Spring Break
New OIRA head too radical over animal rights
George Maynard
Issue date: 2/9/09 Section: Commentary
Who is Cass Sunstein? Most people probably have never heard of him or the position that he was appointed to by President Obama. Mr. Sunstein was recently picked to head the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA). This position is also referred to as "the regulatory czar."
The OIRA is in charge of managing the federal regulatory process. Thus, the best pick for the country would be someone who is relatively rational. Cass Sunstein is not that man - he's actually a raving lunatic.
Most sane people support the idea of minimizing the suffering of animals that are used for food, clothing or entertainment. There are fringe radicals, however, who go beyond animal welfare into something called "animal rights." Mr. Sunstein is one of these radicals.
One aspect of the animal rights agenda that Mr. Sunstein advocates is the banning of hunting. I'm going to take a big leap and assume this means he would probably like to ban fishing too. This is absurd for a myriad of reasons. First and foremost, the operating budget for many fish and wildlife agencies around the country is paid for by the sale of hunting and fishing licenses. Besides that, there is also an excise tax on all guns, ammunition, fishing tackle and motorboat fuel that is distributed to agencies like the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection for use on conservation projects. Plus, much of the national park system was paid for using money from these taxes and the sale of duck stamps. It is also important to note that there is no equivalent tax for other users of public lands (i.e. bird watchers or hikers). Hunting is also an important tool for wildlife management.
For a first hand experience, take a walk in the UConn forest (behind Horsebarn Hill). On first glance, everything may appear to be fine, but hang on a second. Even if you were to hike around in the late spring or early summer, you still would be able to see through for several hundred feet in any direction. That doesn't signify a functioning ecosystem. A healthy forest would have an under story of shrubs and saplings. In the UConn forest, however, this has been devoured by deer. The deer are completely out of control because they have no natural predators or human predators since hunting is banned on university property. This allows the deer population to grow unchecked and consume all of the undergrowth that should be in the woods providing habitat for small animals like the New England cottontail rabbit, which is threatened due to habitat loss.
The OIRA is in charge of managing the federal regulatory process. Thus, the best pick for the country would be someone who is relatively rational. Cass Sunstein is not that man - he's actually a raving lunatic.
Most sane people support the idea of minimizing the suffering of animals that are used for food, clothing or entertainment. There are fringe radicals, however, who go beyond animal welfare into something called "animal rights." Mr. Sunstein is one of these radicals.
One aspect of the animal rights agenda that Mr. Sunstein advocates is the banning of hunting. I'm going to take a big leap and assume this means he would probably like to ban fishing too. This is absurd for a myriad of reasons. First and foremost, the operating budget for many fish and wildlife agencies around the country is paid for by the sale of hunting and fishing licenses. Besides that, there is also an excise tax on all guns, ammunition, fishing tackle and motorboat fuel that is distributed to agencies like the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection for use on conservation projects. Plus, much of the national park system was paid for using money from these taxes and the sale of duck stamps. It is also important to note that there is no equivalent tax for other users of public lands (i.e. bird watchers or hikers). Hunting is also an important tool for wildlife management.
For a first hand experience, take a walk in the UConn forest (behind Horsebarn Hill). On first glance, everything may appear to be fine, but hang on a second. Even if you were to hike around in the late spring or early summer, you still would be able to see through for several hundred feet in any direction. That doesn't signify a functioning ecosystem. A healthy forest would have an under story of shrubs and saplings. In the UConn forest, however, this has been devoured by deer. The deer are completely out of control because they have no natural predators or human predators since hunting is banned on university property. This allows the deer population to grow unchecked and consume all of the undergrowth that should be in the woods providing habitat for small animals like the New England cottontail rabbit, which is threatened due to habitat loss.
Viewing Comments 1 - 4 of 4
ED
posted 2/11/09 @ 10:08 PM EST
Beware of articles in which the word "loonies" is repeated over and over again to mask the lack of specifics, and worse, to gloss over exaggerations if not outright distortions. (Continued…)
ED
posted 2/11/09 @ 10:43 PM EST
A little bit of research shows it's the right-wing Center for Consumer Freedom, you know, the folks who fight for industry rights and against consumer protection (sometimes even against the right of the consumer to be allowed to know what's inside the product or food) that is behind the attacks on him. (Continued…)
Conservative
posted 2/12/09 @ 9:08 AM EST
"There should be extensive regulation of the use of animals in entertainment, scientific experiments, and agriculture."
-Cass Sunstein (2002)
"We ought to ban hunting, I suggest, if there isn't a purpose other than sport and fun. (Continued…)
Lone Star Gal
posted 3/01/09 @ 4:34 PM EST
Well, actually, a great many people have heard of Cass Sunstein. For example, conservative-slanted magazines like Business Week: they just featured Sunstein in an article on page 58 that's subtitled "Why Obama's pick for regulatory gatekeeper has business breathing a sigh of relief. (Continued…)
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