Thursday, January 03, 2008
Web guide to hunting, fishing guides
Bill Cochran
Recent mail
BILL: I stumbled across an old mailbag of yours where a reader asked about an online New River fishing report and you said that you didn't know of one. I publish a small Web site: virginia-outdoors.com. I originally published the site as a directory of hunting and fishing guides in the state. This is still the cornerstone of the site, but I also publish some basic fishing information and try to keep a number of updated fishing reports online (see, for example, virginia-outdoors.com/newriver). Admittedly, I slack off during hunting season, but I'll get all of the reports updated regularly as spring rolls around.
JASON BURKHOLDER
Ruckersville
BILL: Many animal rights activists are also dissatisfied with the ways HSUS, PETA, and other large animal welfare groups run and utilize money. The fact of the matter is that these groups draw in millions of dollars that could be used to make real and positive change here and now, but they do not.
As an animal rights advocate myself, I realize that groups such as these give us a bad name and are generally counterproductive to our goal of animal liberation. I think we should all look at large corporations with a suspicious eye, whether they be PETA or some hunting association. It’s a sad world we live in when those who enjoy killing our wildlife are also those responsible for maintaining their existence.
I’d also like to respond to someone’s criticism of “vegan diabetics” and the like (Nov. 15 Cochran Mailbag). The vegan diet, what many doctors now view as the ideal human diet, is prescribed in order to reverse diabetes. The number of vegan diabetics is miniscule, because it’s the non-vegan diet that causes diabetes in the first place. The two are opposites of one another!
The estrogen comment was also unfounded. Premarin is a form of estrogen, and yes, it does use horse urine that was cruelly obtained. This is a well known fact in the animal rights circle -- it’s nothing new. Thankfully, estrogen has many sources, and it does not originate from mares. To think estrogen comes from horses is a silly assumption. I bet this person also thinks iron comes from meat and not what the animals are fed! I say turn off the TV and do some research. While you’re at it: Eat some kale!
COREY WRENN
Virginia Tech
