Time Magazine: Should We Declare Open Season on Bigfoot?

In our earlier post Skeptic Benjamin Radford posed the question, "If You Spot Bigfoot, Should You Shoot Him?" This is a debate that continuies among Bigfooters to this day. It has been said that the late Grover Krantz was  in favor of killing a Bigfoot for science (read the Grover Krantz Obituary by Loren Coleman) .

You can read an interview of a man who would kill Bigfoot and an article documenting Bigfoot has been shot or killed, on average, once every four years.

To see the kill/no kill debate reach mainstream media status makes us hopeful that the rhetoric has gone beyond , "Is Bigfoot real?". True, this is only two articles that take on the debate, but two points makes a line. 

Below is the Time Magazine piece on the debate:

Every year, believers and enthusiasts provide heaps of secondary proof that Bigfoot exists: low-quality video, out-of-focus snapshots and the occasional fossilized “footprint.” But it’s not the quantity but the quality of proof that’s lacking, MSNBC reports. These days the public will accept nothing less than concrete physical proof.

Animal Planet’s show, Finding Bigfoot, does its part to increase the amount of evidence that the “creature” really does roam the wild. Now in its second season, each week the show features a team of four explorers traveling the globe and adding more shaky hand-cam fuel to the fire.

Gonzo Bigfoot hunters aren’t the only people trying to move the creature from myth to reality. Last October, more than a dozen “experts” traveled 2,000 miles east of Moscow to the Kemerovo region of Russia for a daylong conference. There, the existence of Yeti (Bigfoot’s Russian cousin) was confirmed with 95% certainty.

But that rate is just not good enough. The other 5%  must be proven in blood, or at least a high-resolution, tranquilizer-dart-induced photo. This has stirred a debate among the Bigfoot community as to whether it’s ethical to shoot and kill the creature.

The real question NewsFeed is pondering: does anyone really want to find Bigfoot? Proving Bigfoot’s existence puts an end to all of the fun, and in the case of Animal Planet, some serious ratings. The season-two premiere of Finding Bigfoot had 1.6 million viewers, making it the most watched episode of the program and the second-best season debut of any show on the network.

Four episodes into season two, Finding Bigfoot is still going strong. The show averages more than 1.4 million viewers a week, beating out other reality-TV favorites like TLC’s Hoarding: Buried Alive and HGTV’s “Holmes Inspection.” Not Kardashian numbers, but pretty respectable for basic cable.

Hunting Bigfoot poses potential ethical, legal and permitting issues, not to mention putting an end to profitable TV franchises. “Finding Bigfoot” has six more episodes before it’s season finale.

Read more: http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/01/25/should-we-declare-open-season-on-bigfoot/#ixzz1kUNvUIHR

Humans shoot and kill Bigfoot on average of once every four years

 ** UPDATE:  On July 11, 2013 Finding Bigfoot's Cliff Barackman referenced this post on Coast to Coast AM with George Noory. You can listen to the entire interview at the bottom of the post.

Some feel the only way (or at least the best way) to prove Bigfoot is real, is a dead body. Many skeptics think so too, which leads to the often asked question, "Why hasn't anybody killed or shot Bigfoot?!"

Lo and behold, Robert Lindsay with his same-named blog answers that very question. His finding? There have been at least 30 incidents totaling up top 32 shootings/killings in the last 125 years.

For you long-time fans, you know we don't condone the shooting or killing of Bigfoot. We have covered those that claim they have proof of Bigfoot shootings. We have calso overed interviews of those that would kill Bigfoot. As for us? Although unlikely, we would prefer Bigfoot to let us swab his inner cheek with a Q-Tip and pluck a few rooted hairs--oh and a video would be nice.

Below we have the condensed list of all 30 incidents followed by Robert's conclusion. The list will give you a taste of what Robert has in store, as he has extended versions of all 30 incidents at his blog.

1. Unknown date: Klakas Inlet, Southern Alaska. In far southern Alaska on Prince of Wales Island, a Bigfoot was reportedly shot and buried at the mouth of a stream

2. Date unknown, modern era: Location unknown. A wealthy hunter reportedly shot and killed a Bigfoot, then paid a taxidermist to stuff it

3. Unknown date, modern era: Yankton, Oregon. Near the Colombia River north of Portland, a hunter shot a Bigfoot four times between the eyes and killed it.

4. Unknown date, modern era, Amboy, Washington. Near Mt. St. Helens, a hunter reported that he shot and killed a male Bigfoot on an old logging road.

5. Unknown date: Sonora, Mexico. Rich Grumley reportedthat a hunter shot and killed a Bigfoot, then buried it.

6. 1856: Ohio or West Virginia. Possible Bigfoot skeletonfound with bullet holes in its skull.

7. July 4, 1884: East of Yale, British Colombia. “Jacko” captured by railroad men

8. 1900: Prince of Wales Island, Alaska. An Eskimo shot and buried a Bigfoot.

9. 1921: Terrebone, Louisiana. Hunters killed a Bigfoot and dumped the body in an old well.

10. 1924: Ape Canyon, Washington. Near Mt. St. Helens, miners shoot and kill a Bigfoot

11. 1928: South Bentnick Arm, near Bella Coola, British Colombia. On the coast of central British Colombia, George Talleo shot and killed a Bigfoot.

12. After 1937: Green River, Washington. In the Cascades east of Tacoma, a hunter saw a bear grubbing in a log and shot and killed it. Turned out he had killed a Bigfoot.

13. 1940: Southeastern Missouri. Jared Sparks killed an apparent Bigfoot (he described it only as “like a gorilla”)

14. Fall 1941: Near Basket Lake, Manitoba. A 17 year old boy hunting out of season shot and killed a Bigfoot that he thought was a moose.

15. 1943: Georgia, near the South Carolina border. A Bigfoot was shot and killed by a shotguns, hit with 60 bullets

16. 1953: Alder Creek Canyon, Sandy, Oregon. East of Portland, a hunter shot and killed a Bigfoot, then buried the body. Reported by Peter Byrne.

17. 1958-1960: Overton County, Tennessee. Bigfoot stealing chickens was shot dead by the owner of the chickens.

18. 1960′s: Douglas, Oregon: In the Cascades west of the Umpqua National Forest, a farmer shot a Bigfoot and then somehow managed to take it back to his house

19. 1965: Kitimat, British Colombia. On the coast of central British Colombia, a Kitimat man shot and killed a Bigfoot near town.

20. December 1967: Teton National Forest near Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Two college students from Marshalltown, Iowa, Lyle Bingaman and Mike Burton, shot and killed a Bigfoot, thinking it was a bear.

21. 1968: North of Carson, Wyoming. Three men were hired by a rancher to kill a Bigfoot that was killing his cows and sheep by tearing off their legs.

22. After 1968: Alabama. The same man involved in the Carson, Wyoming case above shot another Bigfoot later on.

23. 1969: Whiteface Reservoir, Minnesota. A hunter shot and killed a Bigfoot, then put the body on ice and displayed it for awhile before replacing it with a plastic replica.

24. After 1969: Clark, Washington. Neat Mt. St. Helens, a manshot and killed a Bigfoot, then tried to sell it, but stopped when he thought it might have been illegal to kill the Bigfoot.

25. 1970: Spokane, Washington. Grover Krantz reported that a hunter shot and killed a Bigfoot.

26. June 1976: Baltimore, Maryland. As unlikely as it sounds, a Bigfoot was reported here in May 1976. Police were called, and K-9′s initially refused to track it.

27. January 1976: Elm Creek, Texas Panhandle. Three menshot and killed two Bigfoots.

28. January 2000: Honobia, Oklahoma. The Siege of Honobia. Bigfoot apparently shot and killed as part of a group that was raiding and harassing a rural residence.

29. November 12, 2003: Lafollette, Tennessee. A creature had been killing peoples’ animals. A goat and cat at the very least had been killed. Local sherrif and deputies tracked Bigfoot and shot it dead.

30. August 2006: Slim Buttes, Pine Ridge Reservation, South Dakota. A Bigfoot that had been named Chiye-tanka was shot and killed on the reservation.

CONCLUSION
"From 1884-present, a 125 year period, 32 Bigfoots have been shot dead by humans, hunters or otherwise. Humans kill or take into custody Bigfoots or their bodies once every 3.9 years or about once every 4 years. In most cases, after the Bigfoot was shot it was simply left in the woods where it fell. In some cases, it was buried. In the modern era, people who shot Bigfoots were often afraid to talk about it for fear of being prosecuted. They often thought that they had killed some sort of a human being and would be prosecuted for manslaughter or homicide.

In recent years, government officials seem to be taking the bodies away after Bigfoots are shot dead. There is a possible government coverup occurring in recent years, since 1968. In the future, humans will continue to shoot and kill Bigfoots in North America. In order for science to make use of these bodies, the legal question regarding shooting a Bigfoot to death needs to be resolved somehow. Otherwise, people who shoot and kill Bigfoots will continue to abandon them or bury them in the woods.

Bigfoot organizations should establish procedures about what to do the next time a Bigfoot is shot and killed. Probably the best plan would be to say that the organization is willing to accept and Bigfoot shot dead, no questions asked. The person could then donate the body to the organization without fear of being prosecuted. It’s doubtful that the government would go after the organization merely for holding a Bigfoot corpse.

The organization should then contact a scientist such as Dr. Meldrum immediately, and probably arrange to have the corpse delivered to him. At the same time, notify the media. The government would have a hard time stealing the corpse away from Meldrum after the media have been notified.

Anyone who shoots and kills a Bigfoot should try to protect the corpse and notify either Bigfoot organizations of prominent scientists such as Dr. Meldrum. Do not notify the authorities. If you do, you’re likely to never see the body again."

You can read about every incindent at his site. At the post titled Why Has No Hunter Ever Shot and Killed a Bigfoot?

LISTEN TO CLIFF BARACKMAN on C2C AM W/ GEORGE NOORY
To start at the beginning of Cliff's interview go to the 01:16:22 mark
To catch the part where Cliff references this post go to the 01:33:49 mark.

Interview: A man who would kill Bigfoot

J Anderson is free-lance writer for Associated Content who plans on going on a BFRO Expedition soon. Recently he has been in contact with individuals who would favor killing Bigfoot in the name of science.

He writes an interview with one of the individuals with the pseudonym "Dave".

We have a short teaser of the interview below.

Bigfoot: Would You Shoot One?

Published September 10, 2010 by:J. Andersen

I'm excited about an upcoming Bigfoot expedition I will be attending soon with the BFRO in the northern region of the U.S. I always enjoy doing actual field research in addition to blogging about Bigfoot. What I'm also curious about is an invitation I recently received from a Bigfoot researcher who wants to shoot a Bigfoot in the name of science. And he's invited me to tag along. Is this guy crazy?

You might be surprised to know that a small minority of Bigfoot researchers carry out the same fantasy as this man (let's call him "Dave") and they believe the only way to prove Bigfoots exists is to shoot one. I personally don't believe that killing something is the best way to prove it's living, and most fans from www.facebook.com/findbigfoot and other Bigfoot sites would probably agree.

I've also been contacted in the last few months by a man from New York who is willing to hire retired military commandos to go into the field to capture or kill a Bigfoot. It beginning to feel like a techno-thriller Vince Flynn novel or maybe something from the late Michael Crichton (think Jurassic Park)...

It begins by asking the field research habits of Dave field research methods, but then gets into the ethics of killing Bigfoot:

....J. Andersen: Why do you hunt Bigfoot?

Dave: To prove that he/she exists I'm gonna try my hardest not to kill it if I can capture or immobilize it alive I would rather do it that way, but if I have to kill it then so be it. I will do it that way, Ican't say until that day comes.

J. Andersen: How do you plan on doing it?

Dave: The same way any other animal is hunted with a gun, proper camouflage and LUCK.

J. Andersen: Are you concerned with the Ethics of shooting a bigfoot?

Dave: Yes and No, there's no law against hunting Bigfoot where I'm from. Most people hate me for what I'm doing and that's fine but the only way to prove 100% that it exists is by capturing one dead or alive.

J. Andersen: What motivates you to shoot/capture a Bigfoot?

The thrill of being in its element, the thrill of being in his territory, the thrill of the hunt and to prove to the world that Bigfoot exists...

What Dave describes here is a real, growing frustration among Bigfoot researchers. Why can't we capture this thing on good video? With all of our modern technology and the hundreds of thousands of dollars of gear that the Bigfoot community owns, how do Bigfoots continue to avoid camera and thermal imaging? I can't answer that question...

Ho do long-term field researchers feel about the kill no kill debate?

Some serious researchers have been in the camp of killing a Sasquatch. Dr. Grover Krantz and John Green have been known advocates for killing one. On the other hand, more recent voices like Dr Jeff Meldrum, a protege of sorts of Krantz have distanced themselves from the idea of killing. Included in this alternate camp is Loren Coleman, in an 2006 article for Cryptomundo he gave a rational case for the captivity:

The first large unknown hairy hominoid captured will live its life in captivity, no doubt, and there it may be examined internally. MRIs, CAT scans, EKGs, and a whole battery of medical and other procedures may be used to examine it.

It is doubtful the first one will be returned to the wild, so, of course, it will die someday within the reach of future scientific examinations. Then it will be dissected, just as newly discovered animals, including various kinds of humans, have been for further study. But in the meantime, why not study the living animal’s captive and adaptive behaviors?

The days of Queen Victoria, when only killing an animal would establish it was real and not folklore, are, indeed, long gone. --Loren Coleman 2/6/2006

In case you were wondering, we do not think killing Bigfoot is necessary, and we aren't that frustrated that we don't have proof yet. There's enough unsorted data out there, that is still being dissected, to build a better physical and behavioral model of Bigfoot. As we build a better model and share information with each other, we will all eventually have the proof we pursue.


EXTERNAL LINKS
The full Interview with Dave
Bigfoot Civil Rights
Cryptomundo: To Kill or Not to Kill Bigfoot
Bigfoot Encounters: To Kill or Film