In Scouting, we've been taught to fish, to survive in the wilderness, to camp, to hunt, and have all sorts of other oppurtunities others dont have. And hey, PETA might(they really dont, but lets pretend they do) have a point. Remember the outdoor code(fellow scouters)? To leave the land better then we found it? I have NEVER seen a scout catch a fish and then beat it senselessly. Infact, 85 percent of the time, all fish are released. Safely and properly. Yeah, my troop has been known to keep a FEW fish and cook them up for dinner. Managing the population, and its all within the rules.
Scouting, as murf said, is about living off the land. Put a group of scouts and a group of Peta out in the wilderness together. None of this "survivor amazon" crap, im talking hard core wilderness. We'll see who makes it out to the end.... PETA can come interview me if they want the low down.
-Eddie Dillon Eagle Scout, Troop 617 Columbia, MD
To the VFB, FFW and Hill Country Fly Fisher Lists.
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.
--
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.
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