HELPLESS!

The shot above is of the new 2014 Nature Conservancy calendar.  Isn't it coincidence that those sandhill cranes that are held in such reverence are going to be shot starting on Thanksgiving here in Tennessee.  What a travesty!  It seems there is not enough diversity of wildlife on the hunting lists for the hunters of the state and they needed to add this noble, ancient bird to their lists of things to point a shotgun at.  I now know what it is like to be stood against a post with hands tied behind me, helpless as I watch the savages burn my best friend at the stake.  There's nothing that one individual can do.

It seems that not even the overwhelming input "against" killing cranes from the citizens of the state can stay their execution.  And so then - does the wildlife belong to the hunters, or to the citizens of the state of Tennessee?  Note the mission statement of TWRA (Tennessee Wildlife Resource's Agency) below:

..."The mission of the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency is to preserve, conserve, manage, protect, and enhance the fish and wildlife of the state and their habitats for the use, benefit, and enjoyment of the citizens of Tennessee and its visitors"

The key word above is "citizens", not hunters, not sportsmen - of which I doubt there are any real sportsmen left.  The citizens are overwhelmingly against the shooting of the cranes and their desires go unheeded.  And, all I can do is watch the flames rise around my friend and I close my eyes in disgust and revulsion.   The cranes will fall this year but, a unification of all the citizens of this state can cause change next year. Seek out ways to do it by joining any and every bird and wildlife club you can and be vocal against this outrage all year long.  Care about something more than the almighty dollar!  This sickens me, and it happens on Thanksgiving.  Nothing in the wilds is sacred.  Nothing.
And what effort has the Nature Conservancy made in the crane's defense?  I wonder.