Dear Editor:
Hunting, wildlife conservation, and gun ownership in the United States are special. Unlike in Europe, where wealthy landowners and royalty held certain rights to hunting, wildlife, and guns, Americans are the beneficiaries of robust public trust ownership principles. Because of lessons learned hundreds of years ago, every whitetail deer, turkey, quail, alligator, fish, and other wildlife species that is in this great state belong to ALL of us. Unfortunately, some folks, including those charged with representing the public and safeguarding our wildlife for hunting and their associated economic benefits, would like to change that.
Historically, public ownership of wildlife and the right to hunt them have been closely tied to our rights to keep and bear arms. Because most Americans have always enjoyed widespread access to firearms, our ability to hunt and consume wild game has been enjoyed by people of nearly all economic and social classes - regardless of wealth or privilege. When dead wildlife were bought and sold generations ago, we nearly lost some of our most iconic species – white-tailed deer, wild turkey, wood ducks, and hundreds of species of birds that were sold only for their feathers. Deer, for example, had dwindled to only 1,500 animals throughout the entire state.
State law (Miss. Code Ann. § 49-7-51(1)(a)) prohibits the buying and selling of white-tailed deer. Up until last month, our Attorneys General have all agreed with established law. However, a new opinion from the current Attorney General, Lynn Fitch, has concluded: “the Commission could craft a regulation allowing for the commercial trade of white-tailed deer held within high-fenced enclosures between registered captive breeders without specifically contravening an express legislative act.”
Not only do we believe this conclusion is erroneous and contrary to Mississippi law and past Attorneys General opinions, but we have significant concerns should the State and Commission develop a regulation allowing for the sale of deer. The sale of wildlife sets a dangerous precedent for the future of hunting and wildlife conservation in our state, especially when infectious diseases like chronic wasting disease (CWD) threaten the future of our deer and deer hunting heritage. Because of CWD, we are already witnessing a reduction of deer, especially mature bucks, and hunting success in parts of the state. And at a time when putting food on the table is important to so many Mississippians. This Attorneys General opinion is also opposed by the majority of the 780,000 sportsmen and women across Mississippi, most of whom support fair chase hunting and believe that wildlife should continue to belong to the people of this great state. Wildlife should not be up for sale to the highest bidder or the politically connected.
We must ensure that our elected officials in Mississippi, from the governor who appoints our wildlife commissioners, to the Attorney General who interprets our wildlife laws, for example, protect our native wildlife and the associated recreational economy, and that healthy, native populations of wildlife remain accessible for all Mississippians to enjoy.
The undersigned organizations, representing hundreds-of-thousands of hunters, anglers, wildlife professionals, outdoor enthusiasts, and wildlife-associated businesses firmly stand in opposition to the commercialization of Mississippi’s public wildlife. Mississippi’s deer are not for sale today, nor should they ever be.
Tony Schoonen – CEO, Boone & Crockett Club
Nick Pinizzotto – President, National Deer Assoc.
Ashlee Ellis Smith – Mississippi Wildlife Federation
