tear out his jugular with your teeth. :)
I considered it, but with chronic wasting disease and all, I reconsidered. I prefer my venison properly cooked.
Taking 50 animals out of 4900 is essentially a 1% cull. These are the animals that have wandered outside the park if I read it right. In proper culling, the rangers "should" have taken hunters to pre-selected individuals scheduled for removal. Exceptionally old animals, or crippled animals are the ones normally selected for removal.
Under the present system, the hunters will select the ones that they wish, and there will be some healthy breeders taken instead of the culls. The old and the crippled will starve to death this winter. The wisdom of the environmentalists rears its ugly head again.
Most indians don't own any more land then you do. What the heck would ayour basic guy from India do with a stupid buffalo? They don't even eat them for the most part.
Good thing we killed them all. If cattle are bad, imagine the global warming they caused with all those buffalo chips.
The Shoshone-Bannock tribes in the area have their own domestic bison herd. They raise them commercially at Fort Hall Reservation. At least they did 10 or so years ago.
I have to agree with'ya. I heard that recently, Indians were allowed to 'count coup' on the 'wasichu' headstones at the Little Bighorn Battlefield.
Pathetic...
Now that was a good newspaper report, one that calls a spade a spade (most of the AP writers call the AR wackos "conservationists, environmentalists").
Sorta like referring to terrorists as "insurgents, freedom fighters."
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.