From: vanetten@unix.cie.rpi.edu (John S. Van Etten)
Subject: Re: PETA Activities Suspected of Violating FCC Act, Says PPF
Organization: CIE, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY
Distribution: usa
Date: Tue, 25 Aug 1992 21:31:59 GMT

Steve Pope writes:

>In article <1992Aug25.192435.10357@mtu.edu> cescript@mtu.edu (Charles Scripter) writes:
>
>> spp@zabriskie.berkeley.edu (Steve Pope) writes:
>> >
>> > > [ assertion that enviromental spending depends on hunters ]
>> >
>> > A specious argument.  The same amount of money could be spent on
>> > the environment regardless of policies on hunting.
>>
>>The key word here is *could*.  The fact is that we have a long term
>>study that indicates it won't be spent unless it comes from hunters
>>(i.e. the history of hunting licenses), who insist it be spent that way.
>
>Bullshit.  Hunting license fees constitute a teeny fraction of
>the money spent on the environment.

These are mighty strong words, Steve.  There are over 17 million
hunters in the USA and license fee revenues are several hundred
million dollars per year.  Just how much money gets spent on the
environment, according to your PETA brochures?  I'd hardly think
$600-700 million per year is a paltry part of it. ;-)


>  Are you trying to tell me
>the budgets for EPA, Interior, and Agriculture are primarily
>funded by hunting license fees?

I really don't think this is what Charles meant to imply -- at least
that the funding is licensing specific, since obviously it's not.  Are
you aware that over 80% of the DOI's funding comes from an 11% excise
tax on guns, ammo, bows, etc. and the sale of Duck Stamps?  Are you
aware that all funds given to the state environment funds (e.g., the
Conservation Fund here in NY) from the DOI come from only these two
areas and not from the general taxes?  Are you aware that the EPA also
gets funds from that excise tax on our equipment (although I have no
idea of the percentages)?  Sorry, I don't know all that much about the
Dept. of Agriculture funding.  How much do they do for the environment
vs. the DOI?


>  I don't have the numbers in front
>of me but I'm certain this is way off base.

Clearly you don't have the numbers, since Charles's claim is accurate.
Whether you AR folk like it or not, hunters are the single largest
source of funds to help the environment.  Period.  The exact amount is
quite hard to determine, since (for example) no data is recorded when
buying a duck stamp about whether or not the purchaser is a hunter or
stamp-collector (or even an AR advocate that feels his or her money
would be better spent helping animals, rather than fighting hunters --
imagine that :-).  But most conservative estimates I've seen in the
hunting and conservation literature have been over *one billion*
dollars per year from hunters.  How much does PETA contribute?  Can we
count that low? ;-)


>What exactly are the conclusions of this "long term study" ??
>If you define "environmental spending" in an extremely narrow sense
>I suppose it might match the amount of license fee revenue.
>Again, I regard this assertion as meaningless.

That is, of course, your perogitive.  But burying one's head in the
sand rarely makes the facts go away. ;-)


John

--
******************************************************************************
               John S. Van Etten     vanetten@unix.cie.rpi.edu
       Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute  1000 MIPS GaAs F-RISC Project
       --"If sand didn't irritate oysters, there would be no pearls"--