Minnesota man executes his father at deer camp 🙏

If you’re still with us, that means you’ve made it to the middle of yet another week.

With that in mind, let’s all take a minute to grab a coffee or whiskey (no judgement) and get another mid-week dispatch out the door.

Here's what's worth reading about so far this week:

• Murder at camp - Minnesota man executes his father at deer camp 🙏

• One the decline - Illinois and NH show declines in hunter participation 🫤

• Ozzy’s crusade - Washed up rocker pipes up about trophy hunting 🙈

• High speed chase - Through a damn cornfield?! 🚓

• Early season success - Michigan hunters are putting ‘em on the ground 🦌

TRAGIC
MURDER AT THE HUNT CAMP: MINNESOTA MAN EXECUTES HIS FATHER AT FAMILY CABIN

In a surprisingly grim and tragic story coming out of Minnesota, a 31-year-old man is now facing murder charges after he allegedly killed his father in cold blood at the family’s hunting camp.

According to a criminal complaint that had been filed, deputies responded to the shooting around 8:44 p.m. on Friday, November 15th. According to the 911 caller, two men had arrived at his home and said that Kirk Edward Hazlett III had shot his father Kirk Edward Hazlett II.

After fielding the call, investigators responded and soon arrived at the hunting camp where the shooting took place and found the victim deceased with multiple gunshot wounds. According to reports, Hazlett’s uncle told investigators that he, another man and the victim were finishing up dinner when they noticed someone walk onto the property via trail camera. The uncle then went to retrieve his gun and heard three gunshots from the other room…

N.H. hunting has lost its COVID-era boost: Through Aug. 31, New Hampshire sold 31,266 hunting licenses, according to the Department of Fish and Game. That’s 14% fewer licenses than were sold during the first eight months of 2020 and 2021 when the pandemic sent everybody scurrying outdoors, including would-be hunters. Read more at Valley News.

Find Your Adventure: Wisconsin’s Gun Deer Season Begins Saturday:  It’s almost time for hunters across Wisconsin to head out for the 2024 nine-day gun deer season, opening Saturday, Nov. 23 and running through Sunday, Dec. 1. This is the latest nine-day window within which the season may occur, as established by state law.  Read more at Wisconsin DNR.

Reports show decline in Illinois hunters ahead of firearms deer hunting season: The Illinois Department of Natural Resources said the 2023 firearm season saw 80,000 fewer permits compared to 2012. Experts say the decline of hunters in the state can be attributed to “Father Time,” meaning older hunters are aging out of the game. Read more at KFVS.

Missouri firearm deer hunting season off to strong start, experts urge CWD testing: The first day of the November firearm portion of the deer hunting season was off to a fast start according to the Missouri Department of Conservation. Regional Resource Management supervisor Chad Smith said it was a busy morning at the Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) sampling station in Macon, Mo. Learn more at KTVO.

Michigan hunters shot more than 61,000 deer already. Here's where they're seeing success: Since the start of the firearm season Nov. 15, 61,429 deer have been taken. Of that total, 45,104 were bucks, or antlered deer. Just 16,325 does, or antlerless deer, were taken.  Read more at Detroit Free Press.

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🦇 The guy who made biting the heads off of bats great is now officially lobbying against trophy hunting. Backing the UK’s pending (and asinine) ban on game trophy imports, the batman himself, Ozzy Osbourne has emerged from the shadows to insert his two cents into this mindless piece of legislation.

Rambling on in his on-brand slur, he and his wife Sharon announced this week that they are releasing a new Ban Trophy Hunting t-shirt in aid of "a future free of these sick maniacs.”

Now, I should start by saying that I am in no way shape or form in favor of promoting the importation of any illegally-killed animals from anywhere to anywhere. I am, however, opposed to restricting the legal importation of legally-killed animals from around the world.

With that out of the way, let’s continue. The jolly old UK has long been trying to get this kind of legislation passed and are figuring that with The Hunting Trophies (Import Prohibition) Bill 2023-24, the third time might be the charm. While the bill (and many like it) are indeed created with hopes of actually helping the very animals they think they are protecting, the opposite is often true. In African countries where these ‘trophies’ often originate, local economies depend on foreign hunters, not only from a financial standpoint, but from a sustenance one as well. As the money from these tags, licenses, Professional Hunters, accommodations and entertainment flow in, locals depend on the economic benefits as well as the game meat it provides to their families. 

Not to mention the often unspoken benefits of the removal of an aggressive lion or crocodile from their local villages. The truth is, these animals, much like our animals here in North America, must be managed and the best way to do that currently is by selling hunting trips.

So while Ozzy has seemingly done away with his raucous era of raw foodism, perhaps the 75-year-old rocker should continue to expand his palate. If he is able, he ought to look beyond the beautiful animals he is trying to protect and think about his fellow man as well.

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🚓 Hey, fellas. I’m trying to hunt here…  Of all the things one would expect to see in the deer stand, a high-speed pursuit isn’t one of them - unless by a big ol’ rutty buck. Watch as this hunter records a minivan go blasting by his stand in the middle of a corn field followed closely by a local police officer. The chase is most definitely on.

Oh, and one more thing…