The Boy Scouts of America now has to defend itself against the Likes of
PETA who has targeted the BSA in this latest PETA campaign. It will be interesting to see how this plays out, but I guarantee you one thing, the
BSA will not discontinue its FISHING and FLY FISHING Merit Badges.
JIMMY D
Boy Scout Senior Patrol Leader Justin Aligata, age 15, stars in PETA's new television commercial encouraging Boy Scouts not to violate Boy Scout Law by going fishing. The TV spot will air on local affiliates in Dallas, the hometown of the Boy Scouts of America, but not on the local Warner Brothers affiliate, which rejected the ad as "too controversial."
Also rejecting the ad are all the national networks such as, NBC, ABC, Fox Family Channel, CBS children's programming, Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, MTV, TNT, TBS, and Toon Disney. According to Tom Kline of Broadcast Standards and Practices at the Disney Kids Network, "I cannot air this on Toon Disney. Especially because the spot is not teaching children why not to fish-it is just telling them not to do it because it hurts animals. Plus, some people really like to fish."
The spot points out that fishing does hurt animals-precisely why children shouldn't fish. Fish have a neurochemical system similar to that of humans, as well as the brain capacity to experience fear and pain. They begin to die slowly of suffocation the moment they are pulled out of the water. And angling hurts other animals besides fish. Countless birds, turtles, and other sea animals suffer debilitating injuries or death after swallowing fishhooks or becoming entangled in fishing line.
PETA has asked Boy Scouts of America President Milton H. Ward to withdraw the "Fishing" and "Fish and Wildlife Management" merit badges because they teach boys that hooking, suffocating, and killing fish is acceptable and to replace the badges with a "Waterways Cleanup" badge.
"Boy Scout Law says we're not supposed to hurt or kill harmless things without reason. So I just couldn't hook helpless animals in the mouth, yank them out of their environment, and still call myself a Boy Scout," says Justin in the commercial.
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Jimmy D. Moore - Author,Outdoor Writer,TOWA, TF&G,VP-GRTU Owner/Webmaster - Worldwide Flyfishing Info.
http://www.BIGTROUTMAN.homestead.com/MainPage.html
www.sportingtales.com This is the website of Sporting Tales magazine - No "how-to OR "where-to"! Just the "Why-to",
with outstanding campfire type stories about hunting and fishing.
