BrownSox has a post up today on the political woes of Rep. Don Young. He’s got some real problems. I had my own encounter with Young last week that tells a lot about the kind of guy he is.
Last Tuesday, I was on Capitol Hill to testify before the Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife and Oceans of the House Committee on Natural Resource on HR 5534, "The Bear Protection Act of 2008." I spoke as the President of the American Hunters and Shooters Association (AHSA) and as a lifelong hunter deeply concerned about our hunting heritage.
HR 5534 is an anti-poaching bill that would assist state and federal wildlife law-enforcement efforts regarding bear management while creating a sound national policy against the trade in bear gallbladders and bile.
Our concern is that the growing illegal trade in bear parts has put our country on a fast track toward the eventual decline of otherwise healthy bear populations here in the United States.
Wildlife management experts agree that the market demand for bear gallbladders and bile is on the rise and is negatively impacting bear populations worldwide. Evidence points to a systematic pattern of killing bears in the United States and Canada in order to satisfy the demand for bear parts in consuming nations, primarily Asian markets. The bear parts trade is international in scope and difficult to regulate and contain.
HR 5534 is narrowly crafted to address U.S. involvement in the bear gallbladder trade –and to provide a uniform national "bright line" prohibition on the trade of bear gallbladders and viscera will greatly clarify the rules for all American hunters.
So it is an anti-poaching bill. Similar legislation, which was approved by the United States Senate twice before, has overwhelming bi-partisan support and was supported by dozens of representatives of state wildlife agencies.
So, remember, I am testifying at a hearing about cracking down on poaching, which is anathema to hunters. And, even Alaska, a state with the largest bear population, is susceptible to poaching and illegal trade. Alaska has a ban on the commercialization of bear parts, poaching occurs because gallbladders can easily be smuggled out of the state and sold in other non-restrictive states.
So who showed up to challenge me? Congressman Don Young (R-AK) who is also an NRA Board Member.
I’d heard that Young has a reputation for being a bully. I don’t get intimidated – remember, I played professional football. And, I don’t get intimidated by bullies. And, I told him that. Here’s how the Anchorage Daily News reported our exchange:
Rep. Young's target was the president of the American Hunters and Shooters Association. Ray Schoenke dared to speak in favor of a bill aimed at protecting bears from illegal hunting for their gallbladders and bile.
Rep. Young noted Schoenke's group "has ties to conservation groups and questioned its membership and motivation," according to the radio story. Then Rep. Young asked him, "Where do you come off supporting this bill?"
In reply, the witness began by describing his group as "responsible" hunters, and Rep. Young jumped all over him. "Are you saying the other (hunter) groups aren't responsible?" Repeatedly interrupting Schoenke, Young accused him of representing "a fringe group."
Schoenke, a former pro football player, tried to hold his ground, but Rep. Young continued his verbal bullying. (We'd run quotes here, but both are talking at once, so it's hard to make out exactly who is saying what.)
Schoenke did manage to suggest that Young was trying to intimidate him.
Young defended his badgering, saying "Mr. Chairman, he's the witness and I can ask whatever I want to ask."
And, Don Young thinks that was supposed to intimidate me? I can assure you that faced a lot tougher opponents in the trenches during my NFL career.
Now, I get that Young is cranky these days. He’s under federal investigation. He’s down in the polls and he’s facing stiff opposition from Republicans and Democrats.
But, there was so much wrong with that interaction. First, I was testifying about is an anti-poaching bill – you’d think the NRA would be on our side. But, the only thing the NRA’s Board Member in the House could do was attack me.
And, only in the warped world of NRA leadership are hunters not conservationists.
My experience on Capitol Hill confirmed several things for me. 1) Our hunting heritage needs protection. 2) The NRA leadership doesn’t care about hunters; and 3) AHSA is getting under the skin of those NRA leaders.
I’d actually say that the current NRA leadership has undermined the hunting tradition. On an anti-poaching bill, you’d think that the NRA leadership would be on the same side as AHSA. But the NRA leadership doesn’t think about issues that affect hunters – no, they only think about politics and money.
I believe hunting is a natural, beneficial and enjoyable use of our renewable wildlife resources and it is an American tradition to be passed on to future generations. And, I think it’s worth fighting to protect that heritage – even when that means taking on Don Young and his colleagues who run the NRA.