Under pressure, group backs away from dart-and-release hunts

Ken Perrotte's column

Date published: 9/14/2006

WE TOOK a somewhat sardonic look in June at the World Hunting Association and its stated plans to have tournaments where deer were darted and tranquilized for points on high-fenced preserves. Late last month, the organization announced it is abandoning the dart-and-release format and will instead have a tournament where the animals are killed.

"Over the past two months, we have met one-on-one with fellow hunters, major hunters' rights organizations, industry leaders and top outdoor journalists from all over the country to gain their perspectives. Consistently, their major concerns centered on the proposed use of non-fatal darting," said association Commissioner David Farbman of Detroit in a Web-site announcement.

According to the organization's Web site, the "hunting tour" will have 12-day tournaments. "Pro hunters can take up to six deer--four does, one management buck and one trophy buck. Certain bucks that are featured and studied on the Internet portal [world hunt.com] will not be eligible for harvest during competition, but the hunters can gain bonus points for bringing the deer into effective range and capturing the footage on camera."

Contestants must use a bow, rifle and muzzleloader during the competition, taking at least one deer with each.

Concern still remains about the issue of trying to transform (or some might say, "reduce") the process of hunting, which is largely a very internalized, personal experience, into a hyped competitive event like a big-dollar bass tournament. Granted, taking an animal in some very large, fenced operations isn't always a "fish in a barrel" challenge, but it's usually more of a sure thing than a purely free-roaming hunt grounded in fair-chase principles.

The whole concept still makes me uneasy.

In other news:

High Point bass season recap

Lake Anna's High Point Marina recently concluded its evening bass tournaments that have been held every Friday since June 2.

The top 40 teams of the 157 that competed over the course of the season qualified for the "Top-40 Fish-Off" Sept. 9, which was won by Frank Sipe Jr. and Holland White of Fluvanna. According to a High Point media release, an average of 66 teams fished weekly and caught 2,325 total pounds of bass. Lester Leonard and Mark Peel of Spotsylvania had the year's biggest fish with a 6-pound, 15-ounce bass.

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Date published: 9/14/2006