LOUISIANA ACTION ALERT
WE NEED YOUR HELP TO CAN CANNED
HUNTS!
State officials in Louisiana are trying to make it easier for trophy hunters to kill captive deer
at fenced-in shooting preserves, also known as "canned hunts." Louisiana's Wildlife &
Fisheries Commission is considering a proposal to allow the importation of white-tailed deer
from other states. This would insure an endless supply of captive animals to be slaughtered at
canned hunts.
The Wildlife & Fisheries Commission is accepting public comments on this issue
until February 2, 1998. Please write a letter before that date, opposing the importation
of deer.
Mr. Hugh Bateman, Administrator
Wildlife Division
Department of Wildlife & Fisheries
P.O. Box 98000
Baton Rouge, LA 70898-9000
Here are a few points you may wish to make in your letter:
- You don't want this form of inhumane slaughter of animals in Louisiana. It even
violates the ethics that traditional hunters claim to adhere to. It is extremely unsportsmanlike.
Shooting practically tame animals on enclosed land is sickening. Even the Commissioner of
Agriculture, Bob Odom, who is in favor of this proposal, has stated that a canned hunt is like
going out into your backyard and shooting a goat.
- The proposed modification reads as if it would establish prohibitions on the importation
of deer from the states of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Michigan, New Jersey,
New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Wyoming, when in fact it really just opens up
importation from every other state. The reason for excluding the particular states named is
because deer from those states may bring diseases including tuberculosis and brucellosis into
Louisiana and threaten native wildlife and domestic livestock businesses. Such spread of
disease could have severe economic repercussions for livestock industries. States with canned
hunts (and states which border them) have experienced tuberculosis in cattle, genetic
corruption of wildlife, and ecological problems because of escaped exotic animals. We simply
should not import deer from any state and put Louisiana at risk.
Thank you for your help! For more information, please call NOAH at (504) 282-5243.
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