View source for 2011-08-20: D.C. to mainstream Werewolf Hunt

A U.S. House subcommittee this week will consider a bill that a wildlife-rights group calls "the most absurd piece of legislation we've seen."

The proposed "Vargulf Act" would sanction and finance werewolf hunts as part of an expansion of federal Farm Bill conservation programs. Presently, only three states have laws allowing hunters to tag and kill werewolves, though several others have considered such laws in recent years, but this is the first time that the federal government has stepped in to support such activities. Proponents say it's not only a safe, effective way to protect herds and communities, but it gives property owners another use for marginal land and provides for expanded hunting opportunities.

The bill, sponsored by Rep. [[Frink Nicely]], R-Washington, will be heard by a subcommittee of the House Environment and Conservation committee on Tuesday.

The measure has elicited strong opposition from the [[American Lycanthrope Rights Center]] (ALRC), a representative of which sent out an e-mail saying, "This is the most absurd piece of legislation we've seen, probably ever."

The group contends private hunts could simply become breeding grounds for transmission of lycanthropic diseases that threaten "our entire population", and simply provoke unnecessary confrontation between two largely isolated groups. The primary concerns center on Lycaon Disease, an incurable ailment that turns men into wolves under the light of the full moon.

"If they are left alone, werewolves will, with few exceptions, keep far away from human communities. By sanctioning and funding hunts, you simply create a pathway for provoking feral responses, and bringing their disease into contact with an expanded population. The results are always devastating," said Mika Arbiter, spokeswoman for the group.

"Private hunters are not equipped to handle contact with feral wolfmen."

Her group cites costly problems in Oregon, where the [[Werewolf Hunt|werewolf hunt]] is most popular. In that state, the Department of Natural Resources this month moved to isolate a small rural commune in what a state official called "probably the most heavily deranged group found anywhere in North America."

''['''CORRECTION:''' we were later corrected in this report by the Oregon Department of Natural Resources, who explained that their agents had investigated, not isolated, a rural commune in [[Moloch County]] in response to reports of illegal construction and poaching, and were attacked by a group of adult males who were under the influence of methamphetamines.]''

Arbiter also questioned whether the hunting operations were even legal under the Constitution: "What of the fact that these werewolves are men most of the month? It's not hunting. It's murder."

"This is the most absurd piece of legislation I've ever read. There's no evidence that so-called 'werewolves' are anything but unusually large wolves," responded Sherm Michelson, a representative of the Committee for the Skeptical Investigation of Paranoid and Unusual Claims (CSIPUC).

"We at CSIPUC hold the view that there has never been a single confirmed werewolf attack, kill, or even confirmed sighting. Naturally, we would support this initiative as a means of possibly controlling predatory wolves, though we find the language unusual."

Phone calls to Nicely's office were not returned, but representatives of the Oregon hunting industry accuse critics of spreading hysteria.

[[Category: Infictive Politics]]
[[Category: In News]]