Scott Walker has attacked many groups of people in Wisconsin. Had he stuck with solely attacking the unions, we likely wouldn’t have the recall. But as 2011, and the beginning of 2012 was rolling out, the groups of people attacked grew. Bills were introduced attacking minorities, women, children, the disabled, the sick and dying, and that’s just naming a few. One group they have stayed away from, however, is hunters. This is because, for many Wisconsinites of both political parties, hunting is a way of life. I don’t mean necessarily as an element for survival, but many live and breathe hunting. For many Wisconsinites the deer hunting is done on public lands. This practice may be discontinued, however, thanks to Scott Walker.

The news comes with the appointment of James Kroll as “Deer Czar”. Kroll is not well known in Wisconsin, in Texas, however he has been fighting hunters for over 30 years. He also stated that free hunting on public lands is the “last bastion of communism”.  So why would a man like Kroll want to end hunting on public lands? For that answer we turn to the Lodi Valley News:

A trip to South Africa six years ago convinced Kroll that he was on the right track. There he encountered areas of primitive, lush wildlife-rich habitats called game ranches. They were privately owned, privately managed, and enclosed by high fences. He noticed how most of the land outside those fences had been grazed to the nub, used up. “Game ranches there derive their income from these animals — viewing them, hunting them, selling their meat,” he says. “There are no losers.” At his own ranch Kroll has set up a smaller version of the same thing. His land is indeed lush, verdant, with pine groves, an abundance of undergrowth, wild orchids, New Jersey tea, jack-in-the-pulpits, and other native plants. He has also set up a full-scale breeding research center and is one of twenty Texas deer breeders using artificial insemination to improve his herd. “We balance sex and age ratio,” he says. “We manage habitat. We control the population and manage for hunting. I want to leave the deer herd better than it was before we came.”

Yes, it is about money and control. So much for less government control, they want it all when it comes to hunting. But this attack goes beyond hypocrisy into pure insanity when you look at the overall plan. The value of public land, including state parks and state forests, would not really matter as the lands are public and many people expect them to remain this way. Thousands of people visit these public lands to hunt, fish, enjoy nature, or partake in a wide range of other activities that make this land invaluable. As Wisconsin Media Co-op was quick to point out, however, there is already a plan to sell public lands pushed by another Walker appointee, DNR Secretary Cathy Stepp.

Forget the fact that the taxpayers have to pay for a “deer czar”, a very unnecessary position. Beefing up public lands with game so that some rich hunter can buy it and charge people to hunt does not sound like Wisconsin values to me. Make no mistake, if Scott Walker were to win the recall, hunting would likely become a sport exclusively for the rich. The thought of it is enough to shake up even some of the most conservative voters. The mainstream media has been mostly silent on this issue. Then again, the mainstream media in Wisconsin has been quite silent about almost anything that would paint Walker in a bad or impartial light. Please share this article everywhere you can, even if you don’t care about hunting. Together we can fight this.

One day longer!  One day stronger!

Jeremy Ryan

jryan@jeremyryan.net

www.jeremyryan.net

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