>talks with many of these students convinced me that it was the right thing
>to do. Most of them had never seen an owl before, and were really turned
>on by the experience. They wanted to know more about owls, and talk about
>them.
> As a result of the publicity in the papers, many of my neighbors


I've read both sides of the publicity thread - and your students/neighbors
argument is totally out of it. The scalp collectors and other assorted
spite-murderers may or may not be in your class room, but they are a fact of
life not to be glossed over and rationalized by education.

And probably not rehabilitation, either.

The taste for blood appears to be permanent with the human species, and
humans are the only species whose habitat is not being destroyed quickly
enough to save other **remaining** forms of life on this planet..

Toni