Obama's National Hunting & Fishing Day offends Buddhists, other religions & promotes animal cruelty

I wrote to His Holiness the Dali Lama regarding this:

MY LETTER TO HIS HOLINESS THE DALI LAMA:

ohhdl@dalailama.com

Your Holiness:

As a Buddhist I believe in compassion for all living things. I do not eat meat, and even go a step further that I do not consume milk or eggs because farm factories use horrendous cruelty to mass produce these products, therefore I do not take pain and torture into my body. I do not believe in hunting-hunters often use cruel methods such as bow hunting which the animal is impaled and suffers for days before dying. Steel traps too are employed by hunters routinely and even stray cats and dogs get caught in them; some animals in great agony will literally chew their leg off to free themselves but end up dying in agony-slowly.

Buddhists, Hindi, and Seventh Day Adventists do not believe in hunting as it is animal cruelty. I humbly ask your Holiness to consider examining the National Petition I just started so that President Obama will remove the National Declaration of Hunting and Fishing day, and practice compassion for all living things-for these animals are Sentient Beings that suffer pain and fear just like people do!

A word from you to please remove this National Hunting and Fishing day would bring compassion and humane treatment to animals extending to all living things, which is the Buddhist way of life.

Respectfully submitted,

THE REASON:

President Obama released an official Statement that says it is okay to torture and kill animals for "sport":

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Presidential-Proclamation-National-Hunting-and-Fishing-Day/
2009 NATIONAL HUNTING AND FISHING DAY:
 
Proclaiming a "national hunting and fishing day" has offended Buddhists, Hindus, and Seventh Day Adventists by doing this. Even a non-theist can be offended and disappointed due to the perpetuation of animal cruelty through this proclamation.  Killing should not be an acceptable form of entertainment which hunting is all about.

Hunting is far from safe and accidents escalate every year including fatalities. Given that the actual engagement in hunting is somewhat limited in both hours and participation, the rate of serious injury or death is fairly high. While more people do die in car accidents, more people spend more time actually driving. Compare that rate to each trigger pulled as opposed to each turn of the ignition key and you have a different statistic emerge. Please see this year's fatalities, which are many, from hunting accidents including children being killed by hunters:

http://www.all-creatures.org/cash/accident-center.html

Fishing is far from safe as 100% of fish contain mercury, per the USDA 25% of those are "unsafe levels" which can even mean toxic mercury. Our nation is accumulating pollutants- they don't just magically vanish. I know this is going to sound stupid to you, but it's a fact that fish feel pain too. But I guess compassion is not a strong point in our species. Further, eating deer meat had spread diseases, such as "mad deer disease" which is similar to mad cow. Please see:

http://www.maddeer.org/

Animal lovers supported Mr. Obama during his election due to the cruelty of Sarah Palin i.e,  aerial hunting of wolves.  Now Mr. Obama is doing the same thing by glorifying hunting (and fishing): This white house link is wide spreading & alienating the very people who supported Obama. I just wanted you to know this.

“The soul is the same in all living creatures, although the body of each is different.”--Hippocrates

“If you have men who will exclude any of God's creatures from the shelter of compassion and pity, you will have men who will deal likewise with their fellow men.” St. Francis of Assisi

"One who eats meat kills the seed of great compassion," BUDDHA.

“I want to realize brotherhood or identity not merely with the beings called human, but I want to realize identity with all life, even with such things as crawl upon earth. ”—Mahatma Gandhi

“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated…I hold that, the more helpless a creature, the more entitled it is to protection by [people] from the cruelty of [human kind]”—Mahatma Gandhi

“To my mind the life of a lamb is no less precious than that of a human being. I should be unwilling to take the life of a lamb for the sake of the human body. I hold that, the more helpless a creature, the more entitled it is to the protection by man from the cruelty of man.”—Mahatma Gandhi

“I abhor vivisection with my whole soul. All the scientific discoveries stained with innocent blood I count as of no consequence. ”—Mahatma Gandhi

“I do not regard flesh food as necessary for us. I hold flesh food to be unsuited to our species. We err in copying the lower [supposedly lower] animal world if we are superior to it. The only way to live is to let live.”—Mahatma Gandhi

Bow hunting is one of the sickest, cruelest "sports" you can imagine, and death is very painful and slow to the animals. Some deer are found wandering with an arrow lodged like in their head (e.g., through the nostrils into the head) and still alive for days, or still alive for days when pieced into the body. Hunters also use cruel steel traps-sometimes even stray cats and dogs get caught in these instruments of torture, and sometimes the animal, in horrendous agony, literally chews its own leg clean off just to free itself. Eventually the poor animal dies an agonizing death.

I have no doubt that the less savory elements within 4H and other pro-gun groups will see your declaration as an excuse to try to get inner-city black kids (including other races of course) involved in hunting and guns.

Now even the State of Florida is encouraging children as young as eight years old to play with guns and kill, which is exactly what hunting is all about.

The Southwest Florida Water Management District is sponsoring a pig shoot out for children.

 "One of the most dangerous things that can happen to a child is to kill or torture an animal and get away with it," Margaret Meade, Anthropologist.

http://www.tampabay.com/news/humaninterest/children-unlikely-allies-in-feral-hog-hunt/1043489

The children's pig shoot out is scheduled for October 17th and October 24th, 2009 at the Edward W. Chance Reserve - Gilley Creek Tract in the Lake Manatee Lower Watershed southeast of the city of St. Petersburg, Florida.

The guns will be loaded when the children are situated in a blind.

This is NOT NEW to the State of Florida:

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2285925/hunting_and_kidsflorida_children_invited.html?cat=9

"The Florida Wildlife Commission began hosting youth hunts 3 years ago. The agency also offers instructions on hunting hogs, deer, turkeys and water fowl. At least 300 youths participated in hog hunts last season." 

"Hunting is part of our heritage here in Florida," says Kenny Barker of the Florida Wildlife Commission. "Kids need to learn that food doesn't come from a grocery store. This is an effort to recruit and retain some hunters for our future."

Government sponsored hunt for children between eight years of age to 16.

These kids are not playing with water pistols. If so much as one child gets hurt, guess who is going to get sued? The State of Florida. Millions of dollars. I'm sure the lawyers are licking their chops at this possibility. You sponsored it, you will be held responsible-these children will be firing loaded guns.

Damage to society:

Children are going to be shooting and killing animals. These animals don't die right away. They scream in agony, suffer, run, and bleed to death. Rarely does a gun shoot and kill right away. Is this what you want children to learn? ARE YOU SERIOUS???  This IS animal cruelty. You all may not think it is, but it is. This teaches children to be cruel to animals. Would you say this is cruel to do to a puppy or kitten?  Listening to screams of agony for fun is cruel.  Yes, the law says it is legal to shoot pigs (which are more intelligent than dogs), but regardless what the law says, these animals SCREAM in agony when they get shot, and they die in pain. So this is the fun you want to teach children???  Maybe these kids will have so much fun killing these pigs the next targets will be neighborhood dogs and cats. They, too, are animals on all fours. More county expense on investigating animal cruelty charges (shoot someone's dog or cat I guarantee they owners WILL call the police and file charges and/or sue!)

Damage:

EVIDENCE:

http://www.jaapl.org/cgi/reprint/30/2/257.pdf

The Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law

J Am Acad Psychiatry Law 30:257–65, 2002

"A history of animal cruelty during childhood was significantly associated with APD [Antisocial Personality Disorder], antisocial personality traits, and polysubstance abuse. Mental retardation, psychotic disorders, and alcohol abuse showed no such association."

The United States of America is an extremely violent nation

http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-166094302.html

Gunshot wounds: "Each year, approximately 30,000 to 50,000 Americans are killed secondary to gunshot wounds. This upper range nearly equals the number of fatalities (59,021) sustained during the 12 years (1961 to 1973) of the Vietnam war. (1) In 2003, the last year for which these statistics are available, 30,136 persons were fatally wounded by firearms, representing 18.4% of all injury-related fatalities."

http://www.disastercenter.com/crime/uscrime.htm

Just last year, 16,272 Americans were murdered in USA-in one year. 1,382,012 individuals suffered violent crime; 89,000 individuals were victims of forceful rape. Last year, 304,059,724 populated the United States and 11,149,927 were the victims of some forceful traumatizing and/or lethal crime.

SERIAL KILLERS LOOSE IN AMERICA:

http://fbilibrary.fbiacademy.edu/bibliographies/serialkillers.htm

"Authorities estimate that there are between 35-50 serial killers on the loose in the United States-and new reports of suspected killers are constantly surfacing all over the globe." According to an FBI Behavioral Unit study 85% of the world's serial killers are in America.

Published October 29, 2007: LINK BETWEEN ANIMAL ABUSE AND SERIAL KILLERS

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/425882/the_link_between_animal_abuse_and_serial.html?cat=17

"Ted Bundy, David Berkowitz and Jeffrey Dahmer have more in common than just being serial killers. These three murderers are also connected by the fact that each of them tortured and/or killed animals during their childhoods. "Researchers as well as FBI and other law enforcement agencies nationwide have linked animal cruelty to domestic violence, child abuse, serial killings and to the recent rash of killings by school age children", says Dr. Randall Lockwood (vice president of training and initiatives for the Humane Society of the United States.

Some children are cruel to and torture animals to impress their peers, but future serial killers usually torture animals purely for their own enjoyment. Animal abuse is a recognized sign of a mental disorder. If a child hurts animals it should be a red flag and immediate action should be taken. While there are many factors that contribute to someone becoming a serial killer, the one constant they share is animal abuse.

Jeffrey Dahmer showed an intense interest in dismembering animals as a child. As an adult he was charged with murdering and dismembering at least sixteen people."

Of course the parents are agreeing to their children hunting, but when government sponsored, will be responsible for holding and encouraging it. Keep in mind when it comes to their kids getting hurt-parents SUE. Guess what--ACCIDENTS HAPPEN! That's why they call them accidents.

LET'S TALK ABOUT GUNS AND CHILDREN-BECAUSE CHILDREN ARE HANDLING LOADED FIREARMS CAPABLE OF *KILLING*-

http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/kay24/gGxnYz

Gun Deaths -- All
    * In the last five years, more than 148,000 people have been killed by a firearm in America, 14,500 of them children and teens.
    * 29,569 people were killed in America by gunfire in one year, according to the most recent data, which averages to 81 people a day -- or a person killed by a gun every 18 minutes.
    * The U.S. has the highest rate of deaths from gunfire in the industrialized world.

Gun Deaths -- Children and Teens (0-19)

    * 2,852 children and teenagers were killed in America by gunfire in one year, according to the most recent data, which averages to 8 children and teenagers a day -- or one child or teen killed by a gun every 3 hours.
    * Every three days, we lose a classroom of children as a result of gun violence.
    * The overall firearm-related death rate among U.S. children under the age of 15 was nearly 12 times higher than among children in 25 other industrialized countries combined.

Gun Injuries

    * In 2005, there were 69,825 people injured by a firearm in America -- that's more than 191 injuries per day. And 23% of the injuries (16,298) were incurred by children and teens.

School Shootings

    * Two-thirds of the 41 students involved in 37 school-shooting incidents from 1974-2000 got their guns from their own home or that of a relative.

Declaring a "national hunting and fishing day" is both shocking and offensive and promotes cruelty and violence in America. FBI profiling verifies that serial killers start out by torturing/killing animals because they find *pleasure* in slaying a helpless creature and enjoy watching it suffer. Then they graduate to humans.
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REMEDY: PLEASE MR. OBAMA REMOVE THIS DECLARATION OF A NATIONAL HUNTING AND FISHING DAY, and institute Compassion for Animals Awareness Day, which shall promote a more Compassionate, gentler America.

Also please encourage Americans to spay/neuter their dogs and cats due to the epidemic of homeless animals and costing tax payers untold billions ever year to destroy them in pounds (California *alone* spends a quarter of a BILLION dollars a year--yes, per year-on killing animals, destroying a half a million dogs, cats, puppies and kittens as a means of population control because not enough homes for them).

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