I read the posts about what we can say positive about our sport and agree, we do need to present ourselves in a positve manner. But, these anti hunter groups are never gonna like us, no matter how many benefit hunts we have, no matter how many families are positvely affected by what we do. I don't agree with Fred's decision to lock the old board. We cannot go into hiding and hope this blows over and the antihunter groups will like us and promote our sport. These posts encouraging us to contact our representatives are the way to go. Are we to watch what we say? To a certain extent, yes. But, we could never say anything as bad as what the anti groups are saying about us. Should we call them misinformed idiots? Sure. It certainly is not gonna effect the outcome of these battles. We don't have the funds to put out commercials using a good looking woman singing a song and showing a mangy cat in the background. Our best recourse is to contact those that make the decisions, pointing out the financial gains, the political negatives and positives of there actions. We need to be just as aggressive in our defense as the antihunter groups are in the offence against us. We do not need to hide or stop what we do or they have already won.

Agree 100% .

Word for word.

The ONE THING that will get the attention of the folks in each of the states is the ECONOMIC IMPACT had on that state by the hunters, hound owners etc.
This needs to be brought to the attention of the legislatures of each state, as well as their wildlife commission, game & fisheries,etc. They CARE about the MONEY!
This has to have factual data to support it, but folks,all the POLITICIANS will PAY ATTENTION to MONEY!!
Look at what PETA & HSUS do...they spend millions upon millions of dollars to not only promote their agenda, but to also put in place through financial support, the politicians that will support them!
That's a fact!!
And it appears that many politicians will get in bed with anyone for the $$$$$$$. Just look at the 435 Congressional idiots, and 100 Senatorial idiots in Washington.....they have proven that!!

ALLAN BISHOP
(JABBER JAW)

Look what happened when PETA messed with the wrong group of bikers.

http://glossynews.com/society/201001070305/activists-missing-after-declaring-war-on-leather-at-motorcycle-rally/

I AGREE BARRY AND PERSONALLY DO NOT FEEL THAT I HAVE DONE ANYTHING WRONG NOR DO I FEEL THE NEED TO HIDE ANYTHING,IAM PROUD OF WHAT WE STAND FOR AND FOR ALL THE GOOD THINGS THAT WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO ACCOMPLISH-DAVID BAILEY

Wonder if the dog food companies in Florida know about this and the impact it would have on their business? They should be notified. They should stand up and come to our aid!

i have called retriever (mars/pedigree)and two others.the two other's state sales reps are supposed to call me back. mars said they don't envoled with these things. i figured they would after Peta rudely interrupted the Westminster dog show.

Who is to say that the Dog Food Companies would be on the hunters side versus the PETA side? ALL dogs have to eat and there are more fru-fru house dogs out there than hunting dogs. They may even donate a bunch of dog food to the pounds. It's something to think about. As far as we know the CEO of Purina may be a big PETA supporter.

I HAVE BEEN ON THE PHONE WITH PRIDEDOG FOOD /MIKE CARR AND THEY ARE WELL AWARE AND ON BOARD TO HELP US IN ANY WAY ,LET ME REINERATED ON MY STATEMENT ABOVE I IN NO WAY AM BASHING FRED FOR DOING WHAT EVER HE FEELS HE NEEDS TO DO WITH THIS BOARD ,THIS IS HIS FORUM AND HE DOES WHAT HE FEELS HE NEEDS TO DO AND I DONT HAVE A PROBLEM WITH IT EITHER WAY --DAVID BAILEY

PETA and HSUS are of the opinion that humans should not have pets at all. It dosn't matter if you have a fru fru manicured poodle or a hound. Their agenda is to end all human ownership of animals. Pet food CEO's should know that by now although I'm sure they do what they have to do PR wise to keep themselves out of the crosshairs.

I don't mind having the board blocked but I will say this anti-internet reaction I've seen is misplaced. These boards are just for communication and it would be a mistake to cut the lines of communication out of fear that something you say might be used against you.
Whatever these bad guys are using as ammunition is most likely a bunch of lies. The thing about a liar is they will tell a lie no matter what you do or don't do to try and prevent them.
Now if something has gone on in the past that a hunter or a pen owner feels ashamed of or feels like they need to hide then they need to make sure that mistake, whatever it was, doesn't happen again. First and foremost we all need to get ourselves in a defendable position. In the past we may have been caught out in the open but by now it should be clear you need to be able to plainly defend your hunting practices.

Yes, the ultimate goal of animal rights groups is to end pet ownership. It will happen over generations so there won't be any mass exterminatios or pets turned loose to run wild. The old ladies you talk about will be the last ones standing but when it gets down to them they will be a target just like we are.
You have to think about what these groups say they are for and what their long term agenda is. If you look deeply enough into the leadership of these groups you will see they are the most liberal nut jobs you will find in the world. HSUS pretends to be a pet shelter organization like your local humane society that actually takes care of abandoned pets. HSUS is actually a political lobby that spands the majority of their money trying to change animal rights policy in America. They intend to reduce the number of pets year after year until there are none left. In the short term they will pick off the easy targets like fox hunters but long term they will take away all rights to own hounds, then sporting dogs, then working dogs, until there are none left.

I AGREE WITH YOU HEATH EXCEPT FOR ONE THING-WE NEED TO GET ON THE OFFENSIVE AND STOP DEFENDING AND START FIGHTING FOR OUR RIGHTS AS CITIZENS OF THIS COUNTRY IF A BULLY COMES AFTER YOU AND YOU JUST STAND THERE AND WARD OFF HIS PUNCHES HE'S PROABLY GONNA WIN BUT YOU REACH OUT AND KNOCK THE HELL OUT OF HIM AND SEE WHAT HAPPENS -DAVID BAILEY

The best way to combat the anti's to to vote. Get your friends to vote. As a voting body we can vote in members that see things the way we do. Money is important but not the only weapon. We all know many hunters and friends of hunters that don't vote. We have to rally them to vote. We are all lobbyists. We just have to be a better job of doing so.

I agree with you David ! The best defense is a good offense IT IS TIME TO ATTACK!!!

I agree we have not done anything wrong and I agree what we say about them shouldn't be hidin from anyone! BUT at the meeting they had print outs from the websites of dog numbers and amounts of Game that was added to a pens and here in Florida the permits say only 1 dog per 5 acres and crap like that!! I just think the less we make public the better!! Just one mans opinion.

It is not just pets that they want to do away with, they also want to stop all forms of animal husbandry (farming, etc.).

Fred did not block the web site to hide from the Anti's he merely blocked it temporarily to get his feet under him just like the rest of are having to do. Yes, Florida was a hard blow but it has only brought us all closer together.

There are several of us that have been on the phones since yesterday afternoon and we are working on getting a game plan together. We all need to stand solidified under one umbrella and that is what a core group of us have started to put together.

Hang in there with us for a bit and we will keep you all informed as to what has been happening. Please contact David Bailey, Trish Rogero, Ken Lewis or myself and give us your addresses, phone numbers and E-MAIL addresses.

We will start sending out mailings to keep you all informed. It will be a lot cheaper on us in the long run if we can e-mail the majority. WE WILL KEEP YOU ALL ABREAST OF WHAT IS GOING ON!!!!!!!!!

PRAY like all get out and let us ALL work together for one common goal.