Archery Advocates Push Back El Dorado Park Permit Plan, Object To Letting Parks/Rec Director Approve Their Target Images, Bristle At Ban (Urged By Animal Advocates) On Animal Images/3D Figurines As Targets; Parks/Rec Comm'n Sends Initially Proposed Verbiage Back To Staff For Unspecified Revision(s)
(Aug. 21, 2014) -- Three mundane-appearing items on today's (Aug. 21) Parks and Recreation Commission agenda drew a capacity crowd of mainly archery advocates who objected to verbiage that would give the Parks/Rec Dept. Director approval authority over their targets and bristled at animal advocates who seek to ban targets that use animal images or 3D figurine targets.
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The three items proposed granting three year permits to "Long Beach Bow Hunters" (for "the promotion of the sport of Field Archery and the conduct of competitions") and "El Dorado Archers" and "United Junior Olympic Archery Development and Santa Fe Trail Archers" (the latter two for "the conduct of instruction and safety classes in archery.")
Long Beach Bow Hunters and El Dorado Archers object to the target restriction...and word of the upcoming agenda item has been circulating in the animal advocacy community for weeks. Longtime animal advocate Deborah ("Wheely Willie") Turner sent a dispatch via email and Facebook stating in pertinent part:
...To all of my animal-loving friends, PLEASE step forward, and attend [the Aug. 21 Parks & Rec Comm'n meeting.] We already have had trouble in our city with someone using a real cat as a target for their archery skills, and the cat did not survive...No animal, whether a pet or wild, should be a symbol of disregard, disrespect, or a target of cruelty. Using animals as targets simply sends the wrong message that animals have no import, and that they don't have the same feelings and basic needs as people...
Extra chairs had to be set up in the El Dorado Park Senior Center meeting room to accommodate roughly sixty people who attended the Aug. 21 Commission meeting. The vast majority of those in the audience were archery advocates. Animal advocate Turner was out of town, unable to attend the meeting.
Two individuals (animal activist Judy Crumpton and park advocate Ann Cantrell) spoke in opposition to allowing animal figures as targets.
At the start of the item, Parks/Rec Dir. George Chapjian also voiced support for not allowing animal images/figures as targets. Mr. Chapjian said LB's Parks/Rec Dept. doesn't allow use of animal figures as targets; said that two years ago LB Parks/Rec adopted LB Animal Care Services and is a partner with SPCA/LA [for animal adoptions.] "[W]e consider ourselves a model for the rest of the city and the residents in terms of how we treat our animals," Mr. Chapjian said.
[Parks & Rec Dir. Chapjian] We don't want to send the message that it's OK to shoot these animals. That's why we don't allow target practice of animal figures or likenesses of animals. We've already had two cats I think shot with bows in our city...We're not restricting the use of archery...I fully understand that people love to hunt...They can go hunting wherever they want; they can't hunt in El Dorado park...We don't want to encourage this...This is a city facility. Anyone's allowed to come and use the archery range...the lone restriction is that they not use animal targets.
Public testimony followed, nearly all of it from archery advocates.
Some archery advocates displayed photos they said showed animal figurines have been allowed at El Dorado Park in at least one tournament. After the Commission item, one advocate showed LBREPORT.com a photo (below) of figurines allegedly present during a Parks & Rec offered archery class.
Animal advocate Deborah Turner was out of town and couldn't attend the Aug. 21 meeting. Animal activist Judy Crumpton was present and told the Commission that she participated in high school archery and has no problem with using "a blob or something" that doesn't look like a living thing as a target but "I do not understand why anyone wants to use animal figurines as targets, whether you hunt or you don't hunt; I can't grasp that and I'm very opposed to it.
[Ms. Crumpton]: I do think that it does advocate hunting...but I thank Parks & Rec very much for standing up for the animals. We do have a lot of animals here, we have a lot of beautiful animals in our park; I think it's actually inappropriate to allow animal figurines for target practice in our parks...I do think it's suggestive of hunting...We are an animal loving community and there is no hunting here; hunting is elsewhere...I ask that you support our Parks and Rec and do not bring this back; they need other figurines [not figurines of living things.
Veteran parks advocate Ann Cantrell was the final speaker and said:
I think that archery is a wonderful sport, wonderful recreation. I am very opposed to bow hunting. I see no reason at all to have animals as targets...I don't know whether shooting at fake animals or paper animals make you want to go out and shoot a real animal...but I don't see the reason for having animals as targets. I think learning to shoot at a bullseye...Isn't [that] what they use at the Olympics?...I think shooting at this would be adequate.
Ultimately, the Commission voted to send all three proposed permit items back to Parks/Rec staff, asking staff to consult with the City Attorney's office and bring revised verbiage back for Commission consideration (no date specified.)
For now, archers will be able to continue doing what they've been doing without a formal permit: use an area with targets set up north of Spring St./west of the pay-to-enter entrance...which one archery advocate said brings the City roughly $350/week in entry fees.
