There are better options
Monday, March 27, 2006 7:40 AM PST
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E-mail this article This letter is in response of the March 10 letter about the Toutle area elk herds.
If 50 horses graze a five-acre pasture, and they die of starvation, the owners would be cited, fined and possibly jailed for animal cruelty. If a hunter shot and left a game animal to rot, they also would be cited, fined and possibly jailed.
On March 19, I read about poachers who were charged with animal cruelty, wasting of game meat, shooting of publicly owned game. What is the difference between a domesticated horse and a wild elk? Is starving elk of the Toutle area legitimate game management? There are better, more humane game management options than those reported about the Toutle area elk.
Let hunters harvest a limited amount of elk each year. If harvesting a limited amount of elk each year is not a option then, money needs to be allotted to provide feed during the winter months.
If it is inhumane to starve horses or other domestic animals, then what exempts the state agencies responsible for the oversight of these animals from fines, penalties and imprisonment, when their actions lead to the starvation and waste of game?
Micaiah Mullins
Rainier
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