POSSIBLE BAN ON GAME MEAT TRANSPORTATION – Hunting out of state has become popular amongst hunters. They are looking for any and all opportunities they can to get in the mountains and hunt. To allow for more opportunities, hunters frequently travel to different states. However, with a new initiative introduced by an anti-hunting group, out-of-state hunting may become impossible.
Transportation Ban
Two anti-hunting groups are attempting to ban the transportation of meat across state borders. The two groups include the Center for Biological Diversity and the Natural Resources Defense Council. Both of these groups are known extremists that have attempted to ban hunting in the past.
The reason, they say, that they feel meat transportation should be banned is due to the spreading of diseases. They are building off the fear of the COVID-19 pandemic to push their agenda to ban hunting. Stating, diseases that transfer from animals to humans could be limited if wild game meat wasn’t transferred from state to state.
The petition claims, “Pandemics caused by zoonoses – infectious diseases that jump from animals to people – are entirely preventable.”
Impact on Hunting
In the petition, the two parties state that meat, antlers, bones, hide, and skulls should not be transported from state to state. This means that the giant mule deer that a man from Colorado just harvested in Nevada will not be able to be brought home. Or, a big Texas whitetail cannot go home to the hunter and his family in Oregon.
The petition doesn’t rule out non-resident hunting completely. However, if a hunter can’t bring home the meat and antlers, what’s the point of going. Hunters know that half the enjoyment of hunting is when that animal hits the table. Without being able to enjoy the steaks or looking at the mounts on the wall, there really is no reason to hunt.
Conclusion
Hunters need to work together to fight this petition. The two parties are working on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and Department of the Interior (DOI) to publish this new rule. As hunters, we need to speak out against this to protect our right to provide for our families.
