Monday, November 7, 2011

Lessons and lunches of an outdoorswoman

The Bruin Standard writer shares her outdoor experiences and explains why they convinced her to become a vegetarian  Just kidding. She eats bunny rabbits.

By: Jenny Nguyen -- Staff Writer

     I’ve spent a lot of time outdoors, mostly camping, hiking and backpacking. I also enjoy horseback riding, and have also had the opportunity to go kayaking in Alaska for an entire week, paddling to different islands along the Kenai Fjords when I was 17. I’ve been lucky enough see and stand in places most people my age have never touched. As an adventure seeker, I’m always looking for the next opportunity to expand my world, to widen my experience and understanding of nature. A year ago, I decided to take up hunting.
I have always been curious about hunting. The problem was, I was raised in a culture that viewed hunters negatively. I remember watching Bambi, of course. I remember reading a book about the extinction of dodos in kindergarten. In school, U.S. History books never failed to mention the near extinction of the colonial beaver and the extermination of the American bison that roamed the prairies in the millions. I even remember PETA literature being handed out in class when I was in junior high.
     And on college campuses like UCLA, organizations like Bruins for Animals and the UCLA Animal Law Program wholeheartedly agree that hunters are “immoral” people— per my emails with both organizations, while national organizations like PETA and the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) make fantastic claims about their service to animals, targeting college students through emotional means. It’s hard to escape. People in our part of the country are taught early on to see hunters as bad people. However, we are only getting a one sided view, and a disastrous one. Think back to 2008, when the liberal and mainstream media completely tore Sarah Palin apart because of her hunting, without even trying to understand her world. And it wasn’t just vegans and vegetarians talking; it was from people like Rosie O’Donnell… who I’m pretty sure isn’t a vegetarian.
     In Southern California, the hunter is a rare breed. His world is foreign to many. You rarely hear from him, unless if you know where to look. It was by mere chance that I bumped into one a couple years ago, and it has been an eye-opening learning process since then. After hearing from many hunters about their experiences in the field, I can now wholeheartedly conclude: the hunter most people think they know is a myth. Today’s North American hunter knows a whole lot more about animals than most other animal-loving groups do. His or her service to America’s wildlife is unmatched. 
     The most important myth to debunk is that the modern-day hunter is not the hunter of ancient times. He doesn’t sit on a train and pick off buffalo one by one, leaving the carcasses to rot and waste in the sun. He doesn’t go out and hunt animals willy-nilly, without concern for taking the animal as humanely as possible. An important point to emphasize is that hunting is not the same as poaching. Modern-day hunting in the United States has never led to the extinction of any species. It is also unlawful to hunt for commercial purposes. If you ever had venison or duck in a restaurant, it was not a wild but domesticated animal you were eating.
Sitting in a nine hour Hunter Education class last summer, which is required of all new hunters, I was blown away at how much the instructors knew about wildlife and about environmental responsibility. Course instructors reiterated time and time again that the Department of Fish and Game cracks down hard on those who break the law, and they stood by it 110%. Good hunters understand and respect the law. They understand to respect other people and their property. There were many kids in the class, and I was glad that they were learning this at an early age.
     And who else better would know the difference between a mourning dove and a Eurasian dove? A mallard and a teal? Or the sound of a cow in estrus between a breeding bellow? In reality, hunters spend a lot more time around animals than any animal rights activists I’ve ever known, and a good hunter knows that he has a responsibility to preserve and protect America’s wildlife so that future generations can enjoy.
Anything you read in the newspaper or see on TV about hunting is blown out of proportion. Accidents happen, like in anything. The truth is, hunters do a lot more good than our mainstream media gives them credit for.
     After going through websites of beloved organizations like PETA and the Humane Society, this is what I found: lots of emotional rhetoric and pictures of beautiful celebrities posing awkwardly with their Pomeranians. What I did not find were any clear cut numbers that would convince me that these organizations are more committed to saving animals than just making lots of expensive noise. Why do we not often hear from pro-hunting conservation groups? Because making noise is not their objective.
     Ducks Unlimited, a pro-hunting organization and a leader in waterfowl conservation, shows a clear-cut pie chart of where their money goes, on top of being an accredited Better Business Bureau charity organization on their website. Ducks Unlimited directs a whopping 81% of its money towards “Waterfowl and Wetlands Conservation and Education,” meaning restoring grasslands, replanting forests, restoring watersheds, and working with partners and private landowners to make their land more wildlife friendly. The organization will also on occasion buy land, restore it and sell it or donate it back to government agencies that will manage it for wildlife.  In 1901, few ducks remained. Today, there are over 44 million ducks populating the United States and Canada, thanks to state wildlife agencies and groups like Ducks Unlimited.
     Another pro-hunting organization, the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation’s (RMEF) 2010 Annual Report clearly indicates that 86% of its donations goes towards its programs, including elk restoration, land conservation, conservation education and stewardship projects. In 1907, only about 41,000 elk could be counted in the United States. Today, populations in 23 states total approximately 1 million thanks to conservations efforts of organizations like the RMEF.
     Furthermore, sportsmen contribute $7.5 million every day, adding to more than $2.7 billion every year for conservation through the Pittman-Robertson Act of 1937. This tax is only levied against those who buy hunting gear, such as guns and ammunition.  This is probably one of the only, if not the only group of citizens, who have asked to be taxed by the federal government just to restore our wildlife populations.
And these are only a few examples I am mentioning here. For hunters, hunting and conservation goes hand in hand. Hunters are the ones with the real stake when it comes to the outdoors, because it is where they spend so much of their time. I dare you to go to the websites of PETA and HSUS. I did, and what I found was infuriating, incomprehensible and dishonest. Take a look at their financial reports. Good luck trying to find them and read them.
     Next time you marvel at wildlife, go thank a hunter. The next time you stand in that voting booth, think twice about whom you are voting against regarding issues of gun rights and animal rights.
I chose to hunt because I wanted to better understand where my food comes from. All my life, I have been getting my meat from the grocery store, neatly packed in plastic wrap. Sometimes, I forget that an animal had to die to sustain me, and I take it for granted. I went hunting for the first time early September. I sat in 115-degree weather in Arizona, scanning the horizon for dove for two whole days, and got ONE dove. Hunting isn’t “easy.” Effective hunting takes years of practice. If I were a cavewoman, I’d starve to death.
Another thing I never had to deal with was processing my own meat. The one dove I had, I learned to pluck it chest feathers off and peel away the breastbone. I also learned to skin a rabbit on that trip. Having gone through all that, I learned to better appreciate what animals provide. I look forward to hunting for whitetail deer this November in Nebraska, my very first big game hunt. Yes, I currently eat venison almost every single week, and even keep a cooking blog called Wild Game In the Kitchen (shameless plug).
      I don’t think it’s fair to say that hunters are immoral. It’s about sustenance, not morality. Hunters confront their food. They know and appreciate the sacrifices. Every hunter knows how much work it takes to get food on the table. Despite what any vegan or vegetarian wants to say, human beings are omnivores. It’s basic human biology. If vegans and vegetarians were so happy with eating rabbit food, they wouldn’t be eating things like hotdog shaped tofu, “Soy Chicken,” and “VBQ Beef” sandwiches at Bruin Café.  Admit it. Your body craves tasty animals. And to those of you who do eat meat, don’t let others push you around.

Jenny Nguyen is a fourth year American literature and culture major. She can be reached at thebruinstandard@gmail.com. Visit her blog at foodforhunters.blogspot.com

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