Pardon Me Please!!!

By Cody McCann

The holiday season is definitely upon us, and amongst the traditions such as going Shopping on Black Friday, the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade, and going to Grandma's on Christmas morning is one tradition which may not be very old, but gains national news coverage; the pardoning of the National Turkey. While it is unclear who started the tradition of pardoning the turkey the only presidents who we can be certain to have actually PARDONED the bird were George H.W. Bush, William J. Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack H. Obama. Stories exist that Kennedy when presented with the bird said "lets just keep him" but didn't officially pardon the bird, Truman may have pardoned a turkey in 1947 (the first year that the National Turkey Federation and the Poultry and Egg Board presented the president with a Turkey) but the Truman Presidential Library can not find documentation to support that claim, and another story exists that Lincoln pardoned his son Tad's pet turkey.

While every President since the Missouri native has received turkeys from The NTF (National Turkey Federation), I just wonder what message pardoning the bird sends. I know that the whole event is supposed to be light hearted and a feel good ceremony, and that there is another bird being cooked in the White House kitchen as the ceremony goes on outside. According to the NTF they estimate that 68 million turkeys were consumed Thanksgiving and Christmas last year, and is one of the holiday staples. But are the president and the NTF sending the wrong message?

The Presidents public statement that they are not going to eat the turkey could be telling the public that it is better to not eat turkey, by pardoning it is to personify it, and personification of animals is the primary tactic of Animal Rights groups. Its not too far of a stretch of the imagination for PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) or HSUS (Humane Society of the United States) to have an ad campaign next Thanksgiving showing clips of pardoning's past and then some commercial turkey farm and trying to make the case that why should only one be sparred when millions of other turkeys are not.

Ok so I know that most people are still going to fight over the drumstick during the holidays no matter what HSUS and PETA says, simply because it is tradition, but that type of message may be able to convince a segment of society to have a Tofu Turkey instead, and thats not what is best for Agriculture. So Mr. Obama in 2011 I would prefer not to see a turkey pardoned, but rather images of Sasha and Malia pulling the wish bone, or the president carving the bird, as it sends a better message to the public; that the first family prefers  their poultry on a platter rather than pardoned.

Works Cited

Brunner, Borgna, and Mark Hughes. "Presidential Pardon ." Infoplease. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Dec. 2010.   

            <http://www.infoplease.com/spot/tgturkey2.html>.

Edwards, Cynthia. "Did Truman Pardon a Turkey?." Harry S. Truman Library & Museum. N.p., 5 Dec. 2003. Web. 13 Dec. 
             2010. <http://www.trumanlibrary.org/trivia/turkey.htm>.

Knoller, Mark. "The History of the Presidential Turkey Pardon ." CBS News Politics. CBS News, 25 Nov. 2009. Web. 13 Dec. 2010. <http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-5774739-503544.html>.

"Turkey History & Trivia." Turkey the Perfect Protein. National Turkey Federation, 2010. Web. 13 Dec. 2010. <http://www.eatturkey.com/consumer/history/history.html>.

Wayd Jansen

Wanted Dead, Not Alive

            Women attacked while jogging on a hiking trail, utility vehicle attacked and flipped paralyzing one man, (Feral Hogs - Threat to People, Agriculture and Missouri's Natural Resources.  ), plus an endless list of property damage. At this point your mind is probably racing, “Is it a bobcat? Couldn’t be they are too small to flip a utility vehicle. Is it a mountain lion? No couldn’t be. It must be a bear right?” The menacing animal with this long criminal record is none other than a feral hog.

            The privies listed offences are all done by an animal that has been taking a larger and larger foothold in the place that we call home. At this point, the Missouri Conservation Department is listing over twenty counties in Missouri as being infected by feral hogs. The habitat destruction and competition against native species puts this invasive animal at the top of the Conservations hit list, but could we turn them into a blessing.

          Feral hogs are the only animal that I can recall that the conservation department has written, “Shoot on sight,” next to its picture. I understand that feral hogs are not a native species to Missouri and I have read long list of attacks and reports of property damage by people from different states yet, I still have a hard time with this call to arms.

There are always problem animals of any species. Mountain lions reported as attaching people on trails and, bears entering camp sites or homes but, there’s never the call to eradicate a whole species. Now don’t get me wrong I love hunting, and if you’re telling me it’s open season everyday of the year, my gun is not going to be anywhere but by my side. Can this be considered, “good conservation” though and what is the reasoning behind it?

One of the biggest things I see is that feral hogs pose a threat to two of, if not the most important trophy animals in the state, turkey and deer. According to the Missouri Conservation Department and University of Missouri Extention, “Feral hogs will eat anything they can catch including reptiles, amphibians, fawns and bird eggs. Besides the direct mortality, hogs compete with native wildlife for food items. They consume roots, berries, fruits, acorns and other nuts with such efficiency that native species may be left short. A large population of feral hogs distributed widely throughout the Ozarks where turkey reproduction and survival depends heavily on the nut crop, would do serious damage to Missouri's turkey flock.” My question is, “Is the eradication of one nonnative species considered a good thing, so as that we preserve the ever climbing population of our trophy species. “

Most people would likely say they agree with the conservations take on things.  As for me I see another animal to capitalize on. Many folks love to hog hunt, and people will often book guided trips to states like Texas that hold trophy sized hogs.  So why are we not regulating hog hunting, and making hunters purchase tags that funnel more money into our conservation agencies? This to me is a missed opportunity for our states.

Another thing that bugs me is at one point in the history of our state we have almost hunted both the deer and turkey into extinction before we realized we had to regulate seasons and tags. After this was discovered there was the extensive management process to try and bring these species back to the state. This is a situation we could prevent with proper conservation procedures taken sooner rather than later. Then, instead of having  to work on rebuild a population, we could start with the enjoyment of managing or healthy population.

As for me, I love to hunt and I’m working on a degree in Conservation Wildlife. I see a big error in our ways right now and I’m hoping to possibly shed light on a situation before we realize what we might be miss out on it.  

         

           

Work Cited

Feral Hogs - Threat to People, Agriculture and Missouri's Natural Resources. MDC, 2010. google.com. Web. 24 Oct. 2010. <http://mdc.mo.gov/landwater-care/animal-management/invasive-animal-management/feral-hogs/feral-hogs-threat-people-agri>.

Moore, Chester. Wild Hog Attachs Rare but Scary. Port Arthur The News Connecting Communties, 8 June 2008. Web. 24 Oct. 2010. <http://panews.com/outdoors/x681446177/Wild-hog-attacks-rare-but-scary

Pierce, Robert A., and Rex Martensen. Feral Hogs in Missouri: Damage Prevention and Control. UME, Dec. 2009. Google.com. Web. 24 Oct. 2010. <http://extension.missouri.edu/publications/DisplayPub.aspx?P=G9457#Damage>.

Animal Activist vs. Bull Riding

            On November 3, 2007 bull riders, fans, and friends sat in despair as we watched a great young man’s life end right before our eyes. Zach Clinton was a good bull rider by anybody’s standards but, he may have been a little miss matched on this night. Zack started a good ride but, by about mid way through the ride he ended up under the bull as its hide hooves came down right on his chest. Zach stopped breathing before the ambulance arrived and was pronounced dead before he made it to the hospital.

            People might wonder how this possible relates to animal activist groups considering; activist groups wish to see all rodeo sports including bull riding banned. What people fail to realize is that these groups will pick on rodeo associations from the largest associations such as the PBR or PRCA on down to the smallest association like high school rodeo associations. For the larger associations it’s not as hard to fight back because, they have the funding to higher expensive lawyers to discredit the propaganda that these groups wish to spew online or in court. Smaller or newer associations normally will not have the man power or funding to fight off the activist groups, there for will occasionally be shut down.

            With different associations there is a different level of competition. A father does not just throw his tee ball player in to a high school baseball game and say, “Go hit a home run,” there is a process of honing your skill; the same is for rodeo. Participants start by matching up with animals that are of the same skill level and build their skills till they graduate to the next level. If one of the steps it taken out of the growing process then there is a miss match and accidents can happen, just like in the case of my friend Zach.

            I hope with this that I can bring some light to this sort of situation. In Zach case he would have most likely still of chose to rodeo at the level he was at. Zach was always one to test himself with strong competition. So competitors though would love to have another babe step before moving up to a large association but, with the pressure from animal activist groups this is not always possible. I believe that if this animal rights activist groups can band together to destroy the rodeo way of life then, we as rodeo participants and fans need to band together and at no matter what level of rodeo the fight for survival is at we need to be there for each other.