Vote no for Public Question 1 Right to Fish and Hunt

To the Editor:

Even if you enjoy hunting and fishing, please vote “no” on Indiana’s Ballot Question No. 1, Right to Fish/Hunt/Harvest Wildlife.

Evvery citizen in the U.S. already has equal opportunity to hunt and fish.

Enshrining a failing conservation system in the constitution for “the public good” is dangerous. Politicians are consistently reluctant to uphold regulations that protect biodiversity and sound conservation practices. Reaffirming existing laws renders regulation nearly impossible.

A “yes” upholds “traditional methods.”

Is high-powered rifle/captive hunting “traditional”? When did live bait dog training with coyotes/foxes, deer stands overlooking private property or killing endangered species become Hoosiers’ proud “cultural heritage”?

What about the rights of property owners seasonally challenged by trespassing hunters? Deer kills at shopping malls?

Few kill for survival. Hunting/fishing/killing is a lucrative sport. The constitution is a sacred document protecting fundamental rights. Life. Liberty. Justice. Freedom. Speech. Religion ... not recreational activities.

The benefits of a peaceful, plant-based, cruelty-free lifestyle is increasingly apparent; however, it’s unrealistic to blame vegans, animal welfare advocates and “ecoterrorists” for the decline in popularity of hunting.

Agriculture’s relentless expansion of livestock production and industrialized land usage devastates habitats. Waterways and fish are contaminated. Wildlife flee to urban areas where hunting is unsafe. Veteran hunters are passing on. Youngsters have the web for entertainment.

Preserving hunting as inalienable means of conservation defies natural law. Restoration of biodiversity and reintroduction of predators, not killing, is the most humane, ethical and practical way of managing wildlife.

If you’ve already voted “yes” for this dangerous proposition, please read “Feral” (George Monbiot) and “Nature Wars” (Jim Sterba) as retribution and warn your friends of this yet another deceptive “Right to......”

Marian Harvey

Roachdale