Written by Frank Carbone Jr.

Our dictionaries give us several different meanings for the word “weapon” e.g., an instrument or device of any kind used for fighting or combat as in warfare; any organ or part of an animal or plant so used; any means of attack or defense; any means employed to get the better of another etc.

We see reports every day in the various and numerous TV news shows, talk shows, newspapers, over the internet and many other similar venues. The threat of another major war, increasing crime, murders, death, serious diseases in humans and wildlife, fighting, prejudice, bigotry, missing people (both adults and children), unsolved murders, tyranny, oppression, starvation, drug abuse, alcohol (another drug) abuse, child abuse, sexual abuse, religious abuse, animal abuse, homelessness, massive unnecessary abortions, serious pollution caused by man that comes back to infect man, ocean creatures affected by man‘s careless dumping into waterways and subsequently getting into the world’s oceans.

The careless use of poisons, pesticides, herbicides, insecticides, chemicals, fossil fuels, antibiotics and automobiles -- the world appears to be spinning out of control. Even medical doctors are going on strike.

Threats of bio-terrorism, World War III and even a nuclear war. Weapons that could possibly destroy the world as we know it or do irreparable damage and destruction that will take many years to recover from.

Threats of West Nile Virus in wildlife and humans with major impacts to the wild bird populations, Chronic Wasting Disease, epidemics of cancer, asthma, heart disease, diabetes, outbreaks of exotic New Castles disease in west coast poultry farms, Lyme Disease and many other debilitating human diseases.

Many of the products that Americans depend upon and buy every day -- e.g., foods, fruits, vegetables, meats, electronic equipment, TV’s, cars, clothing, computers, oil, gas, sporting equipment etc. It seems that our top products, increases in employment and lucrative jobs are in the stock market, the sports industry, entertainment industry, politics, prisons, the drug and medical industries and the insurance industries. America’s economy is running and based upon service type jobs and products made in other countries -- sometimes by children, sweatshops and folks receiving very low wages.

But if you listen to certain high level politicos, public servants and other high paid spin doctors they would make you believe that everything is beautiful and our economy is doing great.

I can remember listening to President George Bush Senior when he was giving his speeches to the American people -- I never did get a good warm feeling that he was doing a good job or even giving good speeches. But for some reason listening to George Senior speaking after he left office he left a different impression. Perhaps after he lost the race for a second term as president he learned a few lessons.

Now when I listen to George Jr., I wonder how this electoral system that some would call the best in the world can elect a man who just makes me wonder at times how someone of his caliber could make it to such a high and important position. Could it be the power of money and big business that has something to do with it? In my opinion he is not a good statesman and he could use a lot of coaching on his public speaking skills and statesmanship -- his close advisors aren’t doing their job and neither is George Jr. -- in my humble opinion. Is the potential war about oil, greed, power or all three?

The way that President Bush talks about Iraq and North Korean leaders, wouldn’t it be interesting if we could set up a boxing event between high level American, Iraqi, North Korean and other world political leaders who want to fight. Let them fight, in the ring, before the world. Perhaps this might be one way that we could settle our differences. And I’m sure that if President Bush or any other leader wouldn’t be so trigger happy if they themselves were leading the charge and risking their own lives or the lives of their family members.

Just think of all of the extra spending money that we could all have and a list of all of the good things that we could do if we didn’t have to put the billions upon billions of American’s hard earned tax dollars into war, weapons, the defense budget and all of that pork money that is wasted away by state and national public servants.

I started this week’s column by writing about the description of “weapons.” It could be anything from a micro-organism, or the human hand, a baseball bat, a firearm or a device that has the potential to kill millions of people with the push of a button with one finger. Some objects are called weapons when they aren’t even used as a weapon and will never be used as a weapon. As a peaceful gun-owner who uses different kinds of firearms for target shooting and hunting I have to wonder why some folks refer to all firearms as weapons when many have never been used in warfare, fighting, hunting or target practice.

Lets all hope and pray that we’ll never have to use our own “hunting implements” or even weapons of mass destruction for our own “homeland defense.”  And while we're praying let's also see what influence we can have on our "spinning out of control" world.   

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The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) will be holding a series of statewide meetings on Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) Regulations to prevent the introduction of CWD.

CWD is a neurological disease found in deer and elk that causes the animals to become emaciated and display abnormal behavior, and invariably results in the death of the infected animal. A type of protein called a prion is the cause of CWD when it gets into the brain of the host and holes form in the brain. It can’t be destroyed by conventional sterilization methods. The only way to destroy the prion is to incinerate it to 1600 degrees. Since the method of transmission of CWD is not fully understood, New York and other states have enacted various surveillance and preventative measures to minimize the risk of the disease affecting healthy deer herds.

DEC Commissioner Erin Crotty announced a series of statewide public meetings to inform the public of measures being taken by NYS to prevent the introduction of chronic wasting disease (CWD) into NYS. The meetings will aid in the DEC's development of permanent regulations to prevent CWD. The meetings will be held in all 9 DEC Regions of the state. In our region, which is #3, (Orange, Ulster, Sullivan and other counties) a meeting will be held on Thursday February 13, 2003 from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. at the Granite Associates Auditorium, 1 Cablevision Center, Sullivan Ave., Ferndale, Sullivan County.

"The meetings will present the most current information available on CWD and provide an opportunity for
hunters, outdoor enthusiasts and other members of the public to share their views and concerns about our efforts to keep the disease out of New York."
 

Temporary regulations have been previously put in place along with other measures to reduce possible methods of transmission of CWD and other communicable deer diseases. The DEC is now in the process of developing
permanent regulations that are based on the best scientific information available.

On January 9, 2003, the DEC issued a temporary regulation to protect the health and welfare of the State's wild, white-tailed deer herd. This was the fourth temporary regulation issued by the DEC on CWD, replacing a previous temporary regulation that had expired. The regulation includes a ban on the importation and release of live deer and elk;
restrictions on the handling of carcasses and parts of deer and elk taken in other states or Canadian provinces where the disease has been detected; and a prohibition on many traditional wild deer feeding practices.

The new regulation was amended from the previous version to include the State of Illinois under provisions that ban the import of the brain, eyes, spinal cord, lymph nodes, tonsils or spleen from wild deer or elk taken in states or Canadian provinces where CWD has been found. CWD was reported in Illinois on November 1, 2002.

The full text of the regulation can be found on the DEC's website at: http://www.dec.state.ny.us/website/regs/part189.htm

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At least two NYS hunters had an unpleasant surprise during the Fall deer season of 2002 when they had their out of state deer confiscated by NYSDEC authorities upstate. It seems that the out of state hunters were successful in tagging two trophy white-tailed deer in a mid-western state. They transported their deer back to NYS and brought them to a butcher to be processed. While the deer were hanging in a walk-in cooler, a check by NYSDEC Police Officers found that the deer were brought into NY state intact. This was against the temporary regulations that were put in place last year. The part that surprised me was the outdoor columnist who wrote about this story didn’t know anything about the new regulations related to CWD.
 

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Outdoor Liaisons appears every other week in the Times - Frank can be reached at the Times or email forthebirds39@earthlink.net or 845-562-0941. Please visit my website at www.outdoorliaisons.com