Ask Uncle Joe: Summer 2010

BY JOE MIELE

GOT A QUESTION FOR UNCLE JOE?

YOU CAN E-MAIL IT TO ASKUNCLEJOE@HOTMAIL.COM .

WOULD YOU RATHER SNAIL MAIL YOUR QUESTION? SEND IT TO: ASK UNCLE JOE, C/O WILDLIFE WATCH, BOX 562, NEW PALTZ, NY 12561.

UNCLE JOE GETS A LOT OF MAIL SO DON’T BE OFFENDED IF HE CANNOT ANSWER YOUR QUESTION IN THE COURIER. HECK, HE’S GOTTA WORK A DAY JOB, TOO.

Letters are printed as received. They are unedited.

Dear readers: More of Uncle Joe” can be found online at:www.abolishsporthunting.org/UncleJoe


Hello Readers,
Let’s call this one the *bleep* edition of Dear Uncle Joe.

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Dear Uncle Joe:

Heres What i think about your organization. You are a bunch of low life (bleep), all of our founding fathers HUNTED! if you think your going to be able to change the laws and abolish hunting you are out of your mind! think of how many jobs the DNR provides. we would have 5,000 more people jobless! you are ignorant and you should go move to The (bleep) province in Canada!

Danny,
Davenport, IA

Dear Danny:

Congratulations! Youre one of the rare people whose letter was so vile, racist, and homophobic that I felt compelled to edit it before we would publish it in the Courier. Now, to correct your incorrect points. As far as there being 5,000 more people jobless if we abolished sport hunting tomorrow, let me briefly explain why this is untrue (if you have the ability to understand something that does not include racist or homophobic slurs)…

When sport hunting can no longer financially support state wildlife agencies their focus will shift to wildlife protection and preservation. As this new wildlife protection agency grows, more people, not fewer people, will be employed. DNR employees who only enjoy facilitating animal killing will likely leave to find new jobs and I have confidence that my fellow Americans have the ability to change careers and provide for themselves and their families. Perhaps you do not.

Regards,
Uncle Joe

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Dear Uncle Joe:

hello… my name is dave, and I think youre a stupid (bleep). how come you dont mention the facts about hunting including the per person ratio of accident involving hunting and about a dozen other sports, and hunting has three times less than the next safest sport by the way. Also hunting is considered a sport yes but, not all hunters hunt for the big rack, a lot of it is for hormon free and anti-biotic free food.  If we only hunt for sports than how come only half of the tags purchased are used?  Hunting is hard its not an easy sport.

Dave,
Binghamton, NY

Dear Dave:

When examining the ratio of fatalities to injuries in various sports, hunting is at the top of the list and this is a tragedy that is not exposed by the media. The majority of those killed in hunting accidents are hunters, and believe it or not we don’t want to see hunters killed any more than we want to see wildlife killed. We call for an end to sport hunting for your safety too.

As far as hunters wanting hormon free and anti-biotic free food (sic), I dont buy it. You rarely hear a hunter talk about how hes interested in organic flour, potatoes, bread, apples, etc. Why the emphasis on organic, hormone-free meat then? Because it gives you another excuse to believe in so you can take the focus off the fact that you enjoy being violent.

As you know, some people who have retired from hunting still buy tags because they want to support the industry.  Others buy tags and wait for the trophy animal who does not walk by.  Others are chased off by miserable weather.  There are many reasons why tags go unfilled.

Sincerely,
Uncle Joe

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Dear Uncle Joe:

you still fail to recognize the FACT that more than 25000000 hunters take to the woods every year. You people state no facts. Well, some, but you people have no facts to support why hunting is wrong, just OPINIONS and made up or manipulated numbers. Now, what do you people do all day, every day?? (bleep) about us. (Paragraph deleted because I had no idea how to clean it up. UJ) Like the FACT that HUNTERS brought the Blackbuck Antelope back from near extinction to Texas. I can go on for days with recovery because of hunters. Your “organisation” is a dead fish kicking on the surface.

Grady,
Georgetown, TX

Dear Grady:

Twenty-five million hunters? Nice try. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service there were only 12.5 million U.S. hunters in 2006(http://wsfrprograms.fws.gov/Subpages/NationalSurvey/nat_survey2006_state.pdf).

Unless you think the number of hunters has doubled in the last four years your statistic is incorrect. Don’t you find it odd that you question our information when much of it comes straight from pro-hunting organizations such as the USFWS and state hunting agencies? Or have you not thought that through?

One point where Ill agree with you is that hunters may have brought the Blackbuck Antelope back from near extinction in Texas. But why were they were near extinction to begin with? Because hunters killed them in such great numbers that their existence was threatened. And why did hunters bring them back? So they could continue killing them for fun.  I’m not impressed. Our “organisation” (sic) is a dead fish kicking on the surface? Uh, I‘ll take that under advisement.

Sincerely,
Uncle Joe

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Uncle Joe:

Of the hunters that I know, and the anti-hunters that I know, the only ones that actually go out into the wild and feed the deer… are the hunters. Don’t forget many hunters DO manage the herd male / female populations where possible. It is in their best intrest and they are not after trophys. A buck will walk right past a hunter that he can see and smell if he’s following a hot doe…I have seen it happen (bleep) head. It is an unfortunate coincidence that when and where the deer are breeding the heaviest is when and where the most hunters are in the field, and the results of your “study” rare therefore inaccurate. So quit showing your stupidity.

Rachel,
Sussex, NJ

Dear Rachel:

Ah, so you and your hunter friends are feeding deer? Isnt that called illegal baiting? Just checking. But yes, hunting agencies do manage the male/female ratios of different hunting areas because they know that more deer creates more hunting opportunities. Not after trophies? Tell that to the taxidermists; there’s at least one in your town, you know. Also tell it to the industry engineers who develop feed to grow larger bucks with larger antlers.  The money spent on food additives and supplements would make your head spin.  All of this is to increase the number of trophies, not to improve the health of the herd.

Wow – a buck will walk right past a hunter? Another hunter just told me that hunting is difficult. Hmm… Interestingly, Ive heard hunting supporters claim that hunting seasons and bag limits were designed scientifically.  Now you’re telling me that seasons are set as they are by coincidence?  You people don’t know what you’re talking about, do you? Im sorry, maybe I should stop showing my stupidity.

Sincerely,
Uncle Joe

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Uncle Joe:

You are a bunch of (bleeps), you have no idea about the world do you. hunting it safer than doing about anything eles in your daily life. the majority of all hunter want to conserve wildlife,  you could give to (bleeps) about wildlife,  let them over populate,  let the wolf kill everything. so what. as long as you stop other people from doing what they want to do. go eat (something that should not be eaten).

Jared,
not saying where I live so you cant come burn down my house

Dear Jared:

From the tone of your letter it seems that you are setting yourself up to be a high school drop-out.  Your life will be far better if you stay in school, study, and get a decent education. Trust me. And how do you manage to eat with that filthy mouth of yours?

Sincerely,
Uncle Joe

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Dear Uncle Joe:

Since C.A.S.H. is operating out of Las Cruces, Im wondering if you have the problem with ants in the house that I do. I wipe off my floor with vinegar but that does not repel them for very long. They end up in my cats food bowl and I have to throw much of it away. Since I believe that ants and other insects are wildlife too, maybe C.A.S.H. would have a suggestion or two for me? Thanks for all you do 🙂

Lupe,
Las Cruces, NM

Dear Lupe:

I was just telling a friend about a great little design for an ant-proof cat food bowl. It can be made in a couple of minutes and for only pennies. Basically, you epoxy a small dish inside a larger one, and fill the space between them with water. Here are some plans for one that I found online (ignore the ads for the insect killing company on the page) http://www.instructables.com/id/ANT-PROOF-PET-FOOD-BOWL/step1/null/

Theres a product called Orange Guard that is effective at repelling ants and can be used indoors around cats and dogs, but it must be used with great care since it will kill any ants who are sprayed with it. I use it before ant season begins by spraying a generous amount around the foundation of my house and focus on areas where ants might be able to get in. I do find a couple of ants in the house every now and then, but not so many that they are a problem.

Thanks for thinking so kindly of insects. They are the forgotten wildlife in many respects.

Peace,
Uncle Joe

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Dear Uncle Joe:

Does C.A.S.H. involve itself with hunting issues in other countries? I recently became aware that Uganda is trying to stop the spread of illegal poaching by expanding legal hunting throughout the country. I’m obviously not in favor of either. Could you contact Ugandan officials and try to do something? If your information causes them to pause and think more deeply on the issue, you might be able to do some good work in an African country.

Margaret,
Glendale, CA

Dear Margaret:

While C.A.S.H. does not often become involved with wildlife issues taking place in other countries on other continents, we’ve been asked to reach out to the Ugandan Wildlife Authority (UWA) in an effort to curb the agency’s promotion of sport hunting as a way to combat illegal poaching.  In the letter you will find in our “What We’ve Been Up To” section, to UWA CEO Moses Mapesa, we urge the UWA to discontinue their hunting programs and replace them with a nation-wide wildlife watching program.  Such programs are very popular with tourists from all over the world and can stimulate the local and national economy to a great degree.  It is our hope that Mr. Mapesa considers the points we’ve raised.

Peace,
Uncle Joe.

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Contact Us

Committee to Abolish Sport Hunting / C.A.S.H.
P.O. Box 562
New Paltz, NY 12561
845/256-1400