Regarding the HCN article on
antler hunting, I was glad to see that something positive has come
out of the ludicrous Viagra/Cialis craze that fills up my e-mail
spam filter daily (HCN, 8/8/05: Horn hunters face hard times). Now
that artificial drugs have supplanted “traditional” remedies, we
should see some relief for African rhinoceroses, North American elk
and deer, and bears the world over.
I realize that there
is an economic hit from this, and much of it impacts some pretty
poor people. What was always troubling for me was not the people
who sneak out into the backcountry of Yellowstone and gather up the
“shed” antlers, but the regular reports of those who would run a
small herd of elk into a snowbank, and then cut their antlers off
while they are still in velvet (which fetched a far greater price,
apparently). The elk then bled to death, or succumbed to the cold
in their weakened condition. So, while I am sorry that the Boy
Scouts will have to find another fund-raiser, and that marginal
economies in small mountain towns will have one fewer option, I am
not sorry to see the antler trade taking a (hopefully permanent)
dive.
So, while I am sorry that the Boy Scouts will have
to find another fund-raiser, and that marginal economies in small
mountain towns will have one fewer option, I am not sorry to see
the antler trade taking a (hopefully permanent) dive.
Sean Knight
Pojoaque, New Mexico
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Bad for horn hunters, but good for wildlife.
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