I got this from the NYSORVA list. Just when you think you've heard it all .....
-----Original Message-----
[Subject: and if they ride an ATV in the process?]
N.Y. Wildlife Group Calls Hunting a Terror Threat
ALBANY, N.Y. - Saying hunters can easily be terrorists in disguise, a
wildlife
group on Friday asked for a suspension of New York's annual hunting season.
Anne Muller of Wildlife Watch is aghast that being armed and disguised in
camouflage is legally permitted in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks.
Hunting "is just a wonderful opportunity for someone who would want to do a
terrorist act," Muller said. "They don't have to report their whereabouts
and
can be lurking anywhere. They can lurk in groups."
But Peter Constantakes, spokesman for the state Department of Environmental
Conservation, said the Empire State sees things differently.
"We take our direction from law enforcement professionals, not groups that
would
attempt to use the war on terrorism to advance their own agendas,"
Constantakes
said.
Robert Kazmierski, founder of The Wildlife Sports and Educational Museum
being
built in Vail Mills, 40 miles northwest of the state capital of Albany,
agrees.
"They're against hunting and they'll use any means possible," Kazmierski
said of
Wildlife Watch.
"If these people want to express their thoughts, they're welcome to express
their thoughts," he said. "But they shouldn't terrorize the rest of the
people
by something that they're dreaming up."
But Wildlife Watch, an animal and wildlife advocacy group, says that the
Sept.
11 terror attacks have changed the climate in New York.
"Armed and camouflaged individuals can get close to chemical, agricultural,
business facilities, gas pipelines, electrical power lines, substations,
transformers and airports," the group said in a statement. "Local police and
environmental conservation officers will merely slough off concerns saying
that
the individuals are 'just hunting.'"
The group is asking for a suspension of gun and bow hunting for more than
330,000 hunters on Nov. 19, when deer season begins in New York's Southern
Zone,
its busiest area.
The group cites an Alaska shooting in October in which a hunter apparently
punctured the trans-Alaska oil pipeline, sending 285,000 gallons of oil
gushing
onto the tundra.
Constantakes said DEC officers won't "slough off" any suspicious behavior,
as
Muller said.
"We're proud of the job we do," he said. "We're very vigilant."
Kazmierski accused the group of "using [terrorism] as a threat."
"It's just another means of getting the public riled, just like with
anthrax,"
he said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
http://foxnews.com/story/0,2933,38439,00.html
-----Original Message-----
[Subject: and if they ride an ATV in the process?]
N.Y. Wildlife Group Calls Hunting a Terror Threat
ALBANY, N.Y. - Saying hunters can easily be terrorists in disguise, a
wildlife
group on Friday asked for a suspension of New York's annual hunting season.
Anne Muller of Wildlife Watch is aghast that being armed and disguised in
camouflage is legally permitted in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks.
Hunting "is just a wonderful opportunity for someone who would want to do a
terrorist act," Muller said. "They don't have to report their whereabouts
and
can be lurking anywhere. They can lurk in groups."
But Peter Constantakes, spokesman for the state Department of Environmental
Conservation, said the Empire State sees things differently.
"We take our direction from law enforcement professionals, not groups that
would
attempt to use the war on terrorism to advance their own agendas,"
Constantakes
said.
Robert Kazmierski, founder of The Wildlife Sports and Educational Museum
being
built in Vail Mills, 40 miles northwest of the state capital of Albany,
agrees.
"They're against hunting and they'll use any means possible," Kazmierski
said of
Wildlife Watch.
"If these people want to express their thoughts, they're welcome to express
their thoughts," he said. "But they shouldn't terrorize the rest of the
people
by something that they're dreaming up."
But Wildlife Watch, an animal and wildlife advocacy group, says that the
Sept.
11 terror attacks have changed the climate in New York.
"Armed and camouflaged individuals can get close to chemical, agricultural,
business facilities, gas pipelines, electrical power lines, substations,
transformers and airports," the group said in a statement. "Local police and
environmental conservation officers will merely slough off concerns saying
that
the individuals are 'just hunting.'"
The group is asking for a suspension of gun and bow hunting for more than
330,000 hunters on Nov. 19, when deer season begins in New York's Southern
Zone,
its busiest area.
The group cites an Alaska shooting in October in which a hunter apparently
punctured the trans-Alaska oil pipeline, sending 285,000 gallons of oil
gushing
onto the tundra.
Constantakes said DEC officers won't "slough off" any suspicious behavior,
as
Muller said.
"We're proud of the job we do," he said. "We're very vigilant."
Kazmierski accused the group of "using [terrorism] as a threat."
"It's just another means of getting the public riled, just like with
anthrax,"
he said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
http://foxnews.com/story/0,2933,38439,00.html
