Enough already of the caribou guilt trip

Recent letters and articles surrounding the new “caribou guilt” legislation amount to nothing more than the same, tired mantra we have heard from groups like the Selkirk Conservation Alliance for years: “The poor caribou! How can we be so cruel?” And then the wailing and gnashing of teeth that comes with it.

Recent wailings by Brad Smith have even scolded that we “have no right” to drive an entire species to extinction, just so we can derive our mad pleasures from a few gallons of gasoline. Really Brad? Even a small child can use Google, which shows how false this ridiculous claim is. There are millions of woodland caribou. A simple fact. They just don’t live in Idaho.

And so, we are expected to deny thousands of honest taxpayers the right to enjoy the back country responsibly, so that you and your friends can claim that 49 woodland caribou occasionally live in Idaho? What is this, some kind of a fraternity initiation prank?

Do this for us, Brad: please, please move to Canada, where the millions of caribou live, and take our 49 caribou with you. We can’t afford to indulge your hobby anymore, and we refuse to feel guilty about the fact that woodland caribou prefer to live in Canada.

ROD STAFFORD

Priest River