Dear HCN,
Talk about stupidity! The
trapping and relocation of lynx from their natural habitat in
northern Canada to Colorado has to top the list (HCN, 2/15/99).
Most people in the Colorado Division of Wildlife have never seen a
lynx, let alone have much knowledge of how they live, but because
they were pressured by the animal-rights zealots and other radical
environmental groups, they went ahead with these moves. A
professional lynx biologist in Canada warned Colorado that the
relocation would not work, but at $50,000 a pop our professionals
thought it money well spent and damn the consequences. Even one of
their more knowledgeable biologists predicted the lynx would all be
dead within a year.
Environmentalists said the
ranchers didn’t want the lynx introduced to Colorado for fear they
would eat their lambs and calves. This is the furthest thing from
our minds. We know if they are introduced into country where
grazing and logging are permitted, the environmentalists would
declare them endangered and demand grazing and logging stop, as
they did in Idaho after seeing tracks that might have been a
lynx.
Now, some of the introduced lynx are dead
and some animal rightists that pushed the introduction are
protesting.
This introduction is the worst case
of animal cruelty any of us have ever witnessed, and the Colorado
Fish and Wildlife will continue their efforts no matter how many
lynx die or how many million dollars it takes. This is bureaucracy
at its stinking worst. Leave these beautiful animals alone and
leave them where they
belong.
John A.
Hotchkiss
Hotchkiss,
Colorado
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline The link between lynx and stupidity.
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