Letter To Editor: Pitt Meadows Dike Hunting

[BuckEye]

This is from the Tri-City News January 21st, 2011 edition. (Port Moody, Port Coquitlam and Coquitlam area paper)
The letter was in response to an original letter "Don't disturb the dikes with development" about proposed commercial development in the area.
Completely off the wall comments by someone who would appear (google search) to be the editor of Business TV and B-TV staffer.

"Or with guns"
The Editor,
Again my wife and I intended to spend an afternoon walking along the dikes in Pitt Meadows with our dogs, as do hundreds of others, only to think we'd arrived in the middle of a war zone.
Apparently it's open season in hunting at the moment, which means shotguns take precedence over safety and can be discharged at will, despite the presence of many families with kids and pets.
I have a suggestion: Until hunting disappears-as did previous barbaric, cultural rituals such as sacrificing virgins- why don't hunters help out their local SPCA's by killing abandoned pet? A disgusting notion, right? That way, society rids itself of unwanted animals and hunters get to satisfy their blood lust, which seems to be not just a right but also a favourite Canadian sport according to those I've spoken to.
Another option is for the hunters to join the army but then I suppose the intended targets would be fighting back; I guess that's not as much fun.
C. Grindley-Ferris,
Coquitlam

My response may or may not be published:January 21st edition:
Re: Don't disturb dike with development "or with guns"
Mr. C Grindley-Ferris’s comments regarding hunters in the Pitt Meadows Dikes area raised the feathers of this area resident. His statements of sacrificing virgins, barbaric cultural rituals, killing abandoned SPCA pets and blood lust, clearly indicate what side of the hunting issue Mr. Grindley-Ferris is on, as ill informed as it apparently is. Unfortunately these comparisons only detracts from the credibility of his original concern (noise) regarding this local issue.
These hunters are also enjoying the day with their dogs, have human safety at top of mind when discharging their shotguns (only permitted firearm in area), and do not wish to make others feel unsafe in this area. Mr Grindley-Farris should feel safe in knowing that these hunters are not after just any odd duck on the dike, and are very specific with identifying their area quarry. Many of these hunters belong to Clubs that play an active roll in government and municipal environmental stewardship programs. Essentially putting their time and money into protecting these areas you and they enjoy so much. The POCO & District Hunting & Fishing Club is a good example. If Mr. Grindley-Ferris (vegetarian ?) is giving of time and money with respect to protecting this wetland area, then credit to him. If not, it would likely be more beneficial to his cause than his letters appear to be.

Buckeye

[Weatherby Fan]

A very well written rebuttal BuckEye,Thank you for doing that as my diplomacy goes out the window pretty quick when trying to respond to the likes of Mr C. Grindley-Ferris

Don Lynum-aka-Weatherby Fan

[nedarb2]

i dont know to call his comment disturbing or disgusting! Wow..

"I have a suggestion: Until hunting disappears-as did previous barbaric, cultural rituals such as sacrificing virgins- why don't hunters help out their local SPCA's by killing abandoned pet? A disgusting notion, right? That way, society rids itself of unwanted animals and hunters get to satisfy their blood lust, which seems to be not just a right but also a favourite Canadian sport according to those I've spoken to."

[NitwiT]

I can't even type, nothing legible comes out...

[Weatherby300]

This is the second time a letter about this issue has been written and I agree it is about noise not safety.:???: Very good rebbuttal though. I would have had a hard time being nice. :twisted:

[Gateholio]

Good rebuttal and you Lower mainland guys ned to HIT THIS issue and HIT IT HARD.

Take away their BS "safety concern" issue. It's virtually unheard of for a dog walker to get shot by a shotgun.

Take the safety issue away,and then it just becomes something that they don't like, and easy to dispute.

[fearnodeer]

I've hunting on these dikes over the years and never had a problem with anyone, as a matter of fact must people i run into are intrested in aking me questions because they are intrested. I don't hunt these dikes anymore but i still walk them and find the biggest proplem is people letting thier dogs run wild and get the same response every time my dogs friendly but i point out mines a Bitch and the sign says dogs must be on a leash. These same people like to leave thier dog crap behind to which harms the natural habit not to mention my shoes and its posted for you to pick up. I was just up hiking at golden ears and there is hardly anyone there, i hiked with my wife for two hours and did not see anyone, so why doesn't this guy go there. Anyways there is lots of dikes to walk on without hunting pressure so maybe this guy should do his reseach before making a comment like that. We can share the dikes.

[mungojeerie]

Grindley-Ferris is not the first and likely far from the last. If you havent already viewed this thread from earlier in the season regarding the same issue please do, there were several excellent rebuttals submitted to the Ridge Meadows Times of which at least two were printed. Links to the original complaint as well as reply letters are found within the thread.

http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=60120

[NitwiT]

Would it work to start complaining about granola munching tree hugging faeries that knowningly take their dogs and kids for walks in the last couple areas in the LML we have for public waterfowling? Seems kind of stupid to me that they ruin their own days..

[BuckEye]

Looks like my rebuttal was printed in todays paper:mrgreen: One fantastic point is that they headlined it with the title: Hunters play it safe on the dikes.
This is showing the correct perspective that hunters in the area are safe.
Here is the link. They changed a wording, but basically it is as written.

www.bclocalnews.com/tri_city_maple_ridge/tricitynews/opinion/letters/114514539.html

[835]

nice work!

[Fishgutz]

Great job BuckEye.......I live in Pitt Meadows and have never had the urge to duck hunt (not yet anyway) But, stuff like this gets the blood boiling, and I honestly feel like grabbing my gun and taking it for a walk on the dike.

[SHACK]

Well I guess my blood boiled enought to write in as well, and they are also going to print my response!

[Surrey Boy]

Looks like my rebuttal was printed in todays paper:mrgreen: One fantastic point is that they headlined it with the title: Hunters play it safe on the dikes.
This is showing the correct perspective that hunters in the area are safe.
Here is the link. They changed a wording, but basically it is as written.

www.bclocalnews.com/tri_city_maple_ridge/tricitynews/opinion/letters/114514539.html (http://www.bclocalnews.com/tri_city_maple_ridge/tricitynews/opinion/letters/114514539.html)

Thanks for taking the time and effort. I never see this issue come up in Langley.

[open-sights]

Awesome rebutle Buckeye, very professional - well worded and very well thought out. It is so easy to react without thought, but you managed to with-hold the aggression and articulate a fantastic response! Kudo's to you!

[BuckEye]

HuntingBC member Shack had his Tri-City News response posted in today's local paper. Awesome letter Shack..Great to see someone from another metro municipality get involved. It shows readers that the support for this area isn't just from those living in the neighbourhood.

http://www.bclocalnews.com/tri_city_maple_ridge/tricitynews/opinion/letters/114746824.html

Shots at hunters unfair:

Re: “Don’t disturb dike with development or with guns” (Letters The Tri-City News, Jan. 21).

Mr. C. Grindley-Ferris’s comments regarding hunters on the Pitt Meadows dikes certainly seem to indulge in the horrific imagination of the writer. The “barbaric” act of hunting as Mr. Grindley-Ferris put it, should be put to better use by destroying unwanted pets?

I for one am more disturbed by a person who would even imagine such a thing than the duck and pheasant hunters using the dike during an open hunting season.

Hunters, anglers and other sportsmen contribute wholeheartedly to the environment, the game, and resources that they utilize with licence fees, volunteer work, direct funding, and the list goes on.

Many access points along the popular dikes in Pitt Meadows are signed to let people know that hunting may be taking place during legal open seasons, and the dikes are to be shared by the user groups that frequent them. Perhaps, these were overlooked by the writer.

Mr. Grindley-Ferris has a warped sense of the sportsmen on the Pitt Meadows dikes. My hat is tipped to the hunters and anglers who are willing to put the time, effort, and money into the environment, conservation and the economy while trying to put food on their table, in what is a very safe, family orientated, and respectful tradition in British Columbia.

If Mr. Grindley would like to go out for a walk, maybe a sterile stroll around the local shopping mall may be less shocking for him. Then again, there could be hoodlums around who have no respect for firearms and who are probably walking around the mall with a gun in their waist belt.

Better stay home Mr Grindley-Ferris — it’s too dangerous out there.

[Spy]

Better stay home Mr Grindley-Ferris — it’s too dangerous out there.[/QUOTE]
Great Letter!:-D
:mrgreen:Nice ending I had a good chuckle!:wink:
I think Mr Ferris got the point, never mind having his name mentioned many more times, than I think he would have liked!
Good going!:-D

[sneg]

well done Buckeye.Do not let short sigthed people like this Mr Grindley-Ferris ruin our heritage. I wonder where person like that come from ? Difficult to imagine he was born and raised locally.

[SHACK]

Yup, pretty much all I had to say about it. It is a bit cut down, but hey, Im apreciative that they have actually been publishing the "other side" of this issue to some degree.

[BuckEye]

After a 2 year hiatus, Mr. C. Grindley-Ferris is back in The Now local newspaper serving Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, Port Moody Anmore areas. Same old stir the pot, I don't understand why people hunt mentality. He does enjoy guns though. Have a read from the letter to the editor. I may whip up a little editor reply.:-D


Debating the ethics of hunting



BY C. GRINDLEY-FERRIS, COQUITLAM NOW JANUARY 9, 2013




I will never understand the mentality of people wanting to kill, but I guess it will continue until the end of time.
I fail to see the reason in allowing hunters to fulfill their blood lust on dikes that families with pets frequent every 10 minutes or so.
This is especially unnerving at dusk and in the mist when visibility is poor. I thought safety regulations were stringent when owning a firearm, apparently not so much when it comes to hunting.
I realize that nothing will stop these people who feel big and powerful with a gun in their hand, but here are a few suggestions that might help.
If it's killing you enjoy, apply for a part time job at the slaughter house; if it's the thrill of the hunt, join the army, it's even more exciting; if it's for target skills, join a clay pigeon club; if it's for food, surprise, most areas have shops that sell food without endangering the general public.
A favourite explanation is that culling is necessary; that might be true in very few cases, but I've never heard of a hunter taking care to destroy only the weak, sick or frail. On the contrary, it's the best of the species that's in their sights, (unlike animals that are used for human consumption where the best are used for breeding).
I enjoy guns and have experienced a variety in the army, from a 110mm cannon on a tank down to the little .22 with numerous calibers in between, but I have never found any reason to go and kill something just for sport.
C. Grindley-Ferris Coquitlam








Read more:http://www.thenownews.com/news/Debating+ethics+hunting/7794615/story.html#ixzz2HcvLrc60

[SUAFOYT]

Good letter. It will be interesting to see how the papers mentioned respond to your letter(s). Here are tips that may assist you in getting yours printed. First and most important, be as brief as possible while keeping your point of view intact. If this guy Ferris is a regular contributor to the Letters section then they obviously thinks he's good for their publication. If they won't print your letter, then point that out and ask for equal time. Quite often they'll gut your letter in the name of "space". If that happens, call them on it. If they won't agree to print yours in it's entirety, then ask if they edit his. See what they say. If they still won't do the right thing then try asking for space as a "guest opinion piece" to rebut his silly statements. Papers do it all the time by simply cutting and pasting op-eds from other rags. Point out that yours would be local, like their paying subscribers. Good luck.

[anglo-saxon]

I fail to see the reason in allowing hunters to fulfill their blood lust on dikes

He does have a point. That is a bit rough on the dikes! 8-)

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/76/A_Dyke_on_a_Bike_by_David_Shankbone.jpg

[604redneck]

this guy can pound sand...my family has been hunting the dikes longer than he has been in canada

[SUAFOYT]

this guy can pound sand...my family has been hunting the dikes longer than he has been in canada

That doesn't matter. Your response, while understandable, isn't realistic. All it takes is the stroke of a pen and you'll be playin' in the sand instead of hunting on it.

[NovemberBravo]

This man obviously has a very confused opinion. I wonder if he knows how bad the animals being slaughtered are being treated? Does he know that hunters are some of the safest and nicest people around? What about the fact that there are probably more people bit by dogs in those dikes then their are people shot.

I do not even live near there or even hunt waterfowl but this upsets me.

NB

[anglo-saxon]

I also wonder if he has a problem with hunting then why did he join the military?

That makes no sense. One has absolutely nothing to do with the other.

[limit time]

Thanks for taking the time and effort. I never see this issue come up in Langley.

Where is there to hunt in langley?

[anglo-saxon]

I have to say that this seriously pi$$ed me off, so I could not help myslef from sending a letter to the editor. I don't live anywhere near there, but the arrogant, high-handed and self-serving garbage he spouted was just too much to ignore. The problem is that there are plenty of unimaginative, chinless wonders out there who will buy his tripe. Not me!

The following is what I sent. I doubt for one minute they will print it. It's probabaly way to close to the knuckle.

Re: "Debating the ethics of hunting" by C. Grindley-ferris (sic), Coquitlam
Now, January 9, 2013

I am personally appalled that the vitriolic, spiteful, and uninformed
drivel of Mr. Grindley-ferris was given space in print. What utter
self-serving, narrow-minded nonsense! To resoundingly correct
Grindley-ferris's wild and outrageous statements:

Firstly, hunting has absolutely NOTHING to do with "blood lust" (as he
puts it) or the enjoyment of killing. Every hunter I have ever met in
my 23 years in Canada has been nothing but completely respectful of
the animals, the environment, and of people. A great many hunters are
directly involved in wildlife conservation and habitat protection
(such as wetlands projects) and all contribute to conservation through
their license fees whether they know it or not. Many hunters are also
involved in youth education programs that teach youth a healthy
respect for wildlife and the countryside, as well as the safe handling
and use of hunting firearms. I repeat: hunting has absolutely nothing
to do with enjoyment of killing, but rather is a time-honoured,
culturally-embedded, wholesome aspect of enjoying the outdoors in this
great country of ours. If we accept what Grindley-ferris spouts, then
surely fishing is also taboo. Grindley-ferris's attempt to forward his
personal interests (that of having the dike used only as he personally
sees fit), thinly masquerading as his concern for wildlife, insults
the intelligence of your readership and I for one don't buy it for one
minute! As a senior Army officer with 32 years of service, a former
federal firearms safety instructor, a former member of the Alberta
Hunter Conservation Instructors Association, a current member of the
BC Wildlife Federation, a hunter for 20 years, and a father of two
teenage boys, I can tell you that hunting and its associated outdoors
activities is probably the most wholesome and responsible lifestyle I
can think of and I highly recommend it. For those why buy
plastic-wrapped meat, that was once part of an animal jammed with
thousands of others into an Alberta feedlot, fed hormones and
antibiotics, then shipped in freezing trucks to be unceremoniously
slaughtered without ever having known freedom of any kind, I say:
Judge not, lest ye be judged! As for Mr. Grindley-ferris: He is not to
be taken too seriously!

[NovemberBravo]

Oh anglo I was a little fired up then so I might not have made sense :wink:.

I edited it a bit and took out the response because I just realized how little sense it made.

[fowl language]

gentleman, i have read all your posts and i applaud all that wrote in ,in support of your sport.what bothers me is the number of excuses as to why they couldn,t write in,i,m sorry that,s a piss poor excuse,if you have time too comment on here but can,t take the time to support your sport. why not spend some time writing to try and give your sport some support. you all know what i,m talking about, just get off your ass or eventually you will be walking the dog around the mall..enough said....dale

[*bcgold*]

C. Grindley-ferris most likely has a sign outside his door saying: Childern should be seen,but not heard.

[albravo2]

Anglo, very well put. Couldn't have said it better myself, even if I did have all the same credentials.

[anglo-saxon]

Anglo, very well put. Couldn't have said it better myself, even if I did have all the same credentials.

But I bet you have more hair!!

[huntwriter]

"Or with guns"
The Editor,
Again my wife and I intended to spend an afternoon walking along the dikes in Pitt Meadows with our dogs, as do hundreds of others, only to think we'd arrived in the middle of a war zone.
Apparently it's open season in hunting at the moment, which means shotguns take precedence over safety and can be discharged at will, despite the presence of many families with kids and pets.
I have a suggestion: Until hunting disappears-as did previous barbaric, cultural rituals such as sacrificing virgins- why don't hunters help out their local SPCA's by killing abandoned pet? A disgusting notion, right? That way, society rids itself of unwanted animals and hunters get to satisfy their blood lust, which seems to be not just a right but also a favourite Canadian sport according to those I've spoken to.
Another option is for the hunters to join the army but then I suppose the intended targets would be fighting back; I guess that's not as much fun.
C. Grindley-Ferris,
Coquitlam

It looks like this same letter is passed on every year. This exact same letter was published every single year, around the same time, in the Maple Ridge News when we lived there.

[huntwriter]

This man obviously has a very confused opinion. I wonder if he knows how bad the animals being slaughtered are being treated?

It's a big fallacy many hunters commit when they use the "animals suffer in slaughterhouses" myth to defend hunting. People that are against hunting are against all forms of killing animals, whether that is hunting or in the slaughterhouse. Besides, the very same people that spread misinformation about hunting and hunters do the same about slaughterhouses. ;)

[anglo-saxon]

People that are against hunting are against all forms of killing animals, whether that is hunting or in the slaughterhouse.

That's a very bold statement that is clearly based solely on your own experience. Whereas I have come across many, many people over the years that decry hunting but have no argument when such issues as battery hens or slaughterhouses are thrown at them; hence my alluding to the hypocricy.

[The Dude]

I also must disagree...... I was an amateur actor around Vancouver many years back, doing stage plays, and after the finale of one play, we had a "wrap party" for the cast and crew.
While munching down on meaty snacks, hunting came up from one of my other actors, and we started talking. Some were pro, most were neutrally curious, and one of the brits was anti.
He literally was stuffing his face with Kielbossa (Pork), when he said

"Oh I'm against hunting! It's barbaric." (It was hard to understand him with a faceful of cheese, pork and crackers)

I said "Ok then, would you like some more Foie Gras from a dead goose, salami from a dead cow, or are you happy stuffing your face with dead pork?"

The whole crew laughed, and he shut up.

Most anti's would happily grill a steak medium rare, and then tell you what a caveman you are, because they get their meat in a package.

[ianwuzhere]

social media makes people like this- if noone pays attention then he will soon be forgotten which will be good.
some people eagerly seek out points of interest that they know will stir the pot with people in society so they can feel good about themselves...

dont reply or even mention this guy- looks like newspapers hire bozo's..

[BuckEye]

A very good response letter was just published. Written by an out of province reader no less. Have a read.

http://www.thenownews.com/news/Hunting+more+ethical+than+buying+factory+raised+me at/7904262/story.html

[StoneHorse]

Second rule of journalism: Controversy and conflict draws a crowd.
Excellent rebuttal letters guys.

[BuckEye]

I sent in a response a while ago, got a call last week from the paper to confirm a couple things. Figured it may be published from the conversation. When I saw this guys response printed and not mine, I didn't feel bad at all. Out of province contributor was icing on the cake.
Have a read folks.. The guy wrote a great letter.