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OVERCAST Temp: 51 °F Wind: WNW at 7 mph Wednesday, February 19, 2003 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine W3 Magazine Jobs @ Mail Tribune Tempo A & E Oregon CarZone Wellness Connection Real Estate Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend January 11, 2003 Corvallis rabbit hunt continues amid controversy An animal-rights group views it as a success that the state withdrew support By MARK FREEMAN Mail Tribune A family rabbit hunt will go on today near Corvallis after all, but without state sponsorship and amid claims of victory by an animal-rights group irate that the government is encouraging women and children to take up guns for sport. Corvallis-based Marys Peak Hunt Club will take over the event originally sponsored by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife but canceled amid protests over the workshop’s message and methods. The club called the workshop’s 27 registered participants and offered to teach them, without charge, how to hunt and field-dress wild rabbits. The club will conduct the hunt at the nearby E.E. Wilson Wildlife Area. Any licensed hunter can hunt rabbits, an unregulated animal with no bag limits, at the wildlife area. Free permits are issued to rabbit-hunters through February. Club member Jerry Ray of Corvallis said his group is offering the free hunt to ensure that animal-rights groups cannot halt a legal hunt just because they protested. "We couldn’t let the anti’s get away with this," Ray said. "This is not something we need to run away from." The club’s offer to host the hunt came Friday during a two-hour public comment period by the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission, which invited people to air their concerns at its Portland meeting. "It’s been taken out of our hands," ODFW spokeswoman Ann Snyder said after Friday’s hearing, which drew 80 people and 20 speakers. "We’re not involved. We’re not a sponsor." And that constitutes a victory to Matt Rossell of In Defense of Animals, who said his group was adamant that the ODFW divorce itself from aiding and promoting hunting, especially when it involves children. "Whatever happens out there (today), whatever animals are killed for fun and sport is, of course, extremely sad," Rossell said. "But the fact still remains that we’re getting exactly what we asked for — no state endorsement or support." Rossell said his group will not take part in any protest at the hunt, but "I won’t discourage anyone from protesting the killing of rabbits for fun." The commission made no decision following the public comment period Friday, but Chairman John Esler did say the commission supports ODFW programs that teach hunting to women and kids. Those programs are considered key methods for the ODFW to recruit new hunters. In the workshop, wild rabbits from the wildlife area are flushed from the bushes for participants to shoot. Instructors teach participants to field-dress the carcasses for preparation as food. Animal-rights groups said teaching women and children to hunt rabbits for sport fosters disrespect for wildlife and promotes using firearms for violence. Organized by Rossell, the activists planned to protest the Saturday hunt if it wasn’t canceled by ODFW. Agency Director Lindsay Ball on Tuesday called it off over safety concerns as well as fear that forcing participants to drive through picketing activists would sour the hunting experience. Ball then invited protesters and others to speak their minds to the commission. Hunters mounted an 11th-hour lobbying effort on the commission and out-numbered animal-rights activists at Friday’s meeting. Reach reporter Mark Freeman at 776-4470, or e-mail [email protected] Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright 1997-2002 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy webmaster feedback A D V E R T I S E R S