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In America we speak English. It is our national language. Previous immigrants to America, no matter what their country of origin, have learned to speak English.

….All hunters, fishermen and trappers must abide by the same rules. To print any portion of these rules in any language other than English only serves to enable those who do not wish to learn to read or speak English to continue to do so.

We are constantly reminded by police and game wardens that "ignorance of the law is no excuse". How can someone unable to speak English be expected to understand, much less follow, the law? How can an individual who does not speak English pass a hunter safety course, or even know they must do so in order to legally purchase a license? How can any individual speaking any other language lawfully purchase a hunting or fishing license? Will all clerks at all license outlets be required to speak fluent foreign languages to accommodate those who do not speak English? Will Wisconsin’s game wardens be required to speak fluent foreign languages so they can enforce our hunting and fishing laws equally amongst all participants? Who would end up paying for these outrageous attempts to appease the few?

A DNR Wildlife Rules and Regulations Assistant responded graciously:

…. The DNR is publishing regulations in other languages to assist these new citizens with our hunting laws as they learn our written language. It would be unfair to overlook this need for assistance by making the assumption that they do not want to learn to read or speak English. Our hunting rules and regulations can be complicated for some to understand even in English.

It is the DNR’s goal to inform all legally licensed hunters of the hunting rules and regulations so that we can sustain a healthy wildlife population and provide a safe and enjoyable hunting experience.

I asked Scott Loomans of the DNR (Madison, Bureau of Wildlife Management) if hunters could get hunting licenses without having read the regulations. He said yes, but hunters are expected to know what’s in the regs. Loomans pointed out that a one page overview of this year’s Deer Regulations is available in Spanish and in Hmong. (See pages 53 and 54.)

A year ago the Hmong American Partnership here in Appleton conducted classes teaching the regulations to non-English speaking hunters; this year, those classes were not available. The Partnership suggested I talk to last year’s instructor, Kou Xiong.

Xiong, Hmong Liaison with the DNR (Eau Claire), is a 14-year veteran of the agency and trained in law enforcement and criminal justice. He has offered the Regulations training class in the past and this year was only able to offer three classes in the whole state, as he is also training a large class of instructors. It is these men who will take over Hmong-language training throughout the state next year. Good news.

Meanwhile, how many licensed, non-English language hunters haven’t read and aren’t familiar with this year’s Deer Hunting Regs? For those of you hunters out there, does that matter?

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