Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle on the Importance of Hunting
The following is an op-ed from Lt. Governor Casey Cagle, currently a candidate for Governor of Georgia.
Sitting in complete silence – watching the morning sun penetrate the woods full of Georgia pines and large white oaks – you cannot help but marvel at God’s creation.
Growing up in rural Hall County, I have always been an avid outdoorsman. Whether it was fishing in Papa Bill’s farm pond or hunting game – especially deer, dove, and duck – some of my fondest memories were spent in those fields and woods where a “boy becomes a man.”
I strongly believe that hunting and fishing are more than just enjoyable activities – they are important past-times that impart valuable lessons on our next generation.
Teaching my three boys to hunt – and helping them learn the proper techniques for handling firearms responsibly – was a source of tremendous pride and great enjoyment for our family. There is simply nothing better than sitting uninterrupted with your son as you watch and wait for the flash of a Georgia whitetail. These precious moments together – sharing the bond that can only be found in nature – cannot be replaced.
Hunting taught my boys the valuable lessons of patience, perseverance, and the ability to learn from mistakes. These principles have served them well as they’ve grown into fine men with families of their own. That is one reason why as Georgia’s Lt. Governor, I have been adamant that through educational and outreach programs, the Department of Natural Resources must continually grow their base and interactively engage our youth. This year, we took a significant step towards achieving this goal.
We have authorized the DNR to collect more Pittman-Robertson funds, known among our hunting community as hook-and-bullet funds, from the Federal Government. This means DNR will be able to conduct more programs, pay for additional conservation rangers, and enhance access to our pristine natural lands. As an outdoorsman, I will always strongly support improving access to pristine hunting and fishing. I encourage everyone to participate in the outdoors and celebrate God’s most precious gifts to us.
Legendary golfer Sam Snead once said, “The only reason I played golf in the first place was so I could afford to hunt and fish.”
While I didn’t become Lt. Governor for the salary, and it actually restricts my time in the woods, Snead’s heartfelt passion for the outdoors is the reason I love this quote. As outdoorsmen, we must do everything we can to instill a similar passion and commitment in our next generation so they are actively involved in hunting, fishing, and conserving Georgia’s natural beauty.
I know that I cannot wait for the opportunity to share those memorable cold mornings with my new-born grandson, Levi Mick. Teaching him should be easy. After all, he is a Cagle – so I know he will be a good shot!
Good luck and good huntin’ as we kick-off deer season this weekend.
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That’s so cute. The parts of hunting he wistfully recalls is so peaceful and beautiful sounding.
“watching the morning sun penetrate the woods full of Georgia pines and large white oaks – you cannot help but marvel at God’s creation.”… then the thunderous crack as the rifle kicks back and an explosion of blood and tissue as the bullet kills God’s creation.
There, I fixed that.
Yeah, it’s an idealized picture he gives but he also found time to mention three generations of Cagles and the benefits of squeezing the feds for more money.
And the kids running to the kill jumping for joy!
I would like to point out he didn’t include the art of Hunting and fishing that come after the hunter comes home with his bounty. The main reason most (but not all) people hunt is for the FOOD. Where is the whole adventure in that messy but needed process of butchering, de-boning, feather removal, etc..? USDA has grants for that…
Do I miss the part on how he contacted our Congress members to make sure that the current 11% excise tax on all gun and ammo sales that pay for Pittman-Robertson funds are either left in place or increased to save more hunting and fishing habitat…
Right- so the fed govt just had a pot of cash waiting around for authorization to accept it? Smells like a balloon to float a proposed new tax/user fee policy to me.
Pittman-Robertson has been around since the late 1930’s and was modernized at the end of the Clinton Administration. This existing 11% excise duty/tax is issued out in a block grant form to states who ask for it up to a certain limit, so yes it is a pot of cash based on revenues collected in the last fiscal year on the sale of guns and ammo waiting around to be used. Pittman-Robertson also has the backing of the NRA. What… the NRA is allowing guns and ammo to have a duty/tax of 11%… I wonder why. Could it have something to do that Pittman-Robertson grants can be used to pay up to 3/4 of the cost of a state’s NRA certified hunter safety course for teenagers or NRA certified public shooting ranges..?
Just like the USDA has grants for teaching children to cook your farm animals, farming in general, and canning veggies. That’s how Federal grants work. You file paperwork, show the need, show what you are willing to put of as a state or local government agency and you wait to see if you get it. Colleges have whole masters programs on how to find and write private and federal grants
Sounds like a non-competitive grant, then.
The best written grant with the most proof of ‘need’ based on the limit of funds going to that state wins. The more community and state involvement (through programs and/or state funding) wins.
That’s a competitive grant, then. Which means use of the word “collect” in the statement is inaccurate, and a touch misleading. But whatevs.
“The main reason most (but not all) people hunt is for the FOOD”
Is this true? It’s not like food is scarce in the USA. And I doubt hunting saves any money, what with all the equipment and bullets and stuff. And is venison really that much better than beef or chicken?
I have no problem with hunting per se, but I suspect there is an element of enjoyment of killing that is part of it all, which would be awful.
venison is actually much better than beef or chicken in my opinion, i’ve lived around hunters most of my life and they do eat pretty much everything they kill, i guess i can’t speak to whether it’s the primary reason they go or not…but i have known families with freezers full of venison and birds that they hunt all winter and fish and shrimp that they catch all summer and not a lot else…
Perhaps one day, ACP, we’ll discuss thoughts on kosher hunting.
At some point sitting up in a tree and freezing my lower extremities off ceased to be a sport to me. Somehow wading in a cold mountain stream while freezing my lower extremities and trying to fool a trout with a brain the size of a pea is fun however. To each their own.