Jump to content

Call To Action - Dove Related

mike rossi
 Share

Recommended Posts

mike rossi Newbie

mike rossi

Posted
  • Author
Posted

The Why, The How, And The You

Its Not The Who – Its YOU!

 

For most people today, political activism amounts to little more than expressing their opinion publicly.Debate and discussion are certainly part of the core of this nation’s political system, and we commend anyone willing to speak up and let their voice be heard on a larger scale. It takes patience to express your beliefs and let people challenge you, and maturity to listen to opposing viewpoints and weigh in with reason and thought. Activism, does, however, require a little bit more.

Have you ever heard the rallying cries that “we should do something” about a public issue? Who, exactly, is the “we” that should be taking action? For the majority of people, expressing displeasure on social media is about as far as their action goes – after that, it’s up to the government or some other anonymous “we” to pick up the pieces and make things happy again. Most self - proclaimed activists are little more than opinionated individuals that somehow believe that vocalizing their personal discomfort makes a profound difference in the world.

 

Is that really activism?

"Meaningful Action"

 

By all means, express your personal opinions. Just don’t think that society owes you anything in return. If you want to see a difference, you have to take meaningful action.
We say meaningful action for a good reason:

 

Think of it this way:

 

If you put foreign money in an American vending machine, it’s not going to give you product in return. Sure, you’re taking action. You’re doing something…you’re even putting money into the coin slot, which is supposed to work…but it’s not the right currency.
It takes the right currency, applied in the right place, followed by appropriate actions, to get a soda out of a machine. Political activism is the same. It takes the right actions, applied in appropriate places at correct times, to effect change.

 

The Why

 

Activism takes action, and it’s not easy or convenient, so most people won’t do it. The American Revolution was started, and won, with support from less than 1/3 of the population of the British colonies because that small percentage was willing to take meaningful action.

 

Despite popular belief, majority does not always rule. Decisions in this country aren’t made by a popular vote – they’re influenced primarily by the people who are willing to step out of their comfort zones and do what’s not always easy.

 

Your voice does matter: Just make sure you’re talking to the right people.

 

DEBATE

 

Lawmakers might engage in debates prior to voting on a dove bill:
1) Influence Lawmakers to side with your position.
2) Give Lawmakers Facts they can use to win debates with their colleagues.
3) That is why NY Dove Hunting throws facts at the hunting community, use them!

 

Another Spin on the Legislative Process

In NY, there are four key Legislative leaders we must FIRST convince to allow the bill to proceed forward for a vote. Sometimes, hunting-related bills can be referred to additional committees, and when that occurs, we also must use facts and political pressure to persuade the chairs of those committees.

 

Early in the procedure, the bill must be given the green light by the Assembly Environmental Conservation Committee Chair and the Senate Environmental Conservation Chair. At that stage, the members of the environmental conservation committee(s) may “debate” the merits of the bill

 

After a bill is voted through the En-Con Committees, then two other legislative leaders decide if the bill has merit to move to a General Floor Vote. Those Legislative leaders making that decision are the Assembly Speaker and the Senate Majority Leader, sometimes called the senate president. Thus, by the time the bill clears committee(s), both of these Leaders should have heard from YOU and others, and have been presented with facts which bode for the merit of the bill.

 

Given approval by the Leaders, the bill will be voted on by the Floor. Before this vote occurs, there probably will be a debate. Most legislators are not knowledgeable about hunting and ecology. Thus, BEFORE a debate happens, their opinion about the dove matter is shaped by the correspondence they have received on the subject or the pending bill. Legislators who receive well written letters from hunters will be influenced by those letters. However, other lawmakers who receive letters from anti-hunters will be influenced differently.

 

When a legislator receives a letter from an anti AND a letter from YOU, your letter needs to be factual so that you are found more credible than the opposition.  If you are found credible, you can influence your state reps in the assembly and senate; and, you can also arm them with facts to use during debate. Without fodder, lawmakers will either go with the fodder they receive from the antis, or feel they are too uninformed to vote, or just vote along with the majority , or be influenced during the debate, but not participating in it. That is why NY Dove Hunting throws all these facts at the hunting community!  After a Legislator forms an opinion about the matter, he is likely to recall the information he received in letters and use it as DEBATE FODDER before the FLOOR VOTE.  The quality of the fodder YOU have provided your representatives in the assembly and senate will influence first his stance, second, how well he can influence his colleagues during debate.

 

In NY, we need a majority vote of 76 out of 156 in the Assembly and 32 out of 63 in the Senate. Once the bill clears the floor, it goes to the Governor, for his decision. At that stage it is essential we then correspond with the Governor about the matter.

 

Not Done Yet! The Regulation Setting Process is different and additional action is required!

After the Governor signs a dove bill into law, then the DEC is given the authority to set a dove hunting season, or not to. It is very important at this stage to correspond with the DEC. Once the DEC decides to adopt a regulation allowing a dove season, there will still be a 45 Day Public Comment Period. It is essential you submit public comment in support of dove hunting to the DEC AGAIN during the 45 Day Public Comment Period.

 

Continued Engagement Until The End!

 

"Think Stamina"

 

This is a long process which requires YOU to track it and keep writing and redirecting YOUR letters as the process evolves. It isn’t write one letter and you are done, although that certainly is better than nothing.

 

The How

 

Help other people be heard. So many hunters see the millions of people futilely arguing over issues with no effect, and they believe that there’s nothing that an individual can do in the face of a massive government. Show those hunters that there is a way their voice can be heard, and that it can matter.

 

A few examples of things you can do are distributing contact information for elected officials, sharing the resources offered by NY Dove Hunting and offering education on the topic to the hunting community, policy makers, and wildlife biology students.

 

 

Don’t Let Your Cause Get Linked to Nasty People

 

Think about the people on your Facebook list who constantly belittle and insult others in order to make a point that their personal belief is somehow better and morally right. Don’t you dismiss them, and their cause, because of how they handle it? The last thing you want is for your ideals to be associated with terrible behavior, so if you consider yourself an activist, you should strive to be a positive, uplifting person so that your worthy cause doesn’t get linked to nasty people.

 

Social Media works, But In Person Contact is Needed Too
Politicians travel and campaign in person for a reason: that person to person contact is vitally important in the exchange of ideas.

 

Organize, Organize, Organize!

Most hunters can’t afford to hire full time lobbyists to work in Albany– but when a lot of people come together and put some time and effort as well as a little bit of money towards a cause, major changes can be made!

 

Direct Your Effort Properly!

 

If you want to encourage change by verbally expressing your opinion, make sure you’re talking to people who are involved in actually making those changes. Your voice DOES count.
You just have to make sure you’re talking to the right people.

 

Take Your Political Responsibility Seriously!
When elected officials get face to face with constituents and see firsthand that hunters take their own political responsibility seriously, opinions are not so easily dismissed. Develop lobby day opportunities in your state, or organize your own group to take a trip to a state capital to put your voices in the right place.

 

CURRENT Letter Writing Campaigns:
January 2016 Ongoing Until Further Notice: http://nydovehunting.weebly.com/call-to-action.html

 

Additional Subject Matter Reading:

 

http://nydovehunting.weebly.com/the-effects-of-democrats-republicans-and-election-years-on-re-instating-hunting-seasons.html

http://nydovehunting.weebly.com/letter-writing.html

http://nydovehunting.weebly.com/the-new-york-state-legislature-up-close.html

http://nydovehunting.weebly.com/network-strategies.html

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Similar Content

    • mike rossi
      Quebec Gets Dove Season!
      By mike rossi
      Details coming soon!
       
      As mourning doves expand northward Canadian Providences are instating hunting seasons. British Columbia has hunted doves for some time. Southern Ontario instated a season in 2014, and now Quebec. There is also a pending proposal in Manitoba and discussion elsewhere. 
    • mike rossi
      Air Shotgun Dove Hunting
      By mike rossi
      Air Shotguns add a new dimension to dove hunting. Note the comment about the overhead utility lines, we are going to recommend the DEC prohibits dove hunting within gun range of lines to prevent damage to them. They are taking Eurasian collared doves, which are similar to our native mourning doves. They are spreading and it is not too uncommon to find this introduced dove across NY. The impacts of ECD are not known at this point.
       
      If you want to hunt doves in NY, sign our online petition at this link: http://nydovehunting.weebly.com/petition.html 
       
      For info on Eurasian Collared Doves go to this link: http://nydovehunting.weebly.com/eurasian-collared-dove-hunting-ndash-endless-opportunity.html
       
       
       
    • mike rossi
      Upcoming movie pushes back against the anti-bird dog movement:
      By mike rossi
      Upcoming movie pushes back against the anti-bird dog movement, recommended by the AKC: 
       
      http://nydovehunting.weebly.com/new-movie.html
    • mike rossi
      NY Antis spying on Dove hunting, bird dog training, trappers convention
      By mike rossi
      Dove Hunting, Spying on Trapper's Convention, NAVHDA Bird Dog Training, and more...
      This page takes a moment to load... it's worth the wait.
       
      http://nydovehunting.weebly.com/anti-hunting-activity-in-new-york.html
    • mike rossi
      Dove Hunting: What they are going to say...
      By mike rossi
      By now you might understand the utility of the information we are sending you and why we are sending it to you. If you are still cursing us out or scratching your head because you are not quite there yet, please stick around! 
       
      Below is a summary we compiled which reflects the central premises of anti-hunting activists both in general and specific to dove hunting. (In the future we will adapt this to pheasant stocking, Sunday hunting, and young forest management).
       
      Categories of arguments are grouped and typical premises of each category are listed.
       
      For your convenience the same information is attached to this email as a pdf file which can be downloaded and saved to your computer.
       
       
      Catalog of Arguments Frequently used by Anti-Hunting Organizations and Activists
       
      Hunter Attitude and Behavior Arguments
       
      1. Lack of interest in retrieving doves.
      2. Hunters do not retrieve or eat doves but rather use them for target practice. Comments made by hunters, outdoor writers, and hunting spokespersons which reflect that or can be construed as such, are frequently quoted by anti-hunters and the media. 
      3. Dove hunting practices are cruel/inhumane/unethical/immoral/unsporting
      4. How hunting causes suffering to doves, for example wounding and not retrieving.
       
      Social Imbalance Arguments
       
      1. Expanding hunting opportunity will contract opportunity for non-hunting activities.
      2. Participation in hunting is shrinking and there is more revenue generated and greater participation in other outdoor activities. Policy should favor the majority.
      3. Expanding hunting opportunity will make NY less desirable for non-hunting recreation which will result in lost revenue for the state and local economies.
      4. The vast majority of hunters are middle aged or older Caucasian males.
       
      Power and Control Arguments
       
      1. Decisions should be made by majority rule (voting).
      2. Hunting policy is decided under a rigged system tainted by favoritism, politics, special interests, money, and abuse of power.
      3. State wildlife agencies mismanage wildlife to accommodate hunters because hunting license revenue is their primary source of funds.
      4. A pro-hunting culture exists within the DEC.
      5. There is no anti-hunting representation on the Conservation Fund Advisory Board and the Fish and Wildlife Management Board. At least one representative of the Humane Society of the United States should be appointed to these boards to represent the interests of the broader public, not just hunters.
       
      Public Participation Arguments
       
      1. Anti-hunters claim they are disenfranchised from the decision making process, the extent to which they are involved, the nature of their involvement.
      2. Lack of transparency of the decision-making process exists.
      3. Public notice was inadequate and therefore stakeholder participation was compromised. 
       
      Arguments about the reliability of population estimates, monitoring, and information about mourning doves.
       
      1. Science is not recent enough
      2. Quality of science is inadequate or questionable
      3. Need NY specific data
      4. Imprecise population estimates
      5. There is speculation surrounding dove management.
      6. NEPA requires ESA, EIS before instating a dove hunting season and/or similar action should be taken prior to considering a dove season. 
       
      Wildlife management is a failure/debacle
       
      1. Management of doves and other wildlife is not working/failing/ineffective.
      2. Animal-related problems are the result of human arrogance, intervention, manipulation or management.
      3. Hunting causes imbalanced wildlife populations.
       
      Dove Hunting is not biologically justified
       
      1. Management need does not exist because doves are not overpopulated or a nuisance species, therefore hunting is not biologically justified.
       
      Dove hunting will not generate conservation revenue or general economic activity.
       
      1. Flawed economic report (flawed because of gross misinterpretation of data)
      2. Participation in dove hunting does not require much money so it should not be allowed
      3. Dove hunters do not buy electronic dog equipment so the economic impact of dove hunting is insignificant.
      4. Dove hunting will only redistribute the effort but not increase license sales.
      5. Dove hunting will have an impact on ticket sales for concerts and basketball games thereby hurting the economy.
       
      Lack of meat
       
      1. A dove is too small to provide “sustenance”.
       
      Palatability
       
      1. Dove meat has a bitter taste that requires heavy marinades
      2. Crow tastes like wild duck and doves
       
      Doves as Symbols
       
      1. Christian
      2. Hebrew
      3. Pagan
      4. Military
      5. Pacifist
      6. Artist Picasso's painting of the Peace Dove.
       
      Public Safety
       
      1. Dove hunting jeopardizes the safety of non-hunters recreating outdoors
       
      Maintain the Status Quo
       
      1. Doves have not been hunted in NY for many years and that protection should remain in place.
       
      Assigning Characteristics to Doves
       
      1. Peaceful, innocent, helpless, loving, devoted, cute, etc.
       
      Incidental Take of Protected Birds
       
      1. Concerns are often raised about hunter’s ability or commitment to identify doves in flight
      2. Persons self-identifying as “experienced” bird watchers, or indicate they study birds for a living (including several artists who characterize their livelihood as “study birds for a living”) indicate they personally have misidentified stationary doves with binoculars, and assert that an error is more likely when discerning birds in flight without binoculars.
       
      Miscellaneous
       
      1. “I am not an animal rights extremist” “I am just a concerned bird watcher”.
      2. ‘I am a hunter, but I oppose hunting doves”.
      3. Orphaned chicks
      4. Compare mourning doves with the passenger pigeon.
      5.  Pb ammunition
      6. Hunters will shoot at doves flying near or perched on utility lines and damage them.
      7.  Writer indicates experience owning a dove or other bird as a pet, saving young birds.
      8. Writer advocates teaching children and/or adults about coexisting with wildlife, animals were here first, compassion for doves, reverence for all life.
      9.  Eating meat is unhealthy or bad for the environment.
      10.  Amount of money spent by both sides or the government in fighting the matter.
      11. Because I feed doves in my backyard people should not hunt them.
      12. Hunters already have enough species to hunt.
      13. Doves are the Farmer’s Friend because they control nuisance plants by eating seeds.
      14. New York State Assembly Rule 3, Sec 1(f) requires the Fiscal Implications of Legislation must be determined.
      15. Anti-hunters will often quote or paraphrase statements made by well-known persons, some of which were published over 120 years ago. The content of such statements is varied:  opinion, outdated science, and often speculation that did not pan out over time.
       
      Characterization of Hunters
       
      1. Real men do not hunt
      2. Hunters are cowards
      3. Hunters are feeble-minded
      4. Hunters are inbred
      5. Hunters are overweight or “paunchy”.
      6. Hunters are backwards
      7. Hunters are hicks
      8. Hunters are Caucasian males
      9. Hunters are an aging and dying breed that is going extinct, in with the new and out with the old!
      10. Hunters are drunks
      11. Hunters are non-athletic or “NARPS” – non-athletic regular person
      12. Hunters can’t fist fight so they need guns
      13.  Multiple contexts of physical inadequacy, sexual inadequacy/etc.
      14. Hunters have the “little man syndrome”.
       
      Core arguments-FD.pdf

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    No registered users viewing this page.

×
×
  • Create New...