Dear Fellow trapper,
A few weeks ago, I received some news that I had been expecting for some time: animal rights extemists (AR's) backed by the Humane Society of the United States, had succeeded in placing an initiative on the ballot for the November elections that would ban trapping in the state of Oregon. Even though I had been expecting this to happen ever since they began preparing the initiative last fall, the news that they had gotten enough signatures to palce it on the ballot left me cold.

I've seen enough of these cases in the past few years to know that this is a serious challenge to the future of trapping not just in Oregon, but in the rest of the country as well. As I'm sure you're aware, similar measures have passed in Massachusetts, Arizona, Colorado, and California, which has left the anti's feeling that they're on a roll. In fact, if this law is passed in Oregon, there are 14 other states where they already have plans to make the same effort in the next election cycle.

The implications of this initiative are frightening. If it gets passed into law, any violation would be a Class A Misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in jail and a $5,000 fine. Per animal trapped! Their vision for the future is one where trappers become outcasts in society. Where trapping animals for any reason would become a crime, landing you in jail alongside murderers, rapists, and drug dealers. And that would only be the start.

These people are attacking much more than just trapping. They're opposed to hunting, fishing, meat eating, milk drinking, fly swatting and even pet owning. (Yes, even pet owning. The city of Boulder Colorado just passed an ordinance saying that all pet owners are now pet guardians. It's only a matter of time until they try to ciminalize the ownership of livestock).

On the basis of what I've just described, things could certainly look bleak. And I have to admit that when I first heard that this measure was being prepared for the ballot, I felt a cold sense of dread a the prospects for the future of trapping here in Oregon. There's no denying that the barbarians are at the gate, and they are pounding with all the fury that irrational beings can muster. It would be easy to assume that this is a tide that will inevitably wash over us and sweep us all away.

But that would be a mistake:

THERE'S A CRACK IN THEIR ARMOR

The animal rights movement is not just a bunch of people who would like us all to be "nice" to animals. In fact, it isn't even satisfied with changing our culture. It's a utopian scheme that is trying to change human nature in itself. But just like all the utopian schemes that have gone before it, this one is ultimately doomed to fail.

The AR crowd has two problems that should give us hope. And these prolems will only get worse with time.

The first problem is that they can't enforece their will through the use of violence. In order to win at the ballot box, they have to convince people that they are right, and to do this over a long period of time, they've got to use logic. Of course you know that logic to an AR nut is like holy water to a vampire. Stike one against them.

The second problem is that whenthe results of this legislation they are pushing become obvious, they will start to lose many of the people who supported them in the first place. Massachusets is a great example of where this is happening right now. Four years after the trapping ban in that state, they're overrun ith beavers that are causing a serious health and public safety hazard. The good liberals who run the government there are scrambling around trying to solve the problem in their typical, fuzy-headed way, but the end result is inevitable - they will need to bo back to trapping those beavers using the best methods available in order to preserve the public order. Strike two against the AR.

The result of all this is that the general public is starting to turn against this whole movement. They're all in favor of being nice to animals, but when they realize that the ultimate goal of these initiatives is actually a radical restructuring of our society, they come over to our side in a hurry.

This is all happening at the perfect time for us in Oregon. While I'm certainly not happy that our trapping heritage is under assault, I've also never been one to back away from a fight. And if it's got to be waged somewhere, I'd rather be right there in the thick of it.

I know that we can beat this thing. I know that the tide is ready to turn. But it will only turn if we all step forward and face this together.

As I mentioned earlier, this initiative is backed by the Humane Society of the United States, as well as a number of other national organizations. They've got a network of true believers, Hollywood celebrities, and left-wing foundations sending donations from all over the country.

On our side, we've had a tremendous response so far from trappers within our state reaching down deep to make some very large donations to our media fund. It really is quite amazing to see what these ordinary guys are willing to do to save our way of life from those who are out to destroy us.

We've also gotten strong support from hunting groups, gun owners groups, livestock organizations and the timber industry to form a broad, grassroots coalition in opposition ot this initiative. We've hired Paul Phillips of PAC/West Communications, and experienced campaign coordinator iwth a track record of success in fighting these ballot initiatives, to run our campagin. he has done an excellent job of organizing events andmaking media buys, and i have every confidence in his ability to see us through to victory.

This type of organization and support would be enough to win this fight if we were only competing within the state for funds. But iwth the nationwide campaign being waged by the anti's, we've got to look to our friends outside the state to help as well. In doing that, I fully realize that we have a great responsibility to make the best use of the money we receive. So let me give you a preview of what we have in mind.

This is self defense. We didn't pick this fight - we're just respondingn to a threat to our way of life. But that doesn't mean we plan on being defensive. Someone once said that the best defense is a good offense, and in politics, that's especially true. And if you ask me, it's about time someone turned the tables on these guys and made them play for a while.

It's about time someone pointed out all the lies they use to trick the public into supporting their causes. (We probably dont' have time to point out all the lies they tell. We'll just focus on the most important ones for now). The general public has been lied to enough over the last few years, and they're getting fed up with it.

They're also not interested in radically changing their lives to suit another person's religious beliefs, (and the AR movement is a religion - albeit a false religion based on emotion and an aversin to the truth) and when we point out the obvious path they're trying to lead us down, the tide I spoke of before will begin to turn.

And of course we'll show them what's happening in states that have passed similar measures in the past few years. The beaver problem in Massachusetts especially is an issue that will have the most effect on the voters in the Willamette Valley here in Oregon, where support for this initiative is the highest. By showing them the actual results of these types of laws, we'll turn a lot of heads and change a lot of votes to our side.

The election this November is a chance for us to make a stand and stop this menace to our way of life. Like the volunteers standing at the bridge at Concord over 200 years ago, we can fire "the shot yeard 'round the world'" and send these varminds running for the hills with their tails betwene their legs.

And with your help, I know we'll do just that. The best thing you can do for us is to send us money to help with our media campaign. I'm not going to suggest an amount - you know better than I do what you can afford. Whether it's $10 or $1,000 - or something in between - you can be sure we'll put it to good use. But the more you can send, the better our chances of stopping the spread of this cancer in it's tracks - cold. And you'll have the satisfaction of knowing that your donation was the swift kick in the pans as we showed the AR's the door to defeat.

I hope I've convinced you that the time to act is right now. And that you're ready to take the necessary actions to make a defense of the things we believe in against the forces lined up against us. Because I promisyou this: If we stand together, we can preserve and strenghthen our outdoorheritage, for ourselves, and for the future generations of Americans.

Sincerely,


Joe Colver
State organizer, Oregon Fur Takers


P.S. I should have pointed out the urgency with which we need your donation. Since ad-buys are made weeks and sometimes months in advance, we need to be reserving time and space now. Therefore, it is very important that you take action immediately to secure the future of our trapping heritage and stop the animal rights fanatics before they enact their agenda on the rest of the country.