The lion is still roaring

Mother Nature is still reminding us that  winter isn't over, not until she says so. We woke up to a small snowstorm this morning. The temperature is around minus 1 C and it is snowing with high winds. Perfect conditions to make the highways dangerous. Highways are on my mind, because we live outside the city. Listening to the road reports confirmed that it is indeed bad out there. Many cars in the ditch on different highways leading into the city. One semi jack knifed and then was hit by another one. A bus turned over and the list goes on. Hwy 75 going south toward the US border closed because of accidents. Many of these accidents could have been avoided, even with treacherous road conditions, if drivers would only use common sense and drive according to conditions; it means SLOW DOWN.

I had a doctor's appointment this morning but I cancelled it and postponed it until tomorrow. They squeezed me in. I was lucky, because the doctor's office is fully booked even next week.

#Illegal killing of moose and other issues

Last week, Friday and Saturday, I was at a convention from the #MWF (Manitoba Wildlife Federation). I'm on the executive committee of the Seven Oaks Game and Fish Association and was chosen to be one of the executives representing our club. Actually, I am the membership chairman. It was a very interesting convention, some of the stuff a bit boring, like listening to the financial reports of the Federation and other business, but nevertheless, interesting in many ways and important to find out.

There were discussions about the state of the Big Game in Manitoba and it is a sad situation. White tailed deer, Elk, #Moose, and even Caribou numbers are declining at an alarming rate. There are many causes, one of them the winters we've had. Many animals starve over the winter if the snow conditions are not favorable and many become victims of predators for the same reason. Deep snow and crusty snow means they are easy prey.

However, there are also other factors involved in the rapid decline of the animals. One of them is the native hunting rights. #First Nation's people can hunt without licenses, they can kill females, even pregnant ones, fawns and calves without possession limits. They are allowed to hunt during the night with high-powered flashlights, which is a really dangerous practice. The animals have no chance at all and there is a good chance people can be fatally shot.

 A couple of years ago, our present provincial government signed a treaty with the #Metis, giving them the same hunting rights. That put additional hunting pressures on the already declining Big Game population.

I don't want to get into details here for fear of being called a racist. These days, if you bring up certain issues, there is the danger it will be called racial. A wonderful way to shut up people who mention delicate subjects. This is not a racial issue. It is just common sense to put an end to this. Uncontrolled and indiscriminate hunting is insane, especially in this century. The whole thing with hunting rights was fine two hundred years ago, even a hundred years, when animals were plenty and there were fewer people and fewer hunters and when people actually lived off the land. Now habitats have disappeared, there are more hunters and anglers. (Yes, over-fishing and possession limits are another problem). Besides, people living in the city, and that includes First Nation's people, do not live off the land. Neither do Metis.

Also, two hundred years ago, there were no high-powered rifles with scopes that give you the distance of the animals, there were no four-wheel trucks, no Quads, no two-million candles flashlights and many other modern gadgets. No roads leading to remote areas. The animals had a chance to breed and to survive.

There was  a posting on the CBC site yesterday about how poachers are killing Moose. Remains of 15 Moose, pregnant cows with 2 fetuses among them, were found. That is a senseless and criminal act and cannot be excused. The people responsible for that must be punished. This insanity must stop.
Check out the article here: Illegal killing of moose. You owe it to yourself. It will open your eyes.

I feel passionate about this, because I'm a hunter. I follow the regulations, I buy a license to hunt. My money helps to establish habitats for the animals, helps to finance surveys, helps the animals to survive.

Unfortunately, this is a political issue and no politician will want to touch it, especially not our current provincial government. They need the votes. In the end we will all lose because of this non-caring attitude. And it isn't only the licensed hunters who will lose, it will also be the First Nation's people, including the Metis. Hunting rights mean nothing if there is nothing to hunt. 

Oh, I did a bit of math who can call himself (herself) a Meti. Apparently, it goes back 8 generations, which means if a person had an ancestor who was a native (Indian) 200 years ago he/she is a Meti. Do the math. 1/256 part of this person is Native. Wow! Maybe I can call myself French. Apparently, my ancestors came from the south of France.