KILLING FOR FUN

The doe wandered into a yard with an arrow protruding from her face. A photo of this and several others is pictured in the newsletter of Committee to Abolish Sport Hunting (C.A.S.H.). Their website is www.all-creatures.org/cash.

The suffering and slow death inflicted by sport hunters on deer, rabbits, squirrels, bears, birds and others is a tragedy. Sometimes a gun or arrow will kill an animal quickly but there are many cases in which this is not so. Tracking the wounded victim to finish the kill isn’t always done and, when done, isn’t always successful.

Hunters like to portray themselves as noble community servants who keep wildlife populations in check, especially deer. But the hunters themselves contribute to the over-population of some species, at the expense of other species. The hunting lobby controls the Bureau of Wildlife of the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, which manages the deer herds to maximize the number of animals who will be available to “harvest.” Far better that these staff people would instead work on programs to help endangered and threatened species in NYS. Money could also be better spent by training these staffers to learn and carry out sterilization programs on deer. Such a program was successful on Fire Island in NYS.

Hunters not only kill their target animals but also accidentally kill or injure each other and non-hunters who enjoy walking in the woods and fields. Why should our natural areas be taken over by people with guns and bows and arrows so that the rest of us are driven off during the beautiful Fall season?

“Killing animals for sport, for pleasure, for adventure, and for hides and fur is a phenomena which is at once disgusting and distressing. There is no justification for indulging in such acts of brutality.”  (The Dalai Lama)

Linda is President of People for Animal Rights, P.O. Box 15358, Syracuse13215-0358, (315)488-PURR, LDESTEFANO3@twcny.rr.com, peopleforanimalrightsofcny.org. This article was translated into Spanish by Rob English.