The latest battleground in the tug of war between hunters and anti-hunters is taking place in Michigan.

Within the past month, two battle lines have been drawn. The first involves the Detroit Zoo renting a pavilion for an anti-hunting fund-raiser. The second involves the U.S. Postal Service and a private company that contracts with the service to make and sell personal stamps.

It seems sportsmen are flooding the zoo phones with complaints about the anti-hunting fund-raiser. Zoo officials and organizers argue that there's no wrongdoing, that the Michigan Humane Society is renting space on zoo property much like a citizen would to hold a child's birthday party.

Hunting groups argue that the zoo is publicly funded and therefore should not be a rallying site for a political agenda, i.e. to end all hunting. Money from the fund-raiser is to be used to stop mourning dove hunting in Michigan.

Among those speaking at the September event will be Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of the Humane Society of the United States and Mike Markarian, executive vice president.

Which I really don't object to. Freedom of speech is a right and privilege. Somewhere, however, there should be an honesty requirement.

When challenged that the dove issue was simply a line in a much larger agenda to end all hunting, Mike Robbins, director of marketing and communications for the Humane Society, is quoted as saying in the Oakland Press: "What is not known is this is lumped in as an anti-hunting thing. We are not an anti-hunting organization."

Really?

Not long ago, Pacelle, his boss, in a press release possibly written by Robbins, is quoted as saying: "If we could shut down all sport hunting in a moment, we would. Our goal is to get sport hunting in the same category as cock fighting and dog fighting. Our opponents say that hunting is a tradition. We say traditions can change ... . We are going to use the ballot box and the democratic process to stop all hunting in the United States ... . We will take it species by species until all hunting is stopped in California. Then we will take it state by state."

Like starting with mourning dove hunting in Michigan?

With respect to the stamp, it seems the Humane Society signed on with a private company contracted with the U.S. Postal Service to produce custom stamps. For a fee — $14.99 for a sheet of 20 39-cent stamps — a company, individual or organization can have personalized artwork placed on a stamp.

Stamps carry everything from family photos to pictures of pets to abstract artwork.

The company printed five stamps under the U.S. Postal Service contract for the Humane Society, each carrying the words "Protect Michigan's Doves." Money earned from the sale of the stamps is headed for the groups trying to end Michigan's dove hunt.

This same company refused sportsman's request for stamps promoting their contribution to conservation: "Sportsmen — America's First Conservationists" and "$1.7 Billion for Conservation Annually."

A story in the Michigan Outdoor Journal said the company rejected the pro-hunting message because it "incorporates material that is primarily partisan and political in nature."

Too often these days I'm seeing organizations say and do anything to promote their agendas, using the rational that the cause justifies the means — right or wrong, true or untrue.

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E-mail: grass@desnews.com