An Animal Extremist Interviews NJOA Chairman
Belmar, NJ –-(Ammoland.com)- The arrival of the 150′ bow perimeter bill in the New Jersey legislature has prompted a campaign against me and the NJOA by people with a motive to stop the legislation.
Apparently, they believe that publicly attacking me and the NJOA will help them in their endeavor.
In an effort to keep you informed of their assertions, which are posted on a website apparently controlled by Animal Protection League of NJ (formerly, New Jersey Animal Rights Alliance), I am answering their claims in an “interview” format. I have taken their assertion, posed it as a question and then answered the question.
I felt that this was the best way to keep the matter light, in perspective and keep everyone informed. As my mother used to say to me many years ago, “Ant, it takes lemons to make lemonade.”
I hope that you enjoy the lemonade. Anthony P Mauro SrInterview: ———————————————————
Animal Extremist: [Mr. Mauro] to date, NJOA has not publicly disclosed the names of supporting “major” gun-fur interests. National groups of this kind are usually trade associations for firearms, archery, and trap manufacturers and dealers. NJOA works closely with the New Jersey NRA (New Jersey Association of Rifle and Pistol Clubs).
Mauro: The three (3) NJOA organizations are all non-profit entities and file with government agencies. The information is public record. The reason there are no “gun-fur interests” reported is because we have no such donors. None of the NJOA organizations work closely with the NRA. All three non-profits are conservation focused. We do have contact with an NRA representative on occasion since many hunters own firearms and we are committed to protecting the rights of hunters to hunt using legal firearms. But, this is not a common occurrence.
By the way, personally, I have found NRA members to be nice people and many are our neighbors. Ask your neighbor if he or she is a member of the NRA, you might be pleasantly surprised.
As a side note, the Second Amendment is part of the Bill of Rights, the Bill of Rights prohibits Congress from making any law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, guarantees free speech, free press, free assembly and association and the right to petition government for redress, forbids infringement of “…the right of the people to keep and bear Arms…”, and prohibits the federal government from depriving any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law. For my part, I don’t fault people for their commitment to the Bill of Rights.
Animal Extremist: NJOA uses materials supplied by yet another front group, The Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF), to attack animal protection organizations and individuals. Aren’t attack campaigns designed to change the subject, to lower the level of debate, and to divert attention from the cruelty at hand by attempting to kill the messenger?
Mauro: I make no personal claims about the actions of animal extremists. I have simply used quotes from, and refer people to, information provided by the FBI, Anti Defamation League (the nation’s premier civil rights/human relations agency) and other experts on such matters. In addition to any commentary, I make links available for people to do their own research.
The Animal Protection League of NJ (formerly NJARA) and other groups have apparently withheld their nefarious associations from their donors, the media and their memberships. I’ll let APLNJ answer for their actions, but I don’t have a problem asking the questions or highlighting information since sunlight is a very effective disinfectant. Here’s a link that includes information provided by the ADL and FBI: www.njoutdooralliance.org/animalrights/hucksterism.html
Animal Extremist: NJOA employs disagreeable tactics in New Jersey, spending an inordinate amount of energy smearing opponents, primarily women.
Mauro: I always relay the facts and reference my sources. Smearing is defined as staining or attempting to destroy a reputation. I am simply reporting information from legitimate sources such as ADL and the FBI. This is public information. It is not information that I have fabricated for the sake of smearing people. I won’t dignify the other assertion by responding, it’s obvious it is simply part of the overall agenda to emotionalize and personalize a campaign being directed against me and the NJOA. It is apparent that it is meant to detract from the real issues that concern me and the NJOA; conservation and environmental stewardship.
Animal Extremist: [You are] a self-published gunning author, posing as an ardent “conservationist.” [You are] a trophy hunter affiliated with the “anti-environmental” Safari Club International and the NRA, and previously hosted a website featuring your animal trophy room and photos of your trophy hunting excursions.
Mauro: Thank you for referencing my books. Actually, I’ve actually four books and none of them are gun books. One book is a people oriented and is the story of my family’s (including my mother-in-law) safari in Africa. It is meant to be an introduction to conservation and a reading that will make people laugh and cry at our exploits and safari experiences. Another is a children’s book. The other two books are strictly about conservation. My hunting excursions are detailed in most of the books, and are used as examples of how hunting and fishing fit into the larger aspects of conservation and how detail how hunting and fishing feed people.
Yes, I am a member of Safari Club International. SCI conservation and education programs are conducted by Safari Club International Foundation, a non-profit organization “dedicated to wildlife conservation, outdoor education and humanitarian services.” SCI is reported to have 50,000 members. This organization has done some great conservation work. I value my membership.
Animal Extremist: Ironically, NJOA’s favorite pejorative for opponents of any stripe or conviction is “extremist.” NJOA attacks The Sierra Club, horsemen’s associations, and horse farmers who oppose the measure as “extremists”…
Mauro: Not true, I reserve the term for people or organizations that put an animal rights agenda above the welfare of humankind and ecosystem health. This type of thinking is not rational and, in my mind, is “extreme.”
Again, I would recommend that you purchase a copy of “Color the Green Movement Blue: A Remedy for Environmental Health” to get a better understanding of environmental stewardship and humankind’s critical link to ecosystem health. It also highlights the foundation of predator/prey relationships that are necessary for sustaining life on earth. Humankind is part of this dynamic, not separate as animal rights people would like us to believe. It is available at most on-line book retailers. By the way, a portion of the profits is donated to the NJOA.
Animal Extremist: Seventy-six percent of Americans disapprove of steel-jaw leghold traps; due to immutable cruelty and non-selectivity, the device has been outlawed by 67 countries. Nevertheless, NJOA is so out of touch with, or contemptuous of, mainstream humane sensibilities that it portrays banning the traps as “radical” – with no sense of irony.
Mauro: The NJOA has never made any official statement about the banning of leghold traps. I haven’t given the issue enough thought or researched thoroughly in order to take a strong personal position. However, coyotes have attacked children playing in NJ backyards. Professionals tell us that current trapping methods make it difficult to capture these animals. The coyotes that attacked the children in Monmouth County were never caught and one of the complaints by professionals was that available trapping methods were inadequate.
Animal Extremist: When riverside residents in Monmouth County objected to shooting directly behind their homes, NJOA intervened, as an outside gun interest group, to lobby state and local officials-and to denigrate resident opponents who actually lived on the river. The public approach was accompanied by an ugly back campaign, whereby residents were vilified-online, in print, and behind the scenes. A homeowner in Trenton, on the Delaware River, told a hunter that he was hunting illegally, the hunter shot over his head.
Mauro: The people of the NJOA, and concerned citizens, exercised their constitutional rights and met with their local representatives to discuss the legality and history of duck hunting on the Navesink and Shrewsbury rivers. There has been an animal extremist agenda to harass hunters and ban hunting on these rivers, even though the game taken is used as a food source and hunters abide by all laws. As for the Trenton incident, Trenton is not located in Monmouth County and the NJOA has no knowledge of the incident. I can’t speak to why it is even included in a question about Monmouth County.
I think people should be aware that animal extremists operate under the mantle of promoting “animal rights” and that they attack hunters and anglers in order to emotionalize the issue and enlist people in their movement. However, animal extremists don’t reveal their true agenda, which is to foist a vegan or vegetarian lifestyle on everyone. Even a slight amount of internet research will show a number of animal rights activists admitting to this ultimate scheme, including people at APLNJ.
Last year there was an ad taken out in various newspapers by a disgruntled animal extremist that vilified me with respect to my support of hunting in Monmouth County. It was full of falsehoods. My response to the ad was to write a story to local newspaper editors, which was published. It did not attack the misguided person who purchased the ad but instead highlighted the value of hunting and conservation to ecosystem health and environmental awareness. My response is memorialized for all to read in “Color the Green Movement Blue: A Remedy for Environmental Health.”
Animal Extremist: The NJOA chairman infiltrates web boards under fake names (“Greenie” – a “conservationist”) when assailing horse and rider associations who oppose the Sunday Hunting Bill. When riders lobbied against Sunday hunting, [you] attempted to broadbrush all riders by publishing a law enforcement report about a single horsewoman.
Mauro: I never use a “fake” name on internet forums; I use a “screen name.” In fact, most people use screen names and not their real names. I don’t infiltrate web boards (forums); I register on various forums as does every other user. If I posted an incident of an unlawful act by someone I can confidently state that it was a matter of public record. Such matters are printed in local newspapers so I don’t understand why this is at all noteworthy or scrutinized.
However, I admit that I am curious to learn how APLNJ would know if I posted a comment on a horse rider forum? It would mean that the horse rider forum disclosed personal information to APLNJ or that APLNJ actually owns the horse rider forum. At a minimum it would be evidence that there is a working relationship between the horse rider forum and APLNJ. This relationship should be disclosed to horse rider forum members, they should know that their personal information is not kept confidential.
People might find it of interest that I have been the target of a number of mischaracterizations and falsehoods by the animal extremist community. Every one of my posts on various internet forums has been screened and researched for over 5 years. My comments are scrutinized in an attempt to find a morsel for purposes of propaganda and distortion. Obviously, there’s not much to distort.
In fact, a person posing as a hunter (but was actually a member of APLNJ) called me on the phone and led me through questioning that was intended to ensnare me. The secretly taped conversation was then posted on YouTube without my knowledge or consent.
In my opinion, it falls into line with the intimidation tactics used by domestic terrorists and is standard procedure for animal extremists. This is also why I use the term “animal extremist,” it is a term that befits unethical behavior.
Animal Extremist: According to [you] the gun lobby brokered a deal with a key legislator, promising ostensible electoral support in return for “being taken care of.”
Mauro: As I mentioned the NJOA has nothing to do with the gun industry. It’s a propaganda sound byte that is convenient to advancing an ill-contrived agenda, but the incident you’re referring to is one I mentioned earlier. I was fraudulently taped by an APLNJ member and then the content was posted on YouTube. But it became a drama with a wonderful ending and the entire accounting is included in my book, “Color the Green Movement Blue: A Remedy for Environmental Health.”
Mauro: Mr. Animal Extremist, I appreciate the time you’ve provided to set the record straight and the opportunity to address your questions. I welcome a public viewing of the truth and the chance to promote conservation and environmental stewardship.
Here’s a link to my books should you like to read more:
Anthony P. Mauro, Sr.Chairman,
New Jersey Outdoor Alliance: “We’ve got your back!”
JOIN NJOA: https://www.njoutdooralliance.org/support/njoa.html
About:
NJOA – The mission of New Jersey Outdoor Alliance is to serve as a grassroots coalition of outdoorsmen and outdoorswomen dedicated to environmental stewardship. We will champion the intrinsic value of natural resource conservation – including fishing, hunting and trapping, among opinion leaders and policy makers. We will support legislation, and those sponsoring legislation, that provides lasting ecological and social enrichment through sustainable use of the earth’s resources. Visit: www.njoutdooralliance.org