Just a rant...I must be getting old.

[carolinagirl58]

There is nothing lazy about a deer stand. Where we live, it's impossible to track deer because of the thick swamps and dense woods. And also the size hunting property since we aren't going to trespass to stalk a deer. There is a lot of sport just in placing the deer stand in the correct place and then playing the waiting game. If the stand is not property placed you can still there 24/7 through the entire hunting season and not see a deer. So it's about understanding deer psychology, learning to read the signs, and correctly predicting when the deer will be on the move. And then you have to remain still and quiet for hours on end, hoping that the deer will appear. If stand hunting was illegal here and you had to stalk deer, we would have thousands of deer starving. Many starve now. Late in the season and towards spring, the deer look horrible. We feed them, spending a lot of money just to help them make it through the winter. And we harvest them responsibly too. They provide a lot of healthy meat for my family and the inedible parts feed my dogs. But I do agree that strapping the dead animal to the hood of a truck and parading it around is wrong. Why enrage people who are anti-hunting? Why traumatize children who may not understand? Just stick the deer in the trunk or cover it with a tarp. No sense in displaying it all over the place.

 

[rodriguezpoultry]

I will hunt, eat and thank the Lord for providing the animal for sustenance.

Do I have an issue with hunting? Absolutely not. It's fun as well as helps to provide.

 

[sourland]

Well, the aging process has turned me into a real emotional old softy.

I absolutely abhor mistreatment or abuse of anyone or thing. That being said I have no more problem with harvesting a deer, chicken,etc than I have with picking up a package of meat at the grocery store.

 

[darkmatter]

Quote:
I too, only hunt for food. I even eat the varmints I catch in the Havahart trap protecting the chickens. Hungry people and close to nature people have a different set of ethics.

 

[debilorrah]

Quote:
I too, only hunt for food. I even eat the varmints I catch in the Havahart trap protecting the chickens. Hungry people and close to nature people have a different set of ethics.

You got that right. The chickens provide our eggs, but if it comes down to it, they are dinner.

 

[krcote]

sunny & the 5 egg layers :

I agree. It is very sad to see. I went to the grocery store one day and I saw a dead deer on top of a car. I felt so bad.

How do you think those animals at your grocery store got there? They had to be grown and then killed for your consumption! Why is a deer on a car roof any different? For all you know, that deer could be meat for a family for the year. It also could have just been killed for sport, but you have no way of knowing that. What I find sad, is that many folks will blindly pick out dead packaged animals at the grocery store because that is somehow more humane than hunting an overcrowded population to feed their family. Never mind the fact that the wild harvested animal led a normal, free life that ended quickly and humanely, while your grocery store livestock lived and died in a fashion that is often so terrible, we are kept in the dark about it. Yes, animals are beautiful things, and yes, their lives should have a very high value. Be sure that you understand that livestock animals and wild animals are of equal value, and be sure you feel just as sad when you pick up your next box of chicken nuggets at the late-night drive-thru, as when you see a deer on a car.​

 

[rancher hicks]

Quote:


Do you know of a cure, because none has been mentioned in any of the articles in our local paper.

Funny how here we have the CNY cat coalition that catches strays for spaying and neutering using donated time and money, but when it comes to donating money for deer and all the rest, the bleeding hearts never donate a dime.

I say if folks want to save deer from being culled for food then they should put their money and time where their mouth is as they say. This is not directed at any one here in particular mind you, but in our area where I read plenty, I've yet to hear of anyone organizing a group to save the deer.

Lord have mercy we can't get enough for our animal shelters. However if anyone decides to use tax dollars for such a program I suspect there are others like myself that will have a fit.

I apologize I'm afraid we've gotten off track, though I'm not sure what that track was supposed to be. I doubt anyone is ever persuaded to switch sides on this issue.

 

[mamahen2011]

Unfortunately, I think the average person has become accustom to not knowing/caring/seeing where their food comes from. Most hunters I know wouldn't hunt if they didn't eat the animal ... and I have a TON of family and friends that hunt. I also don't see anything wrong with displaying that harvested animal while transporting it home ... it's a good conversation starter for kids to learn WHERE food comes from and HOW it's gotten. Also, hunters like to admire other hunter's harvests. I personally LOVE driving during hunting season and getting to see what others have bagged.

As far as leaving the biggest and best ... that in itself could pose a problem. Deer grow as they age, getting bigger every year and growing bigger antlers too. (also, their diet has a bit to do with antler development

) If you let that monster buck go by ... you may be letting a big deer go another year BUT you may be letting a genetic disaster stay in the population, one shooting blanks or compromised "boys" that can't cover the does that a younger buck would for a healthy population. Or maybe that big buck is a poor old fella that has worn his teeth down to nubs over the years that's now going to starve come winter ... just sayin'.

 

[tonkatuff]

I went to the grocery store one day and I saw a dead deer on top of a car. I felt so bad.

My friend hit a deer while on her way to work early one morning, her car was destroyed. She had to take public transportation until she found another car but because she had to leave work almost 2 hours earlier than previously in order to catch the last & only bus that comes remotely close to her house (she has to take cab the rest of the way) her boss fired her. Yeah poor deer

Poor disgusting disease & tick infested deer.​

 

[sunny & the 5 egg layers]

Quote:
How do you think those animals at your grocery store got there? They had to be grown and then killed for your consumption! Why is a deer on a car roof any different? For all you know, that deer could be meat for a family for the year. It also could have just been killed for sport, but you have no way of knowing that. What I find sad, is that many folks will blindly pick out dead packaged animals at the grocery store because that is somehow more humane than hunting an overcrowded population to feed their family. Never mind the fact that the wild harvested animal led a normal, free life that ended quickly and humanely, while your grocery store livestock lived and died in a fashion that is often so terrible, we are kept in the dark about it. Yes, animals are beautiful things, and yes, their lives should have a very high value. Be sure that you understand that livestock animals and wild animals are of equal value, and be sure you feel just as sad when you pick up your next box of chicken nuggets at the late-night drive-thru, as when you see a deer on a car.

I understand that some people hunt deer for food (and I have nothing against that). In fact, my relatives do it. And again, I have nothing against it. The sad part to me is when people just do it for the fun of it. Deer are beautiful critters. And it was just sad to me to see a dead one on top of a car (most likely the person hunted it to feed his family, and that is fine.) And, yes I understand that the animals at the grocery store were grown and then killed for our consumption. But it doesn't bother me to eat a chicken because I know that most likely that chicken was a broiler and that it wouldn't have had a very happy/good life had it not been butchered because of its breed and weight. I don't have anything against a family hunting a deer to supply there family with food. Times are tough, and families have to do what they have to do to put food on their table. Are you really going to make this thread into such a debate? We all have our own opinions, and if you don't like mine then fine.
Seriously.