FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Monday, October 6, 1997
CONTACT:
Andrea Lococo, 307-859-8840 alococo@wyoming.com
Mike Markarian, 301-585-2591, mmarkarian@fund.org
JACKSON, Wyo. -- On October 10 in Jackson, children ages 12-17 will participate in a lottery for 70 permits to shoot an elk on the National Elk Refuge. In an effort to protect elk and to encourage children to explore other ways to appreciate nature without harming animals, The Fund for Animals placed an advertisement in a Jackson, Wyoming newspaper today. The Fund is offering a new mountain bike, up to $1,000 in value, to the first young lottery winner who turns in his or her elk permit and hunting license to its Jackson office, and promises not to hunt for the remainder of the season.
Hunter numbers have declined dramatically in the last two decades. And research indicates that if people do not begin to hunt by their late teens, they probably never will. According to Andrea Lococo, Rocky Mountain Coordinator of The Fund for Animals, "This spreading cease-fire in the war on wildlife may be good for the animals -- but not for the agencies which depend on selling licenses for their salaries, and for the companies which depend on gun and ammunition sales for their profits."
To reverse this trend, the hunting industry and state and federal wildlife agencies have launched aggressive programs to recruit children into blood sports. Entering public schools with hunter education programs, pairing children with hunter/mentors, funding pro-hunting videos and materials to be used in schools, and sponsoring youth hunts on public lands are all part of the strategy to ensure lifelong customers. Adds Lococo, "People should be outraged that national wildlife refuges, supported by tax dollars and intended as sanctuaries for animals, are being used as training grounds to teach children that killing can be fun. If children learn compassion, rather than violence, the world would be a better place for animals and humans alike."
The Fund for Animals is a national animal protection organization headquartered in New York City with a regional office in Jackson, Wyoming. To receive a copy of the report, "They're Never Too Young: A Comprehensive Look at How Public Money and Public Agencies Are Being Used to Promote Sport Hunting to America's Children," call (301) 585-2591 or e-mail us with your mailing address.
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