Let's make the tree huggers pay for this crap

[ChadTower]

I love wildlife more than most people... preservation, yes, protection, yes, but when we have the gov't paying for startingly excessive and completely unsuccessful crap like this... I mean, come on...

Apparently, it's down with middle class mortgage tax breaks and up with relocating otters.

[Stingray]

What's this have to do with tree huggers? The fishing industry were the ones who wanted the otters to be relocated. Make them pay for it.

I'm more of a fan of the wild beaver myself.

-S

[sirwoogie]

Otters and beaver are little buggers. I'm not surprised they had a hard time getting to them. My folks live on a lake and every season they have the annual "blow up the beaver dam" extravaganza. You can never get rid of these things. Unless you blow them up (exterminate), the habitate they frequent in will always have them.

[ChadTower]

Having grown up in the fishing industry, I can tell you with 100% certainty this was NOT their solution.

Their solution would have been "let us go in and clean out the otters".

[sirwoogie]

Unfortunately, both groups are correct, from their point of view.  It just depends on who at the top making the decision leans towards.

[Stingray]

They are a protected species aren't they? I'm pretty sure that killing them wouldn't be acceptable.

-S

[ChadTower]

Unfortunately, both groups are correct, from their point of view.

[MameJunkie]

Unfortunately, both groups are correct, from their point of view.

[Setabs]

Even if the otters wanted to leave, it seemed improbable that they had the navigation skills to do it -- especially since they were taken to the island by plane.

"We flew 'em out there," Sanders said, "although we didn't blindfold them."

I think they should keep trying and use some blind folds this time.

[ChadTower]

They dont exactly make as much as Seph.

[Stingray]

I think the important thing is, how do I get a job in the otter relocation business? I mean for 12 grand per, I'd be happy to drive otters around all day.

-S

[ChadTower]

Well, they weren't getting paid per otter, they'd be Forestry employees on salary.  But, as you say, they were likely getting paid to sit around a telescope looking for otters, or for a phone call that someone may have seen an otter off the road a week ago.

That much I don't have a huge problem with, but private planes and such?  Come on now...

[MameJunkie]

Wonder if its cheaper to let them have the shellfish and relocate the fishermens?

[ChadTower]

It would be cheaper to let the fishermen compete with them.  What would happen is the fishermen would have the guy in the boat monitoring the oxygen delivery carry a rifle.  Any otter spotted would get sniped.

Otter traps would be used, too, but not kind ones.

Sure, both the fishermen and the otters have a right to exist... so let them.  Don't intervene.

[MameJunkie]

It would be cheaper to let the fishermen compete with them.

[ChadTower]

So you pay to relocate the otters.  Stay away from my family's money.

[MameJunkie]

So you pay to relocate the otters.

[Stingray]

Hell, for $12k, I'd let an otter move into my guestroom.

-S

[MameJunkie]

I've heard of advances in ocean farming of fishes/shellfishes.
I wonder how feasible it is to dump that otter relocation $$$ to something like that instead.

[Stingray]

Or even better, it could be spent on buying me an Aston Martin.

-S

[ChadTower]

The gov't doesn't care about the shellfish, they care about the livelihoods of those fishermen.  If they were to switch a new ocean farming technology those fishermen would be out of jobs.

Plus, the beds can only be fished so hard at a time or they start to dry up, again leading to loss of jobs.

Really, for the otters to be that much of a problem, it has to be that the beds are small to being with.  If the beds were really large, in order for the otters to matter, there would have to be hundreds of thousands of them.

[Stingray]

Maybe the fishermen don't like the otters because they get all the chicks.

-S

[Crazy Cooter]

If they were to switch a new ocean farming technology those fishermen would be out of jobs.

Out with the old, in with the new.  Technological progression says Mr Bush  .  Just think of the new jobs that would be created.  - Enter arguement for job outsourcing here -

To appease fishermen, Fish and Wildlife banned otters in 1987 from California waters south of Point Conception near Santa Barbara -- with one exception.

Fearful that an oil spill could wipe out otters elsewhere, the agency tried to create a reserve for 150 otters on San Nicholas Island, about 80 miles south of Santa Barbara.

The otters aren't staying in the reserve, so if we kill them all so we can fish there, the otters are one oil spill away from extinction (from my interpretation of the article).  I say spend the $ on retraining the fisherman.  They're better trained than the otters.  Or just buy an Aston Martin for Stingray that I can ride shotgun in.

[ChadTower]

Why can't they just put up an otter fence like in Australia?

[Crazy Cooter]

Too simple.  Waaaaay too simple.

Besides, I'm sure someone's relative had a plane they wanted to fly and needed gas money...

[Stingray]

Or just buy an Aston Martin for Stingray that I can ride shotgun in.

My idea is catching on. How do I get congress to vote on this?

-S

[RayB]

I'm more of a fan of the wild beaver myself.

I love derailing threads......

[Crazy Cooter]

Ice Cube is in da hoooooouse!

[Stingray]

I'm more of a fan of the wild beaver myself.

I love derailing threads......

This is far and away the funniest thing I've seen all week!

-S