SAULT STE. MARIE, Ontario,Canada (Enviro Snowflake Brief)—James Smith, 50, set out on foot from York Haven, Pennsylvania to walk across America in search of decency and compassion. His 3,000-mile journey abruptly changed course Sunday after being shaken to the core from a chance encounter in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest with multiple bear hounders in Wisconsin.
Mr. Smith, with his 40-pound backpack, was so frightened by the evil he caught a bus to Canada. “The conversation around the campfire lacked any humanity or compassion for other sentient species we share this earth with, as well as a sadistic glee about killing for fun,” stated a still ashen looking Smith.
James Smith approached people along his goodwill journey to ask for help and to get to know the people. Up until his chance encounter in Wisconsin, at a remote camping site, Smith said he had met many wonderful Americans with differing views than his, but all with a sense of decency and compassion. James Smith shared that the bear hound hunters were filled with disturbing tales of sitting in their trucks, while their hounds ran bears to exhaustion. They would then shoot the exhausted bears out of a tree, as the GPS collared hounds circle and bark at the scene waiting to finish the animal off-sport?
More disturbing to Smith than the tales of hounds running bears to exhaustion, was the graphic stories of their hounds chasing coyotes and ripping them to pieces while the hounders watch and laugh.
When Smith asked the hounders about their hopes for the future in America, trying to change the subject, a 21-year-old young man spoke up. “Killing wolves! Our hope is Wisconsin will legalize ‘sorta’ dog fighting and we can watch our hounds fight some wolves.”
Needless to say, this was not the PR Gov. Scott Walker was hoping to get from Smith’s journey through Wisconsin. Gov. Scott defended the bear hounders telling the Wisconsin State Journal, “Mr. Smith is mistaken about the humanity of our beloved bear hound hunters in Wisconsin. They are truly great Americans with a unique culture to honor wildlife in their own special way.”
A spokesman for the Canadian based Wolf Awareness organization warned Mr. Smith, “Canada also has its share of wildlife sadists, and the politicians to defend them, but yes, Wisconsin is a ‘special’ kind of evil.”
Mr. Smith just hopes the publicity from his startling encounter with evil in the woods of Wisconsin will wake up more Americans to put a stop to it with humane state wildlife policies.
“What decent human being can defend that behavior,” emotionally concluded Smith.
WRITER’S NOTE: Truth vs satire for today’s article: FindItHere
