Safe Backyards.com Animal Rights Hucksterism?

SafeBackyards.com: Animal Rights Hucksterism?
SafeBackyards.com is a campaign of the animal rights movement that has been fabricated to create public angst and browbeat NJ policy makers to prevent them from enacting a sound conservation bill. The below OpEd will provide facts about the merits of the bill and also peel back a layer of pretense that may well expose an ugly truth that SafeBackyards.com is meant to conceal.

Boycott - SafeBackYards.com Don't be fooled by Radical Animals Rights Group

Trenton, NJ – -(AmmoLand.com)- It is stated on SafeBackyards.com that the purpose of its existence is to oppose a bill that reduces the current bow safety zone to 150 feet. The reason represented is a concern for safety, but such a rationalization is impossible to justify based on facts.

Bow hunting is an exceptionally safe activity. Data from the National Safety Council shows that during the year 2005 there were 38 bow related injuries (nationally) out of 20.7 million total hunters in the entire U.S.A. Nearly all bow and arrow hunting injuries occur to the hunter and not innocent passersby.

To put these injuries into perspective, during the same year there were :

Sports Injury’s:

486,000 bicycle injuries
418,000 football injuries
175,000 soccer injuries
25,000 cheerleading injuries
6,000 billiard injuries
38 bow hunting injuries

The NJ assembly voted 66 to 11 (3 abstentions) to support the bill. These legislators gave serious consideration to the needs of managing deer to reduce; car/deer accidents, farm crop destruction (estimated at 20%), the spread of Lyme disease and property/landscape damage. Additionally, the NJ Division of Fish and Wildlife, the entity charged with wildlife management and public safety, fully supports the perimeter change. Neighboring Pennsylvania has used the 150′ bow perimeter for 5 years and there have been no safety issues, increase in accidents or complaints.

The reason for the bill is to address the culling of deer in suburban areas. The 150′ perimeter will enhance deer management by providing access to currently unavailable deer habitat in areas unsuitable for gun hunting. The bill shifts some of the burdens for culling to productive use of downward pointing, short-range bow and arrow while bringing the perimeter to 150 feet from 450 feet.

Given the above considerations, including the support of state legislators and wildlife professionals, it might cause one to wonder why there is the ostensibly singular concern of SafeBackyards.com regarding safety. A superficial examination reveals that safety may simply be the “candy that lures the unsuspecting sweet tooth;” a decoy to enlist people into a campaign of the animal rights movement. With a slip of the keystroke SafeBackyards.com contradicts itself and also claims, “Our purpose is simple: we believe that animals are individuals entitled to compassion, and respect…” The idea that “animals are individuals” is the mantra of most animal rights organizations and further disclosure that SafeBackyards.com is “sponsored by the New Jersey Animal Rights Alliance (NJARA)…” is proof of this association.

NJARA is a Radical Animals Rights Group
In fact, NJARA is an extremist animal rights organization that declares on its own website that it is concerned by issues such as “testing on animals” and “…animals raised as food for human consumption, animals in entertainment, companion animal overpopulation and more.” Could it be that NJARA needs to create a front group with a misleading and benign sounding name so that people are not compelled to question its motives? The following information may provide the answer.

The Anti-Defamation League, described as the nation’s premier civil rights/human relations agency, has profiled NJARA and its executive director on its website under the heading “Extremism in America: Eco-terrorism.” The ADL lists her as a press officer of the Animal Liberation Press Office, a position that speaks on behalf of the actions of extreme and militant animal rights groups such as the Animal Liberation Front. http://www.adl.org/learn/extremism_in_america_updates/movements/ecoterrorism/ecoterrorism_update_041210.htm

The FBI considers the Animal Liberation Front a serious terrorist threat. In congressional testimony on Eco-terrorism, Mr. James F. Jarboe, Domestic Terrorism Section Chief, Counterterrorism Division, FBI, stated “… the Animal Liberation Front (ALF) has become one of the most active extremist elements in the United States.” http://www.fbi.gov/congress/congress02/jarboe021202.htm .

Furthermore, NJARA acted as a broker to fund the freeing of six extremists from jail – they were convicted of a campaign to terrorize a New Jersey based company along with its employees and shareholders. Coincidentally, it was the office of US Attorney Christopher Christie, currently a NJ gubernatorial candidate, who convicted the hoodlums. Upon the judgment Mr. Christie stated, “This is a trial victory of national importance… The verdict reveals these individuals for what they really were: thugs who went far beyond protected speech and lawful protest to engage in and incite intimidation, harassment and violence.” http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/nj/press/files/shac0302_r.htm. Here is a link to one of many websites showing NJARA acted as fiduciary to free the convicts known by the acronym S.H.A.C. http://shiftshapers.gnn.tv/blogs/13418/SHAC_6_Found_Guilty_On_All_Charges

Lastly, as sponsor, NJARA states on SafeBackyards.com that its “wildlife protection initiatives are based upon the views of John Muir, the founder of the modern preservation movement…” To invoke the name of renowned naturalist John Muir while acting to free “thugs” convicted of terrorizing innocent people and speaking on behalf of eco-terrorists and their destructive acts would be justifiably blasphemous to all who revere him.

Don’t Be Fooled by SafeBackYards.
Given the above a reasonable person might conclude that SafeBackyards.com is the product of NJARA’s hucksterism. It certainly seems designed to involve unknowing people in the crusade of the extreme animal rights movement. Some might also conclude that NJARA is squandering the goodwill of donors by splurging on pricey billboards and the hype of a Madison Avenue advertising campaign instead using donations for animal care.

Hopefully, New Jersey citizens will rely on science and critical thinking to support sound wildlife management policy and a healthy ecology. Our government must send a clear message to that it is committed to substantive conservation legislation by enacting the 150′ perimeter bill into law.

Anthony P. Mauro, Sr
Chair
New Jersey Outdoor Alliance
New Jersey Outdoor Alliance Conservation Foundation
New Jersey Outdoor Alliance Environmental Projects

All three NJOA organizations are non-profit corporations and 100% volunteer. Become an honorary member and protect our outdoor freedoms. www.njoutdooralliance.org

New Jersey Outdoor Alliance: “We’ve got your back!” www.njoutdooralliance.org

New Jersey Outdoor Alliance

About:
NJOA – New Jersey Outdoor Alliance is the state’s first major political action committee devoted to the task of electing outdoor-minded candidates to public office.
NJOA has formed with the support of leaders of major pro-hunting, pro-angling, and pro-trapping organizations. We are not a hunting, fishing, or trapping “club” or “group,” and do not compete with the interests of such organizations. NJOA helps to ensure that strong wildlife and natural resource protection laws are produced by outdoor-minded elected officials. The best way to ensure a “conservation presence” in Trenton is to support the election campaigns of representatives who understand the relationship between a balanced ecology and hunting, fishing, and trapping.