Stop the Senseless Attacks Against Wildlife, Family Pets, by Hunting Dogs

BY JOE MIELE – More and more the media is reporting that dogs kept by irresponsible hunters are mauling and killing family cats and dogs.  From Pupukea to east Honolulu, dogs trained by hunters to kill have viciously torn apart pet cats and pigs, have killed horses, and have attacked a bull causing a threat to public safety.

Hunters know how their cruelty has turned dogs who are eager to please into violent killers, and they know what this “training” does to wildlife.  Anyone who has seen hunting dogs tear living animals to shreds knows that this abominable cruelty can be enjoyed only by the lowest segment of society – those who derive pleasure from watching helpless animals suffer.

Yet, hunting with dogs is encouraged by state game managers because their salaries are funded through hunters purchasing permits, weapons and ammunition, and hunting equipment.  Therein lies the problem with modern “game management” (which should be called “wildlife mismanagement”).  As long as wildlife agencies are forced to be puppets of the hunting industry, the atrocious treatment of wildlife and the senseless deaths of domestic animals will continue.

According to the US Fish and Wildlife Service, Hawaii’s wildlife watchers outnumber its hunters by more than 14-to-1.  By shifting its source of funding away from the violence and killing and toward peaceful forms of wildlife-related recreation, far more revenue could be raised.  These monies could be used to preserve and protect wildlife rather than to exploit wildlife for those who derive pleasure from killing.

To learn more about how peaceful forms of outdoor recreation can change the way wildlife is seen and managed, join our members and supporters in Hawaii and visit www.AbolishSportHunting.org