Political Quotes

“Shooting swimming caribou from a motorboat, bear baiting, dogs for black bears, using artificial light, shooting wolf pups and bear cubs in their dens are outrageous practices that were banned under a 2015 rule from the Obama administration, which the Trump administration has now announced that it seeks to reverse. This is absolutely outrageous. Our national parks and reserves have always had special status, and the Trump administration wants to roll that back, essentially making them into game parks. It is important for people to reflect on what this means. Think about what goes on in Yosemite National Park or Yellowstone National Park. Would that experience be enriched by having these extreme hunting tactics to eliminate some of the top-line predators to be able to have more things to hunt? Absolutely not. Three hundred million people a year visit these national parks, and the draw is the wildlife. National parks without animals is just scenery. Mr. Speaker, it is important that people focus on why this is such an outrageous policy. These are low-density animals with low reproductive rates. In Alaska, there is no conflict with livestock. They have very little interaction with people, other than the people who want to see them. Mr. Speaker, it is wrong on three fundamental levels. First of all, it is just wrong. All animals suffer, and hunting them down with these extreme methods is cruel and is repugnant to virtually all Americans. It is wrong ecologically.…”