New Mexico is Trying to Stop the US Government from Gunning Down Over 100 Feral Cows & 'Leaving Their Carcasses to Rot in the Wilderness'

New Mexico governor Michelle Grisham is disappointed with the U.S. Forest Service over their aerial shooting operation to shoot and kill up to 150 feral cows from a helicopter in the Gila Wilderness. Many in the agriculture community in southwestern New Mexico are against this operation.

CBS News reported that the U.S. Forest Service approved the plan on Thursday, 23 February 2023 to fly a helicopter through the Gila Wilderness and shoot feral cows. The area in question is known as the "nation's first designated wilderness area."

Does this make it okay to just kill the cows in the wilderness and let their meat go to waste, when it could better serve people that need food for their families?

Sounds like a waste.

This is all because environmental groups are claiming that the feral cattle is damaging streams and rivers with their mouths and hooves.

Seriously?

This is not a joke.

According to CBS KRQE-TV reporting, in 2022 "31 New Mexico lawmakers sent a letter to the U.S. Forest Service urging authorities to reconsider the plan." Some ranchers even argue that some of their stray cattle might even be mixed in with the feral cows, and the plan to "shoot stray cattle by helicopter" is a big mistake.

Senator Crystal Diamond says that there are hunger issues in New Mexico that could be addressed, but shooting these feral cows in the wilderness is a waste.

She said:

“You know, I am in the middle of a legislative session in which we are seriously trying to address hunger issues in New Mexico and I can think the options of what we can do there are endless. it’s kind of a horrific response in how to handle stray cattle in the forest.” (Source: CBS KRQE-TV News)

Ranchers: U.S. Forest Service to Gun Down Feral Cows and 'Letting Their Carcasses Rot in the Wilderness'

Fortune reported that "ranchers argue that the operation amounts to animal cruelty and that the cows could have been rounded up and removed instead of letting their carcasses rot in the wilderness."

A federal judge denied the request from ranchers to delay the aerial extermination operation by the U.S. Forest Service on Wednesday, 22 February 2023.

Photo by Zara Walker

Reasons Why U.S. Forest Service Should Not Kill Feral Cows Without Careful Assessment

There are several reasons why feral cows should not be killed without careful consideration and assessment of the situation. Here are some of the key reasons:

1. Animal welfare: Feral cows, like all animals, have the capacity to feel pain and suffer. Killing them without justifiable cause could result in unnecessary harm and distress. If culling is deemed necessary, it should be done in a humane and ethical way that minimizes suffering.

2. Environmental impact: Feral cows can have both positive and negative impacts on the environment. They can help to maintain open landscapes and reduce the risk of wildfires, but they can also damage ecosystems and compete with native wildlife for resources. Killing feral cows may have unintended consequences for the ecosystem and may not be the best solution in the long run.

3. Public safety: Feral cows can pose a risk to public safety, particularly if they are in areas where people live or work. However, killing them may not always be the most effective way to manage this risk. There may be other measures that can be taken to mitigate the danger, such as fencing or relocation.

Overall, the decision by the U.S. Forest Service to shoot and kill feral cows in an aerial shooting operation should be based on a careful assessment of the situation and consideration of all the relevant factors, including animal welfare, environmental impact, and public safety. In many cases, there may be more effective and humane ways to manage the situation.

Do you think that the feral cows in New Mexico should be rounded up and relocated so the meat doesn't go to waste?

Are you fine with shooting cows by helicopter and letting their carcasses rot in the New Mexico wilderness?

(Share your thoughts in the comments section)

Dallas Safari Club Holds Permit Auction to Hunt and Kill Wild Black Rhinoceros

Black Rhinoceros grazing in Kenya; image credit: Flickr CC; by siwild

Is it okay to hunt and kill a Black Rhinoceros? 

Some people feel that this is the message being sent by the Dallas Safari Club - which held an auction for permit to hunt down and kill a Black Rhinoceros down in the wild. The permit auction was on Saturday, January 11, 2014, granting the winner exlcusive permission to hunt a specific Black Rhinoceros in Namibia, Africa. The Black Rhinoceros being hunted and killed is past his prime, and threatening other wildlife in the area, according the Executive Director of the Dallas Safari Club.

Both the Humane Society and the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) have publicly spoke out against the Dallas Safari Club permit auction, which is essentially endorsing the killing of an endangered animal in the wild.

Is the Dallas Safari Club Sending the Wrong Message to Conservationists?

The North American regional director of the IFAW, Jeffrey Flocken, says: "The auction is telling the world that an American is will pay anything to kill their species...that is, in fact, making a spectacle of killing an endangered species."

The Dallas Safari Club has opened the permit auction up to anyone in the world, and will grant the permit to the highest bidder. The last time this type of auction was held, the winning bid was $223,000.00 USD.

The winning bid on Jan. 11, 2014 was $350,000.00 USD.

Some Dallas Safari Club member have even received death threats in protest of the auction, which have been reported to the F.B.I. for investigation.

Does it Matter That the Black Rhinoceros is on the Endangered Species List?

The Executive Director of the Dallas Safari Club assures everyone that the money collected from the auction is being used to protect the Black Rhinoceros in the wild, despite the fact that his auction is granting a permit to kill one of an endangered species. He said the animal was "likely to be targeted anyway, because it was becoming aggressive and threatening other wildlife."

Despite his reassurance, there are many people that are outraged that the Dallas Safari Club is granting a permit to hunt and kill an animal considered to be an endangered species.

How Many Rhinoceros are Left in the Wild?

It is estimated that about 4,000 Rhinoceros live in the wild today. There are about 1,800 in Namibia, Africa today. The main reason for their dwindling numbers is loss of habitat, and the other reason is illegal poaching for their ivory tusks.

Black Rhinoceros rear; image credt: Flick CC; by siwild

Looper Movie Plot Involves a Decision of Morality

Looper Movie Poster; IMDB.com

I rented Looper (2012) last night from Redbox. The story of the movie was not bad. I did not like the language. If you have a TV guardian - the foul language blocker - use it with this Rated R movie.

Looper is a movie that incorporates time travel in its story. And since this post has SPOILERS, do not continue reading if you don’t want the plot points of the movie to be revealed.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays a character named Joe. He is what you call a “looper” because he does the dirty work for the mob of the future. They’ll want to get rid of a person, so they’ll send the person back in time 30 years to a location where a looper is waiting. The looper will then shoot the person with a blunderbuss shotgun, a short-range weapon that quickly kills a man.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt does not look like himself in this movie, due to obvious makeup adjustments to make his face look more like Bruce Willis playing his older self in the future.

In the future, time travel is banned, and only the rich and powerful mob has time-travel devices operated illegally. Since people are harder to kill in the future (due to more efficient identification processes), the mob sends a person back in time to 2044 to be taken out by a looper.

Part of the deal of being a looper, is that at some point the mob will decide to “close the loop.” When this happens, the looper in the future (which is 30 years older) is sent back with a bag over his head, and a large payday of gold bars instead of the typical silver. The looper usually won’t find out that he is closing the loop until after he tears open the victim’s covering to find gold bars. At that point, the looper can cash out and live out the next 30 years doing as he chooses.

One thing to point out is that some people have developed a telekinetic ability in 2044. Those with the powers are called TK’s. The extent of the majority of people is the ability to levitate quarters. That’s it.

The movie, Looper, is one that starts by following young Joe, played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and then at the point where old Joe (played by Bruce Willis) is sent back, then we follow old Joe for a little while.

Old Joe is kidnapped and sent back so his loop will be closed, but first he must watch his love die at the hands of the kidnappers. As he is being handcuffed, he breaks free but still goes back in time. He does not wear his head-sack, so that young Joe can see that it is himself from the future.

Old Joe goes back in time to eliminate the new Mob boss, known as the “Rainmaker.” If there is no Rain-maker, then his wife in the future will not be killed, and he will be able to live out his life with the person that saved him from a life of drugs.

Old Joe brings with him the date of birth of the Rainmaker, and the hospital ID #. He then narrows it down to 3 children, and is determined to kill them to avert future events.

Young Joe separates from Old Joe after they dispute about what they should do. Old Joe is determined to take out the Rainmaker as a child, so he can resume his happy life. Young Joe doesn’t care about his life in the future. He wants to just kill his old self, in hopes that he can regain his freedom back – the freedom that was stolen when Old Joe came back in time, and aluded Young Joe at the moment he was to be killed.

Young Joe steals the corner of the map from Old Joe which has the coordinates of one of the children. He goes there and wins over the heart of the mother. After a brief stay on her farm, he finds out that the mother can levitate a metal lighter, and that her child has powers that go beyond the typical TK. He is very powerful and can destroy people and large objects when he becomes angry.

Meanwhile Old Joe is taken back to the mob headquarters. He breaks free and kills everyone except for his sole captor, a 20’s grunt that only wanted to make the mob boss happy, because he is a father-figure to him.

Old Joe finds out that the Rainmaker is with Young Joe, because Young Joe witnesses the boy destroy a former mob friend, Jessie. Old Joe instantly gets this new memory as it takes place on the farm, and knows where the Rainmaker is.

Old Joe then goes to the farm to find the Rainmaker, and attempts to coax Young Joe to run away, because he still can.

However, there is a moral concept that arises in the movie to be discussed. If you could go back in time to kill a person that does bad things, would you?

Many people say they would go back in time and kill Hitler. While you may think this is noble, it truly makes you no better than Hitler. The concept in play is: The end does not justify the means.

No person should commit an evil or a wrong in order to bring about a righteous ending.

Think about it, and if you want to watch a video interviewing people with the question: “Would you go back in time to kill Hitler as a baby?” watch at this link.