Re: the future of hunting
Grolar and others in the same age category.
Your future hunting lies in your hands.
You will have to join into the fray to preserve the opportunity and I would suggest that you do it now. It will take a united front by the resident hunters of BC to endure.
The resident hunter has no friends other than resident hunters. You cannot rely on First Nations or the guiding interests because they want to take your opportunities away and then sell them back to you. They have to be resisted.
Guides and First Nations are in cahoots. An example of this is moose in Region 5 before the recent decline.
The moose were grossly mismanaged after the introduction of LEH in Region 7. When Region 7 went to LEH, those that frequented Region 7 turned to Region 5 and the liberal 2 week open GOS for moose. The moose population were decimated by the mid '90s necessitating a curtailment of the GOS for conservation measures. By the mid 2000's the moose population rebounded so that the government introduced an immature bull season. This was short lived because the guides enlisted the First Nations to demonstrate at the wildlife branch office in Williams Lake forcing the government to rescind the immature bull opening. Do you get the picture?
I reiterate, THE GUIDES AND FIRST NATIONS ARE NOT OUR FRIENDs. We may scratch their backs, but they will not scratch ours unless they are wanting something that we have and they wish to take it away.
Realize this. With a united front, resident hunters can and will prevail. But being united means that you will have to have a vehicle or organization that will be your force. You will have to drive it. That organization lives today, that organization is the British Columbia Wildlife Federation. Never mind those naysayer that decry that the BCWF is ineffective. Ask them what they are doing to protect their present and future hunting opportunities. The answer is nothing aside from beaking off here and that is about as effective as finger wiping their ass after a big download.
We have sacrificed in the past, that is how the guides foisted the LEH upon us which continues to be our sacrificial collar. We have sacrificed enough, time for some others to pay the piper!
Sure we are not all going to be on the same page at once, but by consensus we can arrive on that page and then march united for our cause.
Think about this. The resident hunter numbers have again surpassed 100,000. The total number of First Nations in this province number approximately 200,000. Our numbers are ½ that of the First Nation, but that makes us the second largest lobby group for our interests. That is a sizable group that the government cannot ignore.
Bottom line, join your locally BCWF affiliated fish and game club. Get involved and makes sure your issues get aired. Sometimes it might not please you, but more and more will eventually get the picture. Champion the cause!
".....It will be far easier to limit and undo the follies of a Trudeau government than to restore the necessary common sense and good judgment to a depraved electorate willing to have such a man for their prime minister......"