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Here’s what’s worth reading today, Friday, November 15, 2019:
Rifle, crossbow, atlatl? Colorado petition seeks to legalize hunting with spear-thrower: There’s an effort in Colorado to add a new kind of weapon (actually, a very, very old one) to the list of what people are allowed to use to hunt big game. That weapon is a prehistoric spear-thrower called an atlatl. You can think of an atlatl like a “Chuckit,” one of those ball-launchers people use to throw tennis balls to their dogs, but instead of a tennis ball there’s a spear, arrow or dart. “Exactly, it’s the same concept,” said Devin Pettigrew, who’s petitioning Colorado Parks and Wildlife to allow atlatls during archery season. Pettigrew is a PhD student in archaeology at the University of Colorado, Boulder. He has published research about the atlatl, but he said this petition isn’t for research purposes. He just wants to hunt with what he calls “an ancestral tool of humankind.”
Louise Linton, wife of Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, takes aim at Trump administration over trophy hunting imports: Louise Linton is taking aim at the Trump administration. Linton, a Scottish actress and the wife of current Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, voiced her displeasure over news of a trophy hunter who was allowed to import a lion’s head into the country — the first instance of such an import since the Trump administration reversed an Obama-era policy that banned trophy hunters from doing just that. In an Instagram post shared this week, Linton stated, “Americans should not be permitted to kill exotic animals for fun!” She then included language from part of a press release issued by the Center for Biological Diversity in September.
San Antonio Food Bank partners with hunters to collect deer meat for hungry families: The San Antonio Food Bank is once again participating in the Hunters for the Hungry program, which is managed by Feeding Texas, to help those in need. Through the program, hunters can drop off legally tagged deer to a participating meat processor, and eventually, the meat makes its way to the San Antonio Food Bank. “We have dozens of processors that are independent organizations, for-profit companies, that we’re paying $1.20 a pound to process the venison that hunters might drop off at their locations. But this year, we partnered with Trinity Oaks, where the San Antonio Food Bank has staff and volunteers that process venison,” said Eric Cooper, president and CEO of San Antonio Food Bank.
South Carolina man shot after hunting partner mistakes him for deer: An Upstate hunter was shot Thursday after he was mistaken for a deer by one of his hunting buddies, according to the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. Capt. Robert McCullough said it appeared that a group of men were hunting together when one man got out of his stand. He was mistaken for a deer by another member of the group and was shot, McCullough said. The two men know each other, McCullough said. The man was shot with buckshot through the upper body, and was taken to a hospital.
Nebraska rancher, hunters collide over elk: A Nebraska rancher who claims elk caused more than $100,000 in damage to his crops has been granted 50 deprivation permits to thin the herd roaming his land. The decision to grant the permits by Nebraska’s Game and Parks Commission has stirred a controversy between the agency, the landowner, State Sen. Steve Erdman and hunters. Erdman pressed Nebraska Game and Parks on behalf of rancher Butch Schuler of Bridgeport, and the permits were approved to allow “shooters” to kill up to 50 of the elk. Some hunters are outraged by the decision as only 374 elk permits were granted in Nebraska this year while Game and Parks received 5,300 applications. State surveys suggest the number of elk in the state is 2,500 to 3,000, but some believe the population is much higher.
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