How do you turn a positive into a negative? All you have to do is allow the anti?use ideology agenda into the issue.

Governments at all levels are being manipulated into passing laws based on a non?use, anti?human ideology. In a world where people are all consumed about being politically correct, we are allowing the non?use agenda to control and influence the public and the governments that are elected to protect the people.

Over the last four years in Ontario, we have gone through a political fiasco in dealing with black bears. In January of 1999, the government of the day abruptly cancelled the spring bear hunt. The loss of the spring bear hunt had nothing to do with scientific management of the species or the people who depended on the wise use of a renewable resource. The closure was all about votes, money and power. Now I could go into detail on how this came about but that is a story in itself. Basically, the government was blackmailed into closing the hunt by a well organised coalition of anti?use group, backed by a wealthy industrialist. The government believed they would be targeted by a very focused ad campaign designed to influence specific ridings in southern Ontario.

This is happening in more and more places and in many different industries. The seals and cod in Newfoundland, black bears in Ontario, grizzly bears and trees in British Columbia are all good examples. Recently, we went through ridiculous hurdles trying to get government approval for a nickel mine in my hometown of Timmins because the environmentalists tried to block the process.

Why is this happening? How can positive things like fishing, hunting, trapping, cutting trees and mining with many positive social and economical benefits be turned against the very people who make a living from the resource and understand how to manage it. There is no doubt that when the resources are handed over to large faceless conglomerates with only a bottom line interest, the resource will suffer. Left in the hands of the indigenous people or if you like, the rural communities that have a vested interest in the resource, both the people and the resource do well.

While you can only catch a fish once, cut a tree once, or catch a beaver once, we have been doing such things for hundreds of years and have raised generations of families. Maybe someone should take notice of this. That is where the anti?use ideology causes so many problems. Their agenda is to separate the people from the land or resource. This is where governments fail the people by trying to be politically correct and only worrying about being re?elected. Keep in mind that politicians only have a four?year shelf life or less.

Recently, I read a book by Eugene Lapointe titled Embracing the Earth's Wild Resources. Mr. Lapointe is the former Secretary General of CITES. If you want to gain a better understanding of how the world is being hijacked by those opposed to the use of any natural resources, this book is a must read. In fact, after I read the book, I ordered four more and gave away two copies. I asked each one of our directors of the Timmins Fur Council to read the book so we could better understand what is going on with conservation. The anti?use industry receives more money for whales, seals, bears and sea turtles than some third world countries have budgets. They are without a doubt fully capable in political warfare. They know how to manipulate the media, how to dehumanize people, pick the right animal to use in a campaign and how to manipulate the politicians. Remember it is all about raising money to gain more influence to advance the anti?use ideology.

The environmentalists are choosing their battles and waging war on modern society. They are picking targets of opportunity around the world and convincing the public that the use of a resource will threaten them. The challenge for true conservationists is to understand this and ban together in order to counter this movement. If we do not begin to understand this agenda, then one by one we will all be picked off. The book can be ordered from wwww.iwmc.org/bookstore.