Former President Jimmy Carter and world-renowned animal researcher Dr. Jane Goodall publicly announced their opposition to the Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency’s proposal to allow sandhill crane hunting in Tennessee. The proposal, set for a vote by the Tennessee Fish and Wildlife Commission on Aug. 22-23 in Knoxville, allows for the issuance of permits to kill more than 2,300 sandhill cranes, although experts warn the endangered whooping crane is sure to be in the line of fire.Juvenile whooping cranes have a strong resemblance to sandhills, increasing the risk of reversing the recovery of the highly endangered whooping crane. In a letter, President Carter described why the proposal should be rejected.“I am an avid hunter of quail, dove, turkey, geese, ducks, and other game fowl, but have for years been a strong vocal and financial supporter of the effort to protect whooping cranes and to reestablish the flock that flies over our farm in southwestern Georgia – and also over parts of Tennessee,” wrote Carter.