Wednesday July 19, 2006, 12:09 pm
I've never heard anything about this before now. This is a disgrace once again.I cannot believe that a group of people can do this. Once again ,I say if people are able to do this and feel noemtion,we are in trouble!!! This means we have people capable of doing much worse and this is not acceptable and obviously is another sport activity .Killing innocent animals no matter what they are is sick and they need to make extreme laws against this.
I can't believe that this would be legal.... NO WAY! This is so sad and very disturbing ! I can't find the words . They were helpless and for fun/a sport for points.....

They get points?? This is a sick sport. If this is allowed and there is no law against and no prosecuting people who participate ,there is something else wrong with thhe world. It can't be considered legal.

Thursday July 20, 2006, 4:51 am
These are very sick people. And worse, they are very sick people with guns.

Thursday July 20, 2006, 5:53 am
Pointlessly cruel - I'm speechless.

Thursday July 20, 2006, 6:40 am
Prairie dogs are so cute. How can there ever be a contest such as this one. People get sicker everyday. You would have to be extremely uncaring to participate and watch this. This needs to end. All involved need to be punished, like shooting pellet and paint ball guns at them and see how many extra points you can get for them jumping up high in the air.

Thursday July 20, 2006, 6:59 am
I've just done a search on Google for 'varmint hunting' and it looks like its a regular sport, clubs formed just for the purpose of killing small animals for fun. There is even a varmint hunter magazine (or more than one, I'm sure) how can this be allowed?

Thursday July 20, 2006, 7:21 am
man becoming brutal. this is what man had achieved becoming modern and advanced. and still he claims that he is near to god.......if some man is reading this he'll change!

Thursday July 20, 2006, 10:50 am
It’s totally sick! I can see it now…a bunch of beer guzzling guys with nothing better to do than go out and shoot up the prairie to see who’s the best shot and who scores the most kills. How pathetic!! That this is allowed is disgusting and a testament to the brutality and ignorance of some people. Can’t we do something to try and outlaw this?

Thursday July 20, 2006, 6:51 pm
This is absolutley disgusting!!! I wonder if PETA or Humane Society is aware of this sport!

Thursday July 20, 2006, 10:11 pm
Some people are so sick and sad. Getting amusement from taking a helpless beings life?! Horrible.

Friday July 21, 2006, 2:32 pm
I am so saddened by the state of our world right now I can't stand much more. I spent hours watching those adorable prairie dogs jump in and out of their holes just so I could snap a photo of them. I have to believe that there is Karma in this world and those that abuse and murder helpless animals, children and people will receive what they deserve. I am sad that I do not get to see the justice served in most cases, but I have to believe in my heart that these sick and twisted people are here for a reason - I just don't get to know what it is.

Friday July 21, 2006, 2:58 pm
And we call ourselves a civilized species. No other species on earth kills just for a thrill... completely disgusting.

Friday July 21, 2006, 4:29 pm
Prairie dogs are intelligent and social creatures, with a sophisticated system of language, and capable of highly developed social relationships in their communities, or "families'.
As with most gentle creatures, there are a certain type of human being that seems drawn to hurt, torture, and/or humiliate gentle souls- animals OR humans. As if this is their only understanding of personal power: to harm or destroy that which is defenseless and beautiful and vulnerable.
It truly IS sick, as many have already stated. It is hard to know what to do about these kinds of people, as it seems that so much of our culture comes from this place of base violence and heartlessness. I believe this diseased consciousness to be a powerful and huge and insidious problem infiltrating all- as All is connected.

Maybe the best we can do is remain awake and conscious, make choices with our eyes and hearts open, and speak clearly and strongly with a sane voice, in the midst of this insanity.

Friday July 21, 2006, 5:30 pm
Judy,your description is one that I picture also.

Kim,you write poetically and all you said was well written.

We still need to fight as hard as possible in any way possible to stop it, educate people that this is
happening ( I never knew of this sick sport) and hope for prosecution of the people capable of doing this.

This needs to be acknowledged. I have a feeling that It's not even acknowledged or that anyone has ever been convicted of partaking in this sport.

Our hearts are open for sure.... For the inocent victims that are used as sport and entertainment. My god ,there are points in this game of rounding them up and killing them. It's too much .... I never heard about this before. I'm sure people who hunt or kill will use any living thing but now prairie dogs. Is this a new sport?

I can't ever imagine sitting back and allowing it to continue .I would be turning an eye and condoning it. I hurt too much for them.

Debbie,I believe in Karma with all my heart but sometimes you need to take a clue and jump start something. I don't know how popular of a sport this is? I love prairie dogs and they are innocent beautiful creatures to watch. I love them so....

Friday July 21, 2006, 6:48 pm
Thanks, Prima.
And I agree: there needs to be more education/illumination regarding the existence of these types of sadistic "games" being commonly perpetrated on innocent creatures. (Companion animals as well as wild animals, of course..)
I used to live in Boulder, CO, where prairie dog colonies were everywhere! :) One could hear their little chirps and squeaks, see their heads popping out of their tunnels, seeing them bouncing around in their active "villages", all over the open space areas. Being from the East Coast, what a treat to see so many wild animals alive and well in their native habitat- irregardless of all of the humans encroaching on their territories.
However I remember working with a man who was a Pastor in some church in Boulder. He used to tell me, with some amusement and wistfulness... stories that his friends would go out and make a game of seeing how many prairie dogs they could shoot, and how outrageously entertaining this was. He admitted that he, himself, found nothing wrong with this practice. Shocked, I asked how he ( a man supposedly representing some moral authority) could condone such a violent act perpetrated on "God's creatures". He responded that we, as Humans, had a Right, to do whatever we wanted to animals, as we are on the "top of the food chain", and therefore, "inherently better" (his words) than animals.
Good God. How does one respond to such egotism and ignorance? And this, coming from a man claiming to represent the beliefs of a kind God?
(But, that's a topic for another thread...)

Anway, yes- there needs to be more education. And also, yes, the level of Disconnection that so many have from Nature (and therefore, from their own heart, and what is right and wrong) can feel quite disheartening at times.
But, that's why we're here at Care2: to do some work, and help contribute some positive change. :)

Saturday July 22, 2006, 2:00 am
This is a sickening story, I am learning more and more that all animals are at risk from humans, if humans are what you can call this digusting people!

Saturday July 22, 2006, 3:53 am
The brutality of the human race never ceases to amaze me. My gut instinct is to put all the hunters in a barrel and then let loose with a gatling - but then that would put me on the same level as these evil people.

Saturday July 22, 2006, 4:10 am
Beautifully stated, Kim.

Saturday July 22, 2006, 4:10 am
Kim,OMG! I can't even imagine what went through your mind when he said this. There was nothing you could even say or do that would have swayed his thinking. He was so ignorant and arrogant that nithing would have phased him.

Right there is the thinking that ruins the world.That we are supoosedly higher up on the food chain. Ignorance!

AM...many of us think things like this.All the time when I hear stories I feel like I want to kill them. I am non violent but if my pet was set on fire orsomething ,what would I do?? I assume my common sense would never allow me to be violent back but their lives would not be hapy.I would fight hard.
We can't do those thins=gs because then we become what we are against but we sure can think it....

These animals have their own survival in their environment to worry about and were here way before us.We just take and build on their land forcing them to enter residential areas and I am way offf topic..... I will stop here.

I'm sensitive and I never heard about this sport.I assume people that hunt will shoot anything that is living and moves but I never knew of this to an extreme or a sport..

Look at all the notes..., Mike ,looks like you brought a hot topic that got to many of us appalling us. Thank You for letting us know this goes on and hopefuly something can be started to make this illegal . From major fines which of course is not good enough but if big enough money hurts.

Saturday July 22, 2006, 4:24 am
Indeed, we are all outraged by this. It's a form of mob violence type of activity as well. Doubtful that one man alone would go out and do this. It's a "group sport" of the most outrageous kind. Ignorant, disgusting, brutal and should be criminal...and you can bet a lot of beer consumption is involved. Makes me sick! Again....I ask you all. Can't we DO something to stop this? Can't we as a group get some laws passed outlawing this sort of thing?
Mike, what do you think? Petition perhaps?

Saturday July 22, 2006, 8:16 am
Pretty sad that some people find this "contest" entertaining. If only these same individuals would turn their energies away from pointless destruction of life to creating a better world. This would be felony animal cruelty in some states. The article doesn't say exactly in which states this is happening, but it obviously happening in states with poor animal protection laws. Individual states pass these laws, so if you live in one the states practising this awful contest, you need to contact your state legislators today and tell them you are opposed to this.

Saturday July 22, 2006, 8:17 am
Have these awful people have no feelings? Have they never bonded with a little creature in their miserable lives? How can someone possibly do these things to the animals that grace this glorious world we share with them? Just look into their eyes? Any being? Man, it makes me sick!!! And very sad.

Saturday July 22, 2006, 9:22 am
Another ugly example of generational desensitization. Disgrace the promoters and sponsors for their narrow-mindedness. DEMAND government change abusive policies! DEMAND compassionate living in our school cirriculae!

Saturday July 22, 2006, 9:22 am
How very sad. We all need to be concerned about this horrible practice and write our legislatures no matter what state we live in.

Saturday July 22, 2006, 10:56 am
this is bloody babaric! wat is the matter with the people in this world killing helpless animals! somebody must do something about it and very soon! i love all animals these people are sick! there is no other word for it. from an animal lover in north London

Saturday July 22, 2006, 12:47 pm
I think the worse thing about this, so called sport is that it is being taught to community children as well. Children learn from their parents and it only repeats itself. My hero is Lisa Simpson of the Simpsons (really the writers of the show) she always calls out the trueth of cruelty and injustice for all. I hope we all can learn something from her and stand up and speak out. We the Care2 community can bring this to pass I believe in us and I know we are changing the world one cause at a time. Keep up the fight they need us.

Saturday July 22, 2006, 1:14 pm
The glorification of cruelty and violence. .excerpts from this article "boredom..bragging rights..time honoured pastimes.. relaxing". Relaxing? Hobbies are relaxing. Maybe calling this pastime a hobby would be a more accurate description, from a "shooters'" point of view. It looks more like a void of empathic response and respect filling with red mist. I was most young when I saw a war photo of a human being that was a red mist. It was anything but relaxing to look at and wonder about.

Do shooters graduate to canned, sport, safari hunters? When they get bigger do their prey get bigger along with their arsenals, various other big business paraphernalia, and bragging symbols? How big do we want them to get? Maybe they will turn into balloons and pop one day.

"Just do it" one ad says. Do you try to look through the eyes and ears of a young child? Do you see the stimuli they are surrounded by; how their personalities and characters are being shaped, molded and stunted? What about national anthems? Do you ponder on their lyrics? I think we better turn our horses around, because it looks like a lot of balloons up ahead.

"When knowledge ends, violence begins." A quote that seems to work in many aspects of shared existence. I think it also includes self-knowledge.

Lets stop and water the horses here: Education regarding sentience and interdependence: at home, at school, abroad, wherever human children and non-humans' small children are.

Saturday July 22, 2006, 4:23 pm
Beautifully stated, Brenda.

Saturday July 22, 2006, 5:44 pm
it was SO refreshing to note that as gut wrenching as this practice is.thankfully no contributer was prepared to reduce themselves to the perpetraters level.....& that am c recognised the danger of doing so!....may we NEVER reduce ourselves to that level.....& become dead to the world & all it's wonders around us!

Monday July 24, 2006, 8:34 am
this is bullshit!!!! sorry for the language!

Monday July 24, 2006, 8:56 am
The abuse of wildlife is always horrendous. The reduction of the prairie dog population has a significant effect on an endangered species – the black-footed ferrets. Conservation groups are concerned that the reduction of prairie dogs might affect a population of black-footed ferrets (Mustela nigripes), which rely on the rodents for 90 percent of their diet.

Monday July 24, 2006, 10:44 am
This shooting of prairie dogs is cruel, inhumane and down right stupid. Only totally unfeeling people would participate in something like this. They should be stopped and shunned for the sub-humans they are.

Monday July 24, 2006, 3:57 pm
It makes me sick that this still goes on. My sons and I love to watch the prarie dogs, they are so cute and when I try to explain my outrage over this, the people at work think I am nuts. I have actually heard the prarie dogs described as "biodegradeable pop-up targets". These people that have so little regard for animals also have little regards for "humans".

Tuesday July 25, 2006, 1:28 am
What are we going to DO? We could start with a petition of some sort?

Tuesday July 25, 2006, 3:41 am
That was my question a while ago, Mandy. We should do something. It will take a bit of research to see who to target to get something done on this, but if nothing else, a petition would heighten the awareness of the masses.
Amanda, the people who think you're nuts don't have a clue about the ecosystem and the important part these creatures play in the survival of other species. You should tell them that, but it would fall on deaf and ignorant ears, I'm sure. Some human beings are pitifully ignorant.

Tuesday July 25, 2006, 4:03 am
Lets do it!! I'm going to start with some research... we could start with the organizations, such as http://www.varminthunter.org/ - this next one is AWFUL http://dogbegone.com/ totally shocking. I feel quite ill.

Tuesday July 25, 2006, 4:14 am
Great! Research is key. I'll check out the sites you listed. Howard C's comment. Perhaps he can help.

Tuesday July 25, 2006, 4:21 am
Please do check out those websites. They are awful - the second one is almost beyond belief, to me anyway.
I'm feeling pretty heated about this right now. Howard C (or anyone else) where can these groups be contacted, and do you have an idea on how to get moving on this?

Tuesday July 25, 2006, 7:38 am
Gracious, dogbegone.com is promoting a video showing the actual blasting away of these poor defenseless creatures. I couldn’t believe my eyes. It would seem that “varmints” include fox and coyote along with the prairie dogs and looks like porcupines make the list too from the pictures on varminthunters.org. It would seem there are quite a few that find this “sporting” and “fun” and for the life of me I can see no sport in this. Varminthunters.org also has an NRA Varmint Hunter video game available for those who can’t make it to an actual shoot. How convenient. Well, if there must be this sort of thing, I wish they would just use the video game and leave the live animals alone.
There is nothing sporting about this…it is just plain killing for the love of killing. It’s sick!
I don’t know whom to target about this. I should think some federal agency would cover all the states. Fish and Game maybe? Anyone out there have any suggestions? We need to get this outlawed.

Wednesday July 26, 2006, 12:41 am
Judy, its awful isn't it? People paying for videos to watch senseless killing. Seems each state has its own 'Fish and Game' department - is there a federal one that oversees them all?

More info http://arizona.indymedia.org/news/2005/06/27962_comment.php

"Some of the hunters we spoke to boasted of their $3,000 rifles and of killing up to 50 prairie dogs a day. Others disparaged their own “sport,” saying, “this ain’t hunting – it’s just shooting.” All of them left the animals to rot where they lay. None of the hunters need to kill these animals for food – in fact, many of them come from out of state specifically for the opening day of the season! The hunters out there are killing just for fun, and they are killing hundreds of thousands of these animals a year."

Seems http://www.earthfirst.org/ wanted to get involved at some point; not sure if there they can help?

Wednesday July 26, 2006, 4:15 am
Mandy, it’s totally sickening. Could NOT believe the video of the carnage they are promoting on dogsbegone. That is totally disgusting and so sad that there is a market for that sort of thing.
This appears to be a “sport” particular to the US, I’m ashamed to say. Doesn't mean that the world can't take part in expressing outrage. I definitely think a petition is called for. I will look into it and let you know.
We can't fight the guys selling the videos, etc. but we can demand that states allowing/promoting this killing put a stop to it. Yes, there are a few federal departments that might come into play here. The one that oversees the states individual departments protecting wildlife, etc. would be the target for a petition.
I’ll do some research and let you know. I’ll also check the links you sent. We have to keep on this.

Wednesday July 26, 2006, 11:13 am
Check out this additional article from the Humane Society on the plight of the prairie dogs.

http://www.hsus.org/press_and_publications/press_releases/hsus_ft_collins_prairie_dog_killing.html

I will continue to research the petition target. Have sent out some emails and await the responses.