Within the larger state environmental agencies lurks a division that works hand-in-glove with the firearms and archery industries.
In NYS, the wildlife management division is called the Bureau of Wildlife (BOW), and the larger agency in which it’s hidden is the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC).
While BOW’s job is to manage wildlife into huntable populations for the sake of the firearms and archery profits, the job of the DEC is to present to the public a glossy picture of killing wildlife, and to convince the public that hunting is “conservation,” while simultaneously providing wholesome “family fun.”
Here are highlights of a recent DEC newsletter promoting youth turkey hunting:
“Commissioner Amanda Lefton today announced DEC’s annual youth turkey hunting weekend will take place April 25-26. The youth turkey hunt, for junior hunters ages 12-15, is open across upstate New York ….
The youth hunt is another great opportunity to ‘Get Offline and Get Outside’ by spending quality time connecting with nature.”
The DEC doesn’t inform the public that the Bureau of Wildlife (BOW) is connected to the firearms and archery industries: the more bullets, firearms, bows, bolts, and arrows bought, the more income goes to BOW to keep managing wildlife into huntable populations.
A question you may have is how game managers can increase wildlife populations when they are bringing down the population via hunting. The answer is that they do it by setting seasons, bag limits, and skewing the sex ratio in favor of females – the breeding stock.
In the case of this youth turkey hunt, here are the rules:
“The bag limit for the youth weekend is one bearded bird. This bird becomes part of the youth’s regular spring season bag limit of two bearded birds. “
NOTE: Bearded turkeys are male. Once they’ve mated with the female, the males can be killed leaving the females to incubate the eggs and raise the young for the next killing season. [BTW, this same manipulation of bag limits and sex ratios apply to the deer population as well.] In other words, bringing the population down is only temporary as it will increase again for the next killing season. Further, as the male population is no longer competing for food, more is left for the females and young to ensure their good health. The wildlife managers have thus done their job of producing living beings for the brutal “sport” of hunting.
FURTHER DAMNING, PLEASE SEE THIS: WHAT IS THE SEX RATIO IN A CLUTCH OF WILD TURKEY EGGS – Search