**Exploiting and killing animals is inhumane. Period!
~ Mike

More death for another trophy-toting bigshot (Whitehorse Star, June 12/09).

Re: Guides should better protect against scavengers: judge (Star, June 8).

Killing wildlife needlessly before the end of their natural lifespan is unjust! Being legal does not make it ethical.

Outfitters and the Yukon government both see wildlife as "things", or economic resources, instead of who they really are--sentient beings with their own interests. So it is no surprise that killing animals is permitted so long as Outfitters don't "waste meat". It is a life that was wasted, not just meat. It should be a crime to kill just so some... big shot can have a "trophy".

Apparently, when one of the Lone Wolf Outfitter guides heard "the sound of wolves howling near the site" where "one of the hunters shot a moose", it "sent him packing". This has got to be the funniest excuse I have heard in a long time. Would he have "abandoned" the animal's carcass if he hadn't already salvaged the "trophy" parts? Did he forget that it is legal for him to kill wolves? He also said he thought there might be a bear at the kill site. Had he used up his grizzly quota already? Did he forget his gun back at the airstrip? Seriously, it is the wildlife that has reason to fear humans, not the other way around. Want to see some graphic images of how Lone Wolf Outfitters treats wolves? Check out their web site.

Meanwhile, Lone Wolf Outfitters has applied for land tenure (they want to own the concession they currently lease for a few bucks a year). The public should be concerned that this will be a dead giveaway of wilderness and wildlife, and it will no doubt set a precedent for all the other Outfitters to follow.

"Trophy" hunting has a negative impact on the health of wildlife; it is exploitative, and it is unethical. We have got to put a stop this archaic practice.

Let's stop wasting the lives of wildlife. Wild animals deserve to have their lives to themselves, and to live and die naturally in the wild, as part of the ecosystem.

Mike Grieco