Calgary Sun Article about the bears...

[Blake]

You guys gotta see this, feb 5th article, by Michael Platt titled 'grizzly thought'.

www.canoe.ca/Columnists/platt.html

if the link doesn't work here's the whole article

February 5, 2004
Grizzly thought
By MICHAEL PLATT -- Calgary Sun
Left with only 73 grizzly bears to shoot, I have to feel sorry for many of Alberta's hunters.

Not because the hunters won't have enough grizzlies to kill this coming spring, not at all.

I feel sorry for many of the weekend killers, simply because no one has recognized and offered to treat what is obviously a deep-rooted sickness.

These people need help, and badly.

Sickness, to me, is the only way of explaining how an otherwise decent, ordinary person can find joy in ending the life of another creature.

Getting a thrill or rush of power from killing qualifies the killer as mentally unbalanced, be it a grizzly or gopher in the cross-hairs.

Before every gun-polishing sharp-shooter in Alberta decides to go a-huntin' for column writer, let me qualify that by saying I have nothing against hunting or fishing for food -- or clothing.

I eat beef and wear leather. And I like to pretend I'd be brave enough to kill my own dinner if Safeway suddenly shut down for good. But you can bet I wouldn't be smiling, or taking photos of the bloody corpse to impress my friends.

Gun-owners who choose to shoot their meat instead of buying plastic-wrapped rib-eye at the grocers are not the hunters I'm aiming at. Killing for food does not make you sick, it makes you a carnivore, an order to which most humans belong.

But killing for the sheer glee of it makes you a sociopath -- and far too many Alberta hunters pull the trigger to make themselves feel good, not to feed their families. Even when the freezer is packed full, there are hunters who are itching to go shooting.

For those death-worshippers who found themselves sulking over this year's limited grizzly kill, maybe it is time to go hunting for a psychiatrist in the yellow pages.

This is not about food: it's about machismo and wanting to brag about killing Alberta's most fearsome predator.

Never mind if that predator is peacefully nibbling berries and looking the other way when the brave hunter fires his weapon.

If hunting for sport had anything to do with getting back to nature, or the thrill of the chase, then the click of a camera would be just as satisfying as the squeeze of a trigger.

But it isn't, because watching an animal die is what tickles their twisted fancy.

There couldn't be better proof of how death-driven these sad, unbalanced souls are than their reaction to the limited grizzly hunt, announced this week.

Their whining started the minute Alberta Sustainable Resource Development announced this year's hunt would be be limited to 73 licences -- 28 fewer than last year -- and take place between April 1 and May 15, two weeks shorter than usual.

In spite of frightening estimates by Alberta's top biologists showing Alberta's grizzly population teetering at 500, and desperate calls for a temporary hunting moratorium until an accurate count can be made, the would-be killers whined.

Preferring anecdotal guesses from a few ranchers and hunters who've seen plenty of bears lately, the hunters lobbied for the kill to continue, and won.

But having permission to potentially slaughter nearly one-fifth of the province's remaining grizzlies, while dooming the rest to probable extinction through a weakened gene pool, is not good enough.

As soon as the grizzly kill numbers were announced, many "sportsmen" suggested the ignorant, bleeding-heart public had harmed their right to hunt.

Brushing biology and science aside -- hunters always think they know better -- some of those thirsting for bear blood even suggested the hunt should be larger than previous years.

It doesn't matter that being wrong could result in the extinction of Alberta's grizzlies, and that stopping the hunt for even one single season could make all the difference.

The urge to watch a grizzly bear die outweighs any concern for the future of the species.

If that's not sickness, I don't know what is.






Can you believe this guy? He's nothing more than a prejudiced child imo. What kind of fellow Albertan is so quick to judge and convict neighbors like that? With no facts...just pathetic estimates from god knows where? What a mess, i've already sent my emails to him, cc'd to the editor and Gerry Forbes...ya never know right? Lets not let this arsehole get away with that kind of prejudiced crap. That aint my kinda Canadian i'll tell ya. Post this to any other local forums you know also...i'm pressed for time.

B

[Top Dawg]

Christ does that guy like too hear himself talk.... I hope the guy never drives his car out of the city limits incase he hit's a deer or Bear with that car.... How about a stat on out of that 73 tags how many will actually be filled????? I would guess 2 or 3 I think these people think that if 73 tags are sold 73 bear will die not likley I have a better chance of winning the lotery and getting stuck by lightning in the same day..... B4 guys like this go off on there little rants how about some facts.... Pisses me off... :cuss:

[scooter]

This moron has his head so far up his ass, he can't see tomorrow...

I have read his eco nazi, tree huggin bs before and it's all drivel. The sad thing is that people buy into it. Where does he get his facts? Well, let me tell you...It's from the good ole cpaws and awa (Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society and Alberta Wilderness Assoc). Their so called "experts" don't know shit. I have been privy to a few meetings with these idiots and have seen them shot down every single time.

Alberta's top biologists

And who might these people be? And who are they employed by? Think about it....



Morons like this platt character should just crawl under a rock and stay there. :x :x :x

[Dillershortbow]

Do gooders like this guy reilly piss me off thay think every one in canada has to think the same . This same clown would probley piss himself if he ever faced that same bear eating berries. Grizzlies are really making a comeback in recent years there lossing the fear of man mabey one will wander into calgary and eat a news paper reporter. :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:

[Ishpah]

Mr. Platt has a job to do and that is to make some sort of copy that will please his editor enough so that it will make the paper and hopefully sell some newspapers. His failure to provide these newsy stories could get him fired and he will not be able to buy his cellophane wrapped rib eye steaks.
Write letters to the editors disputing his claims. After all, Mr Platt has basically told us in his story that he has never experienced the moment of truth in the stalking of a dangerous animal, when the potential for the hunter to be the hunted exists in the blink of an eye. How can Mr. Platt really judge us then, for he has never walked in our moccasins.
When you write your letters to the editor, or post your comments here, remember that these forums can also be read by the Mr. Platts and his ilk. Choose your words wisely, using words like "Do gooders like this.............." and "This Moron has his ........" create a negative image for us which is hard to defend, and only render "them" with more ammunition by which to attack us.
In closing, should one of you get a draw for a grizzly, ask Mr. Platt along for the experience, then let him cast his stone... that is, if he he has the balls to accept. But please, no cutline hunting, make him climb the talus slopes for the real experience.

[scooter]

Mr. Platt has a job to do and that is to make some sort of copy that will please his editor enough so that it will make the paper and hopefully sell some newspapers. His failure to provide these newsy stories could get him fired and he will not be able to buy his cellophane wrapped rib eye steaks.
Write letters to the editors disputing his claims. After all, Mr Platt has basically told us in his story that he has never experienced the moment of truth in the stalking of a dangerous animal, when the potential for the hunter to be the hunted exists in the blink of an eye. How can Mr. Platt really judge us then, for he has never walked in our moccasins.
When you write your letters to the editor, or post your comments here, remember that these forums can also be read by the Mr. Platts and his ilk. Choose your words wisely, using words like "Do gooders like this.............." and "This Moron has his ........" create a negative image for us which is hard to defend, and only render "them" with more ammunition by which to attack us.
In closing, should one of you get a draw for a grizzly, ask Mr. Platt along for the experience, then let him cast his stone... that is, if he he has the balls to accept. But please, no cutline hunting, make him climb the talus slopes for the real experience.

Well put Ishpah. But, I have dealt with these types of people for a long time (through the aurs) and it makes no difference what or how you say things to them, they don't listen. You can jump up and down and scream and yell and it won't change our image...you can call it harvesting or whatever instead of killing and it won't change our image, you can call asshats like this names and that won't change our image. I have spent too many years trying to change the image of the motorized users in the back country and thanks to press like this article (not this one, but similar stuff) the motorized users have a really bad name. 99% of them don't do the crap that makes it to the news...But there's that 1% that does shit like that and they make it on the news. That's what everyone sees. So, I have to disagree with you on the one point that we have to watch what we say. ... This is a free country and I will say what I please. I am entitled to an opinion however redneck it may be and if someone reads this and decides they don't like hunters because they read my opinion...then they are sadly too stupid for words and they should just go for a long walk in the woods and never return.

Their information is based on lies, they don't know the first thing about what they are talking about and go blindly forward fighting for this invisible cause that someone has made up. It's sad really...and what kills me is that the general public buys into it. Yes, stupidity runs rampant in our society.

[Black Bull]

Does that "gentleman" realise that the rib steak he is eating come from an animal that was slauthered"killed" and the butcher watched them die.
SAme for the nice chichen with white pure feather,butchered.We eat the animals we hunted"not killed".And that meat has a wemories flavor.

THan that mean that God was a killer to ask that sheeps be slauthered and burned on (sorry I dont know the english word for autel)sacred stone as a ritual?

Taureau noir :lol:

[PSE_Archer]

Below is TJ Swanky's response sent to the calgary Sun in rebuttal to Mr. Platts article.

The suns editors e-mail address is listed and I would hope everyone takes the time to write a clear, concise e-mail to the Sun letting them now how we as hunters feel about the poor journalistic standards that are evident in this artcle.



TJ Swanky's Response


The sun editor's address is callet@calgarysun.com

Here's the letter I sent:

Dear Editor:

My first emotion when I read Michael Platt's Grizzly Thoughts in the February 5, 2004 Calgary Sun was outrage. I was not outraged at his attack on hunters but by his complete lack of understanding of the ecosystem and his place in it. My second emotion was pity; pity for Platt and pity for the grizzlies.

With hypocritical journalists and amateur environmentalists speaking for these great bears, what can their plight be but doom. The first rule of managing wildlife is that it needs to be managed according to science, not emotion. To that end, Mr. Cardinal and his dedicated staff in the Fish and Wildlife Division are doing an excellent job. They based their decision to continue the reduced hunt on science, not the ramblings of yellow journalism like that written by Mr. Platt.

If Mr. Platt had a point to make, could he have not done it without resorting to the lowest form of confrontation: name calling? My debate teacher used to tell us that when you resorted to name calling, that you were completely out of facts. To that end, Mr. Platt never had any facts. If an attack like this was levelled at any other group, whether that be racial, religious, sexual orientation or even professional hockey player that wear visors, Mr. Platt would have found himself accountable in a court of law, as would the Sun for printing such drivel. This is nothing more than hate journalism and the Sun should be appalled that it allowed it to be printed.

Certainly there is room for debate on the grizzly hunt but there is not room for self serving, egotistical journalists like Platt.

Yours truly,
T.J. Schwanky





.

[cdn-redneck]

The opening article On page 10 of this month's Bowhunter magazine is quite relavent to this topic. The article is entitled "Time to Grow Up" and is written by Jay Strangis. It talks about the American glorified killing TV shows and how all hunters are percieved this way. I don't know if wecan get a copy of that article to post onto the website or not. I looked and it is not on www.bowhuntingmag.com . Read it and hopefully it will say how we really feel about hunting.

[WOOKIE]

Derrick, I have the issue at home. I will type the article in and post it here this weekend.

[cdn-redneck]

Good because if I type it I will post it next month :lolouch: :thumbsup: :cheers:

[BlueNorther]

LOL Redneck :lol: .

When I read that article I just saw red,I actually had a hard time finishing it but I made myself read it all.That is yellow journalism at its finest.With one broad stroke Michael Platt painted all hunters in a bad light.I'm no biologist but I believe I know more facts on the grizzly in Alberta than he does,but I don't go out spouting whatifs and suppose so's about it.

[sir_huntsalot]

First of all that platt fellow is an idiot and I cant imagine how he got a job as a reporter. He sounds like a elementry kid that cant control his temper. Second, people that were not brought up hunting just dont get it and they never will. You may as well talk to the wall as try to reason with an anti, they are the most closed minded people you will ever come across. One of my sons was raised for the most part the first 14 years of his life by my x and was brainwashed into thinking hunting was wrong. He lives with me now but will never be a huntsalot. He has discribed me to his friends as a hick who kills animals and an animal murderer. I dont care if he hunts or not but it makes me mad that he has been brainwashed by someone that really does not know anything about it. Its to bad the kid is missing out on something that he probably would really enjoy if he had been exposed to it as a small child. He is 16 now and there is no hope for him now. On the other hand my 16 year old stepson is turning into a good hunter , I showed that boy the way of the redneck lol. The problem is that most kids are raised in the city and the never have a chance to try hunting and find out what it is all about. These same kids grow into the misinformed adults that base there opinions on what the cityslickers print in the paper or say on tv. If they dont like the idea of hunting than dont hunt but leave the rest of us alone and f**k off.

[WOOKIE]

I lied. I don't have that issue here. If anyone else has it and would like to transcribe it here, please feel free. Or type it up and email it to me and I will publish it.

[archdlx]

I just wrote that idiot and The Sun an email. Kinda pissed so Ill post it here. Let me know what you think. I don't do this often, so any help in dealing with these types would be appreciated! Thanks, LeRoy.

Dear Sir,
I have never hunted any bear, let alone grizzlies. I never plan on it, but it does not mean that I will revert to name calling of the hunters that do. If Don Cherry gets his fingers slapped for "Europeans and French guys" how the heck do you get away with calling Albertans "mentally unbalanced", and a "sociopath"? You say they do it "filled with glee". How would you know how we feel when we kill an animal? Have you ever sat down with some real hunters? I'm willing to bet one hunter spends more money in one year on conservation than you do in five! As for your stats, where did you get them? If you had done any research you will find that most of the tags will be left empty, shorter season or not. Where does that money go? Certainly not back to the hunters. I will not even get into how much money is put into the areas of the hunts.
You say you eat beef and wear leather. I would asume you also eat chicken and veal and lamb. I challange you to go hunting with someone like T.J. Schwanky and his wife or Ryk Vischer. See how much country you see, and how the hunter "gleefully" takes care of the animals he kills. Then write an article about hunting. Then I challange you to go to the slaughter houses and watch how your beef is "taken care" of. Also go to Lillydales chicken "factories" and see how they are "taken care" of. Then write an article. Compare the two. I dare you.

LeRoy C. Archer
Edgerton, AB

Maybe a little overboard?

[WOOKIE]

Very well written. I beleive that if the journalist in question reads this letter, he may realise the mistake of his ways.

[sir_huntsalot]

I agree with archer that the letter is well written but I dont think for one second that it will make him see anything in a different light. You may as well talk to the wall as try to reason with people like him.

[AWES]

Hi all, This is the letter my buddy sent Michael Platt and the response he got back.

Mr. Micheal Plat
After reading your article "Grizzly Thought" in the Feb. 5/04 issue of the Calgary Sun, I decided I had to reply. I couldn't believe what I was reading. There was not one fact in the article, just a city slicker demeaning an Alberta fraternity for one purpose and one purpose only, to end sport hunting. Not once in the article did I get the sense you are even remotely concerned about the grizzly bear population in Alberta. The one thing your article has done for me is put my thoughts on the Calgary Sun in a different perspective. If your editor would publish such an article with no facts or proofs how many other articles are the same? It leads me to believe there are no truths in any of the articles in the Calgary Sun. Because of this I will never purchase your paper again.
I am a hunter, and fisherman, but first and foremost a conservationalist. As with most hunters and fishermen, I have a great concern for the populations of all wildlife in this province. I love to hunt and fish and for this reason have more reason to protect and enhance the resource, so I and generations to follow will be able to do the same. I spend close to 200 days every year outside the confines of the concrete jungle hunting and fishing (rarely killing anything). Who in their right mind could possibly think I would want to jeopardize any wildlife population. I am certainly not the person you portray in your article, and there is no point in me trying to explain why I hunt. As proof from your article you don't have the intelligence to understand.
My response to you will be of facts complied by J.A. Nagy and J.R. Gunson from a management plan they prepared for the Alberta government in 1990. This plan is based on studies from 1972 to 1988. In 1990 the grizzly bear population was estimated at 790 animals, and the main goal was to increase this population to 1000 bears. What concerns me is the last record of any creditable population survey was done in 1988. If you would like hunters to wait "for a more accurate count", I ask for how long? We have already waited 15 years. In the period from 1972 - 1987 68% of grizzly mortality was caused by legal harvest and 32% were removed by illegal harvest, problem wildlife, self defense, treaty Indians, research and accidental. In 1989 a limited harvest was put in place to restrict hunters harvest to 2% of the population to allow for population growth. Once population levels reached their desired levels this allowable harvest would then increase to 4%. This would keep man caused mortality a 6.5% and 8.5% respectively. Hunter success rates are between 3% and 4%. If by some miracle the government estimate of 500 bears is correct, a 2% harvest goal would allow for the legal harvest of 10 grizzlies this spring. With a 4% hunter success rate this would allow for the allocation of 200 grizzly bear hunting licenses (being conservative). So then why has there only been 73 hunting licenses issued for this spring? Are we headed down the same path as Ontario, where the spring black bear hunt was closed due to public pressure and not management? In conclusion the report says the survival of the grizzly bear primarily depends upon preservation, enhancement, and management of habitat. Not by hunters taking 2% of the population through legal harvest.
I have two suggestions for you Mike. First rather than alienating the law abiding, tax paying grizzly bear hunters, be constructive and start demanding answers and results from the wildlife managers. Why after 15 years, with a plan in place, has an estimated (accurate or not) population gone from 790 to 500, when the goal was to increase it to and maintain it at 1000 bears. Start complaining to our government, who are only interested in fossil fuel and urban sprawl, to start protecting, enhancing and managing grizzly bear (and all wildlife) habitat. If this was done there would be more than enough bears for everyone to enjoy. My second suggestion is to stay within the confines of the city. Don't go for a drive through the foothills or northern regions of this province, and by no means go for a walk in the Kanakas country. If you were to be mauled by a grizzly or hit one with your car, I would hate to know you were responsible for its slaughter.

Tom Windsor


Here is the response he recieved from Michael Platt!!! ( I don't believe it! )



Mr. Tum Winser (my named is Michael Platt, but since you don't seem worried
about getting the spelling right, neither will I),
Sorry to pick yours out of so many articulate letters, but I'm plain fed up
with hunting indignites like yourself ranting blindly, without understanding
a basic fact about newspapers.
You see, Tom, what I write in the opinion section of the paper is just that:
an opinion. My opinion. Not the newspaper's, not the reporter's, not the
photographer's and not the press worker's. It's my opinion Tom. And Tom, I
stand by that opinion, which is based on scientific fact and evidence (go to
the Alberta Wilderness Society website if you want a few of those facts, and
you'll find there are hunters who agree with me, too). Just because you
discount the evidence as a government ruse, doesn't make it a lie. It makes
it a difference of opinion (there's that word again, Tom: opinion).
Anyway, to make my argument easier for you to understand, here it is:
because someone messed up (you seem to agree with this point), no one is
really sure how many grizzlies remain in Alberta. Until we are sure how many
there are, hunting is a bad idea. So let's stop the hunt for a year or two,
and let the nice scientists do their count. Once we know how many bears are
left, we'll know how many bears can be safely hunted. Now then, here's the
part you don't like Tom: hunters who refuse to stop killing while the future
of these bears is accurately considered, are sick. That's my opinion.
And Tom, one last point: I have lived in the province my entire life. I have
spent at least as much time outside the city as you have, enjoying the
outdoors and nature of MY province. Just because you like shooting it does
not give you a monopoly on wildlife, Tom.

Platt

[scooter]

which is based on scientific fact and evidence (go to
the Alberta Wilderness Society website if you want a few of those facts

What this eco-nazi does not understand (along with the majority of the population) is that the "facts" that he speaks of are incorrect. The AWA have been laughed out of many a meeting about conservation and grizzly bears with their so-called facts. They are slanted to show less grizzly bears than there actually are. He just doesn't get it. I guess Michael Platt goes by the old addage...I saw it on the internet...It must be true. :shock: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll:

[Gumby]

He's a typical columnist with nothing going for him so he picks on hunters because they are the easiest victims he can shoot off about. Anyone replies and he can instantly brand you as a lunatic that wants to eradicate all wildlife. There is no sense talking to these jackasses. I had a run in with the editor and manager of the Brandon Sun last year and I refuse to buy their paper anymore . Hit em in the pocket book it's the only place they have any feeling for. You'll never find a newspaper person that will admit they are wrong. Must be nice knowing you're perfect though and the rest of the world knows nothing. I think I heard somewhere that media personell were ranked lower than lawyers in a poll of people the average person trusts. Wonder why???

:punch: :bash: :twak: :-XX

[WOOKIE]

What a Jackass. Our only course of action is to boycott the Calgary Sun and let the editor know why. Here are a couple of addresses for the Mucky Mucks at the Sun

julie.wilk@calgarysun.com
guy.huntingford@calgarysun.com

And the authors email is

michael.platt@calgarysun.com

I will be sending a letter shortly.

[AWES]

Hi all follow the link to see some e-mails sent to Michael Platt concerning his column he wrote. There are too many to post here, it is way easier to just follow the link.

http://pub10.ezboard.com/falbertawildlifeenhancementsocityfrm2

[scooter]

Hi all follow the link to see some e-mails sent to Michael Platt concerning his column he wrote. There are too many to post here, it is way easier to just follow the link.

http://pub10.ezboard.com/falbertawildlifeenhancementsocityfrm2

Thank you for the link AWES. Here's another tidbit about the grizzly bears....This is what the eco-groups are up to now.....This one is from Wildcanda.net.





More phone calls needed for Alberta's Bears!

Last week we reported on the decision by Alberta to continue the grizzly bear hunt. While government reports state there are only 500 grizzly bears left on provincial land, and the government's own Endangered Species Conservation Committee has recommended the grizzly be protected from hunting as a threatened species, Alberta's Premier Ralph Klein and Minister of Sustainable Resource Development Mike Cardinal have chosen to issue 73 grizzly hunting permits.

We asked you to call the Premier and voice your concern over this foolhardy decision, and you responded! We've received emails from almost 400 people saying they have called Premier Klein! For those of you who called, please know that your effort is making a difference!!

Sadly, the Premier still isn't listening. We need more calls!

"I wish that Mr. Cardinal and Mr. Klein would imagine the day when they have to go to their grandchildren and say there are no more grizzly bears in Alberta. We're not that far away from that now. I just can't imagine that day…" said one Wildcanada.net Network Participant after she made her call.

Stopping grizzly hunting should have been the easy thing for the Premier to do. We at Wildcanada.net are very concerned that future decisions, like closing an area to Off Highway Vehicles or not allowing logging or mining in a region to protect grizzly bear habitat, will be nearly impossible to reach if we don't send a clear message to the Premier today.

We can't do this without you. Please call the Premier at 1-780-427-2251. Dial 310-0000 to make a toll free call in Alberta. Tell the Premier's receptionist how you feel about the decision to allow the hunt to continue, and what future you want for Alberta's grizzly bears. Make sure they record your name and address. It only takes 30 seconds, and it will send a very clear message to Premier Klein: Albertans, Canadians and people from around the world love grizzly bears, and we don't want them to disappear.

It may seem scary calling the Premier's office. I still get a lump in my throat when I pick up the phone. But Alberta's grizzly bears need YOUR voice to survive. Please speak up.

Click here for suggested talking points. Cl ick here to tell us when you've made your call.

Stephen Legault


http://www.wildcanada.net/documents/images/steph-signature.gif


Stephen Legault
Executive Director
Wildcanada.net

[scooter]

On a tour of Alberta, the Pope took a couple of days off to visit the
mountains for some sightseeing. He was cruising along the campground in the Pope-mobile when there was a frantic commotion just at the edge of the woods. A helpless man, wearing sandals, Hawaiian shorts, a save-the-whales tee shirt and a tree-hugger hat was struggling frantically, thrashing around trying to free himself from the jaws of a 10 foot grizzly.


As the pope watched horrified, a group of loggers came racing up. One ran up and quickly fired a 44 mag into the bear's chest. The other two reached out and pulled the bleeding semiconscious man from the bear.


Then using long clubs, the three loggers beat the bear to death and hauled
it to their truck. Immediately the Pope shouted and summoned them to come over. "I give you my blessing for your brave actions!" He told them. "I heard that there was bitter hatred between loggers and environmental activists. But now I have seen with my own eyes that this is not true."


As the Pope drove off, one logger asked his buddies "Who was that?" "It was the Pope," one replied. "He is in direct contact with God, and has access to all of God's wisdom."

"Well," the logger said, "he may have access to God's wisdom, but he sure
doesn't know anything about bear hunting. By the way, is the bait holding up okay, or do we need to go back to Canmore and grab another one?"


:lolouch: