On its website, New Hampshire Fish and Game claims that it is the “guardian of the state’s fish, wildlife, and marine resources” when in truth its primary mission is to preserve the rights and opportunities of hunters.
The recent refusal to close the hunting season for coyotes during the April to July pup-rearing season illustrates a refusal to listen to both scientific evidence and public sentiment.
Scientific research at Yellowstone National Park has revealed that coyotes are “responsive breeders.” This means coyotes adapt to overhunting by producing larger litters. Scientific evidence has clearly established that year-round coyote hunting does not control the coyote population.
Before the decision was made, commission members apparently never read the more than 100 public comments from concerned New Hampshire citizens.
After a public outcry in 2017, the commission did not open a hunting season for bobcats. After this decision, I attended a presentation by Fish and Game docents in Dunbarton.
An announcement in the Monitor promised an evening where the docents would describe what biologists are learning through ongoing research. Instead the presentation was a continuation of propaganda.
Prominent in their presentation were the docents’ statements that it is “the hunters and trappers who are the real conservationists, because licensing fees support Fish and Game’s efforts to monitor the health of wildlife.”
Scientific research clearly demonstrates that preserving “natural predation” controls animal populations in a far superior way than the interventions of human hunting.
On its website, Fish and Game asserts its commitment to “connecting you to life outdoors,” yet its efforts toward wildlife preservation seem aimed only at creating opportunities for hunting.
JOANNE HARRISON
Weare