Renowned environmentalist and chimpanzee buddy Jane Goodall has her fingers crossed: she's entered the lottery to win the right to kill a grizzly bear in the area of Yellowstone Park. That Wyoming's allowing the bears to be hunted is a big deal. There's been a moratorium on taking down a grizzly bear in Wyoming for the past 44 years. This year, the state is allowing 22 of them to be killed by hunters.
But, instead of taking down a furry behemoth so that she might eat its steaming heart to celebrate her kill, Goodall, and a growing number of other people, have a better idea of what to do if they win the right to shoot a grizzly: they're advocating that folks take that shot with a camera instead of a gun.
Shoot 'em With A Camera is a guerrilla campaign to undermine Wyoming's bear hunt lottery system. The premise is simple: Apply to the bear hunt lottery for your chance to kill a magnificent creature. Then, should you win, instead of heading to the hills with a rifle, you head out with a camera. It's a cheeky campaign and according to National Geographic, its gaining momentum, quickly.
Not everyone, however is thrilled about it.
Brian Nesvik, chief game warden with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, is not so enamored. He acknowledged he was surprised at how fast the campaign mobilized, heightening a level of drama that was already unprecedented given that it involves the wildlife symbol of the Yellowstone region.
Thousands of hunters nationwide and plenty in his state, he said, are excited by the prospect of being able to take a grizzly, with the odds of securing a license still astronomically low. Now, with perhaps thousands of additional applications pouring in, it makes those chances even slimmer."This is more about taking away hunting opportunity than having an impact on our population management objective," Nesvik said, noting that with 700 grizzlies in the Greater Yellowstone region, Wyoming's quota will not jeopardize the population.
Notice that Nesvik says nothing about taking food out of anyone's mouth. You know why? Bear tastes like shit. It's not good meat. I will fight you on this. For most folks, the only reason to kill one is if your life's in danger or you think that using a firearm, bow or spear to murder something that's not interested in anything outside of eating, sleeping and pooping, is sportsman like.
More of this sort of thing, please.
Image: by The original uploader was Bobisbob at English Wikipedia.(Original text: Nickles, Jon) – [1], Public Domain, Link
