Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, November 29, 1993 TAG: 9311290036
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ADRIENNE PETTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: COVINGTON LENGTH: Medium
Although these two groups are usually pitted against one another, they joined forces Sunday to protest the scheduled opening on Wednesday of the 170-acre Boar-Walla Game Preserve in Alleghany County.
Toting signs reading "Don't take aim at tame game" and "Game preserves are insulting to hunters," about 30 people from as far away as Union, W.Va., gathered outside a gate to oppose the exotic-game preserve which, they say, takes advantage of meek animals that are not acclimated to dealing with hunting pressure.
"It would be like going in a henhouse and shooting chickens," said Sarah Yeager, a member of the League for Animal Protection, a Roanoke-based group that organized the rally. "It's just so someone with money can take a trophy home."
Some hunters shun the preserve on the grounds that it is unsportsmanlike and doesn't give the animal an opportunity for fair chase.
"It's no sportsmanship or anything else in it," said Lloyd S. Shockley, a hunting enthusiast. "I think it's OK if you give an animal equal chance, but to me, that's just feeding them up for the slaughter."
Although the protesters were fairly passive, only chanting "Shame on you" when people leaving the preserve passed by, they were passionate in their intolerance for this type of hunting.
"We are going to begin an aggressive lobbying campaign," said Waine Tomlinson, president of the League for Animal Protection. "Our intention is to make programs like these illegal, and we'll pursue our goals all the way to Richmond."
Controversy has surrounded the preserve, where hunters will get the opportunity to take aim at buffalo, wild boar, wild sheep and other exotic game, since its owners announced plans to open it at an Alleghany County Board of Supervisors meeting.
Rumors have spread that the animals at the preserve are drugged prior to being hunted, kept in pens so that hunters can hand-pick them, and run down by trucks so that hunters can shoot them.
Ken Martin, a managing partner of Boar-Walla, said all of these allegations are "totally absurd."
"A lot of this controversy is coming about with a lack of knowledge about this type of operation by the protesters," he said.
Martin, who stayed behind the gate leading to his house and office during the protest, conceded the protesters' right to their opinion, saying this type of hunting is not for everyone.
"We realize even among the hunting community that this isn't something everybody will flock to."
But he disagrees with hunters' charges that preserve hunting is easy.
"We will specialize in the use of primitive weapons, archery, muzzle loading. That in itself adds challenge to the sport," he said.
He added that the animals he ships in are bred for hunting at game-breeding farms across the country, and are not tame domestic stock. For instance, rams will only let people come within 30 to 50 yards of them, a distance that is out of bow range.
But Tammy Javier, a humane investigator for the Roanoke Valley Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, said that the animals are not wary targets. When Martin gave her a tour of the property, the animals walked right up to the vehicle they were in.
Protester Wayland Laudermilk of Covington, who used to hunt, worries that the animals, not used to this climate, will not survive the winter.
Martin responded that he specifically matched the species of animal to this climate. He also stressed that the animals will have ample space to graze.
"We will not put more animals on the property than the property can support. The sheep are grazers, and we have adequate pasture land for them to graze."
Despite the protest, Martin and his partner, Betty Hawkins, had a small but loyal contingent of supporters on hand.
Marvin O'Conner of Covington, who has hunted at a similar preserve in Florida, said that contrary to what protesters say, wild boar and other game are extremely dangerous.
"You take one that weighs 300 pounds, and if they hit you between the legs, they'll break both your legs," he said.
by CNB