HUNTING HITTING HARD TIMES

As various hunting seasons approach, here's some food for thought: Hunting license applications have fallen by 22% in Wisconsin this year, a major blow to a profitable industry. The Department of Natural Resources got so desperate as to take out hundreds of billboard ads reminding people of their duty to get out there and kill! CWD is the stated cause for the decline - but hunting licenses have also dropped 22% in Delaware over the past couple decades. What is this, a trend? Is it because hunters are tired of dealing with people who point out how unsporting it is to use guns against defenseless animals? Or are the hunters recognizing this themselves? The Atlanta Journal-Constitution suggests that shifting values are inevitably moving in the direction of animal protection and away from such nonsensical "sport" as animal slaughter.