I posted this here for maximum visibility. I'm new to this site, but became aware of the following this morning and thought everyone should be informed:

From The Fund for Animals
Wednesday, July 11, 2001

SILVER SPRING, MD � The Fund for Animals, a national animal protection group founded in 1967 by bestselling author and humanitarian Cleveland Amory, has sent an open letter to the editors of more than 2,000 newspapers asking them to stop promoting hunting and fur trapping in the outdoor columns that appear in most sports sections. A similar letter went to the presidents of sports cable channels ESPN and ComCast Sports Net, asking them to cancel their hunting programs.
Quoting Marv Levy, legendary former head coach of the Buffalo Bills, who said, "I don't consider hunting a sport; I consider it murder," the letter by Fund for Animals program coordinator Norm Phelps pointed out that in genuine sports all of the competitors are willing participants, the competition is roughly equal, the stakes are the same for both sides, and everyone lives to play another day. Phelps, a former hunter, wrote in the letter, "While the hunter is armed with a lethal long-range weapon, either a firearm or a bow, the animal's only hope is to be lucky enough to escape. Can you image a hockey game in which only one team carried sticks?"

Phelps further wrote, "People who do to dogs and cats what hunters do to deer, geese, doves, and squirrels are prosecuted for animal cruelty, referred for psychiatric evaluation, or both. But animals who live in the wild are just as capable of suffering fear and pain as our companion animals. What is cruel to one is cruel to the other. Hunting is legalized cruelty to animals."

Heidi Prescott, national director of The Fund for Animals, noted that sport hunting in the United States has been declining for the past quarter century. "America's values are changing," she said. "Today, only a tiny fraction of Americans hunt. We're maturing as a society, and The Fund for Animals is calling on America's sports media to reflect that change."

Michael Markarian, The Fund's executive vice president, added that, "Hunting teaches kids that it's OK to terrorize and kill for fun. At a time when violence in our schools is a national epidemic, that's the wrong message for America's sports media to be sending."

For a copy of the three-page letter, contact The Fund for Animals at 301-585-2591.

For more information, contact:
Heidi Prescott
National Director
The Fund for Animals
301-585-2591
hprescott@fund.org
Web site: http://fund.org

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You might want to send an intelligently phrased letter (not e-mail) to the head honchos at your local paper(s) letting them know there are responsible citizens out there with beliefs different from The Funds for Animals. Let your friends know about this, and forward it anywhere appropriate and helpful. I'd like your feedback ...

Lv2hnt

P.S. My signature means "love to hunt;" I'll fight for it!

I wonder what kind of meat Mr. Levy had for dinner the night he declared hunting to be murder????

BigIron,

As usual, those bunny huggers are stretching the limits on hypocracy.

It is only considered "murder" when you do it yourself. If someone else does the dirty work, it is OK!

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saeed@ emirates.net.ae

www.accuratereloading.com

Ah yes. The Fund for Animals, founded by Cleveland Amory. He's the damned idiot that said, "hunters should go out and kill each other, rather than animals." They more or less got rid of him, because of stupid statements like the above. He was good for us hunters, because he really showed how radical those isiots were/are.
Paul B.