All Souls Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: NOVEMBER 6, 2005
Earth First! to Carry Giant Crane Puppet in All Souls Procession
Contact: Ben Pachano (520) 884-0283 (evening/weekend), (520) 623-9184 (weekdays)
Previous press releases available at www.azef.org.
To symbolize the thousands of birds that have been senselessly slaughtered by the Arizona Game and Fish Department’s (AGFD’s) sandhill crane hunt, Chuk’shon Earth First! will march with a giant sandhill crane puppet in the Tucson All Souls Procession at 5pm on Sunday November 6, escorted by Earth First!ers carrying crane hunting decoys. The procession will gather at 5pm at the Epic Café, at the corner of University Blvd. and 4th Ave.
“We are marching to honor the spirits of dead cranes and also those still living, who we will be defending in the field until this senseless hunt is stopped,” said Ben Pachano of Chuk’shon Earth First!.
On the opening days of AGFD’s sandhill crane season, Earth First! activists collected footage of living cranes being beaten against farm equipment, highlighting the senseless brutality of this “sport hunt.” Although the species is still recovering from nearly being wiped out by overhunting in the 20th century, AGFD authorized the largest-ever sandhill crane hunt in Arizona this year, giving out permits for 730 cranes to be killed. 35,000 sandhill cranes are killed or crippled annually by sport hunters in 13 states along their migratory route from Siberia to northern Mexico.
Earth First! is demanding an immediate moratorium on sandhill crane hunting in Arizona until AGFD can investigate the brutality and hunting violations witnessed by Earth First! patrols. Ultimately, Earth First! seeks a ban on all sandhill crane hunting in the state.
Earth First! patrols will remain in the killing fields outside of Willcox, Arizona, until the season ends on November 15. By their presence in the field, the activists are determined to defend the cranes from the hunters and put an end to the hunt.
Additionally, a protest is planned for Tuesday, November 8 at the Tucson branch of the AGFD office (555 N. Greasewood Rd.) from 3-5 p.m. Members of the public will gather to voice their outrage at the unregulated, cruel and ecologically senseless sandhill crane hunt, and to demand positive action by AGFD.