Sounds good. Although there would be a large number of hunters who
would operate professionally and with low-impact, there unfortunately
will probably also be a significant percentage of "ferals with guns"
who could pose a danger to the general public (and to themselves) if
allowed to hunt unrestricted in the parks. I also think that the
knowledge of unregulated, unsupervised hunters being active in a
national park would deter families, overseas tourists, etc. from
wanting to visit it. Additionally, national parks are supposed to be
places where people can relax and enjoy the tranquility of unspoiled
and unpolluted natural beauty; the last thing I would want or expect
when visiting the solitude of a national park is to hear gunshots
ringing out all the time. Your point about hunting dogs potentially
being used is also well made - you also wouldn't want to come across a
pack of those while hiking, especially if their owner was several
minutes behind them (mind you, you could shoot them yourself and get
some bounty money!)
As I said in a previous response, I think penalties for any violations
of the law need to carry special mandatory criminal sentences more
severe than normal if they occur within a national park. The burden of
proof should also be put on the defendant rather than the prosecution,
so that the hunter is automatically assumed guilty unless he or she
can prove that they weren't the culprit. Perhaps the gun club that the
person belongs to should also be held jointly liable for any
violations by their members. Each hunter should also be required to
have the minimum 10 million dollars of public liability cover that
commercial users of the national parks need to have before allowed
access. These provisions would be necessary to try to ensure that if
the hunting within national parks gets the green light, at least the
hunters would be aware that what they got was a special privilege, not
some kind of right.
John
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