On September 14 and 15 The United Blood Trackers had a booth
at the New Jersey Outdoor Expo. This event is hosted by the Division of Fish and
wildlife and was held at Colliers Mills WMA. The event was attended by 8,400
visitors over the 2 days. This is a 17% increase in
visitor participation from the 2012 Expo. Together with exhibitors and
volunteers, a diverse crowd of more than 8,700 people participated in this
successful outreach event. The event is free and has a multitude of
outdoor activities that are geared towards adults and kids that don’t
necessarily have allot of knowledge about the outdoors.
The UBT booth was manned by members of the New Jersey
tracking permit. Stan Kite and Rilla, Nola Wunderlich and I with Karl and Theo
were there on Saturday. Rich Stollery and Ember, John Drahos and his daughter
Rylee along with two new trackers Jeremy and Arthur Garey filled in on Sunday.
This was pretty good considering this was the opening weekend of our archery
season.
Blood tracking demos were held both days and were well
attended by spectators. The dogs were a real magnet to kids and adults alike and
we were able explain a tracking dogs function to people that had no idea what we
did. This type of positive exposure to the general public will pay off
later.
On a side note:
Over the last three years the UBT has been a member of The
New Jersey Outdoor Alliance and has a seat on the Conservation Foundation. The
NJOA has been assisting the tracking dog legalization effort here in NJ. At a
recent meeting with the Governor’s office, the NJOA discussed the legalization
of a leashed tracking dog. A bill is being crafted and is being backed by
Governor Christi. Our next step will be finalizing the language and getting a
Republican and Democratic sponsor. Over the last five years our tracking permit
has been issued, we have slowly won over Fish and Wildlife, the Law Enforcement
component, and finally the Politicians. This has been hard work and the amount
of paper work our trackers have had to submit is cumbersome. I would like to
thank them all for their commitment to the cause.
Submitted by Darren Doran, NJ Tracking Permit Coordinator
Arthur Garey and Dennis |
Stan Kite with Rilla and Karl |
Jeremy Garey and Faline |
Daren Doran's tracking dachshunds: Karl and Theo |
Rylee Drahos with Theo and Karl |
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