HSUS using "CSI" to promote anti-hunting views!


clayman

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Friends,

I like to watch CSI. But I don't think I'll like what I see on tonight's (Feb. 10th) episode. The animal rights group HSUS has "consulted" with the producers of CSI in the making of tonight's episode which involves an investigation into a bear killed in an illegal "canned hunt". Regardless of our individual positions on fair-chase vs. game-farm operations, the public will surely see ALL hunters in a negative light thanks to the immensely popular fictional TV show.

The HSUS is actively promoting tonight's episode on it's website and using the fictional show to promote it's anti-hunting agenda.

Spread the message and share this with all of your hunting friends!

http://www.hsus.org/press_and_publications/press_releases/csi_sheds_light_on_canned_hunting.html

"CSI" Sheds Light on Canned Hunting

02/09/2005

WASHINGTON - CBS's top-rated drama "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" may be fiction, but the scenarios depicted on the show are often based on reality. The episode scheduled to air tomorrow draws attention to an increasingly controversial practice known as canned hunting, according to The HSUS, which provided information for the episode.

In the episode, the CSI personnel investigate the killing of a Kodiak bear, found in the woods of Lake Mead, Nevada. Evidence leads them to discover that the bear was killed during the commission of an illegal canned hunt.

In reality, canned hunting is perfectly legal in most states and The HSUS estimates that there are more than 1,000 canned hunts operations in 28 states. Texas contains more canned hunting operations than any other state.

Canned hunt operators breed deer, elk, and other big game animals, hand rear the animals, and release them into a fenced enclosure to be shot by paying clients. The defining aspects of a canned hunt are:

• The animal has does not have the opportunity to escape, which violates the concept of fair chase.

• Native and non-native species are bred specifically to stock the hunting operations.

• Clients pay a fee to kill an animal; the most common arrangement is a "no kill, no pay" policy.

• Animals are acclimated to people by feeding and other practices that make the operations more akin to a cattle ranch than a preserve for deer or other animals.

Several states have banned or restricted canned hunting, including Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, North Carolina, Oregon, Utah, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin.

In 2003, New York Governor George Pataki vetoed a bill that had passed both chambers of the state legislature. According to The HSUS, the small but vocal canned hunting and game farm industries in the state pressured Pataki to veto the measure.

In Indiana, the legislature is considering a bill that would exempt the state's canned hunting operations from the state's wildlife regulations. The representative who introduced the bill has received campaign contributions from the Indiana Deer Farmers Association.

"Governor Pataki's veto and campaign contributions to an Indiana state representative symbolize what we're up against in our battle to stop canned hunting," said Heidi Prescott, HSUS senior vice president of campaigns. "We believe the 'CSI' episode will educate millions of viewers about this little-known but widespread practice, which is reviled even by most hunters."

The Humane Society of the United States is the nation's largest animal protection organization with more than 8.5 million members and constituents. The HSUS is a mainstream voice for animals, with active programs in companion animals and equine protection, wildlife and habitat protection, animals in research and farm animals and sustainable agriculture. The HSUS protects all animals through legislation, litigation, investigation, education, advocacy and fieldwork. The non-profit organization is based in Washington and has field representatives across the country. On the web at www.hsus.org.

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Re: HSUS using \"CSI\" to promote anti-hunting views!

I posted this same relpy to the related thread in the lounge, but here it is again.

I watched this episode tonight and here are my views:

I did not see HSUS as a sponsor nor listed in any of the credits.

Like all TV dramas this episode is fictional and not a documentary.

They showed an act taking place that was illegal in their state and had moved the bear to a different location.

The bear had been illegally obtained by the bad guys.

The bear had been drugged, which in itself is despicable.

The bad guys got caught, which is good to show the public.

The reaction shown by the wife of criminal who was shooting the bear is understandable.

The reaction of the officers looking at a canned hunt video of the rhino being killed is also understandable.

“Real Hunters” were not mentioned in this episode.

Personally, I don’t think there was anything in this episode that would hurt the reputation of “real, ethical or humane hunters”.

I see no reason to boycott the sponsors of the program or get into any kind of letter- writing campaign against what was shown on the show.

Maybe you guys see it differently, but that’s my opinion. …..popgun

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Re: HSUS using \"CSI\" to promote anti-hunting views!

After watching last night's episode, how would "Suburban Soccer Mom Sue" vote on a ballot initiative to ban bear hunting?

Did you see any hunters being portrayed in a positive light?

Too many people believe the fiction they see on tv, and for many of them it's enough to associate these activites with ALL hunting activites. That's what we should be mad about.

Buckee, it's not a paranoia. When even two hunters are portrayed as unsporting criminals in a fictional TV show that's as popular as CSI, then we need to be concerned.

The HSUS was able to use the mainstream media last night to put negative images into peoples minds. Again, did any part of the show, or anyother show, on CBS last night portray hunters in a positive vain?

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Re: HSUS using \"CSI\" to promote anti-hunting views!

Yeah, clayman..I agree with you actually, but at the same time, we as hunters need to pick our battles against anti-hunters carefully, don't you think?

After all, if the show was portrayed as an illegal hunt, to begin with, then we would be defending the wrong end of the stick.

To use this show to defend our hunting, we would be guilty of sending mixed messages to the same folks who look at this show in the wrong light.

I should have been more elaborate in my response. These shows are definitely a threat to hunters, in the minds of those who don't know any better and view it in the wrong light, but we do need to be careful which battles we chose to fight on the anti-hunting issues or we will lose our own credibility as being responsible outdoors men.

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Re: HSUS using \"CSI\" to promote anti-hunting views!

As a hunter, I also do not like the HSUS and ALF organizations, but I am not so paranoid as to think they are responsible for "All" the bad publicity against the hunting community.

Simply because the writers of CSI did not say anything positive about ethical hunting practices does not necessarily make them the enemy.

If you will recall, the investigators were also working another case. The young mother was murdered by her stepmother for financial gain. They did not say one good thing about all the other stepmothers who are out there loving and caring for their step-children. By your way of thinking, this would mean that the writers of CSI have some hidden agenda, vendetta, or negative opinions about "Stepmothers" in general.

Do you think that the writers of the original movie "Bambi" or "Babe" or "Lion King" were all members of some anti-hunting group?

If TV watchers wanted to see hunters in a "positive light" they would be watching the Outdoor Channel.

I still see no reason to get heated up about a "fictional" TV show, so my original opinion still stands.

By the way, why did you post the same subject in two different locations on the forum? It sure makes it hard to keep up with a discussion. .....popgun

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