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When
is
enough
–
enough?
As
Canadians,
it
is
probably
fair
to
say
that
we
are
a
relatively
passive
group
of
people.
Sometimes
I
think
we’re
like
the
commercial
about
the
teenage
glutton,
Mikey:
“Give
it
to
Mikey,
he
eats
anything.”
But
there
comes
a
time
when
we
have
to
stand
up
and
say
thanks
but
no
thanks. During
the
past
month,
many
hunters
in
Alberta
took
that
stand.
Upon
learning
about
Mountain
Equipment
Co-op’s
(MEC)
approval
to
allow
the
Alberta
Wilderness
Association,
CPAWS
Calgary/Banff,
Grizzly
Bear
Alliance
and
Wildcanada.net
to
locate
a
display
outside
of
the
Calgary
store,
many
hunters
picked
up
the
gauntlet
and
said
enough
is
enough.
In
fact,
in
two
weeks,
MEC
received
several
hundred
e-mails
protesting
the
blatant
“anti-grizzly
bear
hunt
propaganda”.
Telephone
lines,
chat
rooms,
bulletin
boards
and
e-mail
were
lit
up! So,
does
MEC
allowing
these
groups
to
have
a
display
outside
of
their
store
make
them
anti-hunting?
I
felt
it
was
important
to
ask
the
question
and
give
MEC
an
opportunity
to
respond.
An
hour-long
phone
call
with
Tim
Southam,
a
Sr.
Marketing
official
in
Vancouver,
revealed
some
interesting
information.
Mr.
Southam
confirmed
that
it
was
not
MEC’s
intention
to
alienate
the
hunting
community
and
that
they
recognized
that
a
number
of
hunters,
trappers
and
anglers
all
shop
at
their
stores.
However,
he
did
feel
duty
bound
to
advise
that
the
Board
of
Directors
does
have
an
official
policy,
which
states:
“MEC
will
not
design
or
sell
products
that
are
intended
to
kill
or
harm
animals.”
As
you
can
appreciate,
that
statement
tweaked
my
interest.
Does
human
intrusion
harm
animals?
Does
loss
of
habitat,
through
development,
harm
animals?
Does
spending
more
time
in
their
backcountry
cause
an
increase
in
human-animal
conflicts,
often
resulting
in
healthy
animals
being
destroyed?
All
activities
made
possible
by
purchasing
items
sold
at
stores
like
MEC,
that
allow
you
to
spend
more
time
in
the
outdoors,
with
better
equipment
and
clothing.
It
was
a
positive
discussion
and
at
the
end
of
the
conversation
we
agreed
to
disagree.
Shortly
after,
I
received
a
phone
call
with
an
invitation
to
meet
with
Peter
Robinson,
CEO
of
MEC.
Our
meeting
took
place
on
April
14,
2004;
along
with
the
Edmonton
store
manager
and
the
local
Social
and
Environmental
Responsibility
Representative.
The
meeting
was
very
positive
and
a
good
discussion
took
place.
At
the
end,
I
asked
for
something
that
I
could
take
back
to
the
hunting
community
to
demonstrate
that
MEC
was
indeed
supportive
of
the
hunting
community.
Basically,
all
I
was
able
to
get
in
this
regard
was
his
assurance
that
MEC
is
appreciative
of
the
patronage
of
the
hunting
community
and
does
not
want
to
do
anything
to
alienate
that.
He
advised
that
MEC
has
always
had
a
policy
to
encourage
public
debate
on
issues
of
interest
to
the
conservation
community
and
as
such
MEC
would
be
prepared
to
host
a
forum
to
hear
both
sides
of
the
issues
related
to
the
grizzly
bear
hunt.
Their
role
would
be
to
co-ordinate
the
event,
provide
a
location
and
serve
as
an
unbiased
moderator. MEC
does
have
two
entities
that
fund
environmental
and
community
projects.
Under
the
National
Environment
Fund,
MEC
has
provided
over
five
million
dollars
in
grant
funds
between
1987
and
2003.
When
asked
if
any
hunting
organizations
had
ever
received
funding
from
these
sources,
the
reply
was
no.
However,
the
CEO
of
operations,
challenged
us
to
submit
project
applications
that
fit
the
criteria
and
complement
the
program
objectives
and
he
would
challenge
their
review
committee
and
local
stores
to
ensure
that
they
could
separate
the
project
from
the
applicant
and
ensure
that
it
received
a
fair
review.
So,
if
you
are
involved
in
any
conservation
or
habitat
projects,
I
encourage
you
to
visit
the
MEC
web-site
at
www.mec.ca
and
then
go
to
“MEC
in
the
Community”
(1)
Environment
Fund
and
(2)
Store
Fund
Guidelines.
A
complete
list
of
projects
that
have
received
funding
is
posted
at
this
location. About
the
same
time
this
was
happening,
PETA
launched
it’s
“Neither
of
Us
Are
Meat”
campaign
featuring
a
woman
and
a
pig
with
a
clear
reference
to
the
missing
women
in
Picton,
British
Columbia.
Interestingly,
Edmonton
and
Toronto
were
the
only
cities
that
allowed
the
billboards
to
be
erected.
BC
advertisers
said
the
ad
campaign
was
much
too
controversial
and
no
advertiser
wanted
to
be
associated
with
it.
It
is
discouraging
that
Alberta
and
Edmonton
in
particular
were
not
as
selective
in
their
decision-making.
Many
people
voiced
their
displeasure
with
this
advertising
campaign.
If
you
found
it
offensive
and
find
PETA
offensive
(like
many
of
us
do)
contact
Pro-Lite
Outdoor
Advertising
Inc.
(780
430
8816),
the
billboard
company
that
allowed
the
advertising.
You
may
also
contact
the
Advertising
Standards
of
Canada
or
visit
their
website
at
www.advertisingstandardsofcanada.com
to
voice
your
concern. At
the
same
time,
while
researching
this
information,
I
came
across
the
decision
of
four
magazine
affiliates
(The
Pointing
Dog
Journal,
The
Retriever
Journal,
Traveling
Wingshooter
and
Just
Labs)
to
terminate
their
sponsorship
association
with
IAMS
as
a
result
over
concerns
that
Procter
and
Gamble
subsidiary’s
continued
support
of
the
Humane
Society
of
the
United
States,
an
avowed
animal
right
group,
that
despite
the
benign
title,
is
vehemently
opposed
to
hunting.
The
decision
to
fire
their
second
largest
advertiser
(IAMS
had
spent
over
$175,000.
with
these
magazines)
was
not
made
lightly,
but
was
a
result
of
loyalty
to
the
readership,
rather
than
the
advertisers.
Good
for
them! So, why should YOU care? Because the dollars you spend directly and indirectly support these anti hunting contributions. So, what can YOU do? 1.
Be
aware
of
the
position
that
companies
have
regarding
hunting,
non-hunting
and
anti-hunting.
Many
companies,
for
political
reasons
have
selected
to
remain
neutral.
Fair
enough.
But
others
have
chosen
to
specifically
target
their
contributions
to
these
groups.
The
very
groups
that
fight
to
remove
our
right
to
hunt
and
our
hunting
heritage. MEC
has
two
million
members;
perhaps
the
purchases
of
100,000
annual
hunters
in
Alberta
might
not
matter.
But
it
does
matter
to
us.
I
encourage
you
to
continue
to
support
and
communicate
that
confidence
to
retailers
and
suppliers
that
do
support
hunting
and
recreational
shooting
activities. Kelly
Semple
is
Executive
Director
of
the |
