PETA says no to Bigfoot hunting

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For many, Bigfoot hunter Rick Dyer is one part Andy Kaufman and one part PT Barnum, carting around a Sasquatch carcass for display.

Rick Dyer, 36, describes himself as a “master tracker” of Bigfoot.



This week, Dyer and his management team announced they would be taking the Bigfoot specimen he allegedly shot and killed in the San Antonio area on tour across the country.

Dyer is due to hit the Houston area sometime in mid-February. He will tow the corpse behind a 40-foot coach in a trailer.



Dyer said he killed the 8-foot-tall Bigfoot in 2012 with a 30-06 rifle after he lured “the beast” near his tent with a set of Walmart ribs he rubbed with a secret ingredient.



On Tuesday, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department weighed in on Bigfoot, saying that as far they are concerned you can kill as many of the (as-of-now-mythical) creatures as you want.



“We don't acknowledge that one exists. But if you wanted to shoot and kill a Bigfoot in the state of Texas, you would just need a hunting license,” Major Larry Young, game warden with Texas Parks and Wildlife, said Tuesday.



The folks at the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals don't think that Bigfoot is real, but do feel strongly about those that would shoot something exotic for sport.



"The bottom line is, when someone sees a rare, exotic animal their first instinct shouldn't be to shoot and kill it," said PETA spokesperson Lindsay Rajt. "Just because you see something pretty, that doesn't mean it should be mounted on your wall."



If anything the hunting and killing of a fictional animal teaches a lesson about hunting culture in general. According to Rajt, the popularity of hunting for sport is in decline, and has been since the late 1970s.



"Wildlife watching is gaining popularity over hunting," she said.



"As an organization we do oppose hunting of any kind. It's cruel and unnecessary and can damage populations and ecosystems," Rajt said.

To PETA there is no difference between a fishing lure or a gun when it comes to hunting and killing animals.



"You are inflicting pain and suffering either way," Rajt said.

For PETA, that goes for fish, deer, chicken, and forest-dwelling ape-like creatures.

San Antonio Express-News reporter Kolten Parker contributed to this report.