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Index of Subjects This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_0164_01D04AFD.1178DFE0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Hi Keith & All, Feb 17, 2015 Monday was largely taken up with finding if there was a car or = woodpiles under that snow; still there but somewhat buried. I am curious about your remark that "...shooting accidents (which = actually do happen sometimes), " I recall two instances, and there are no doubt many more, where men = (not hunting) were shot in very low light conditions (both in Kings = County). One was 6'4", stopped to empty his bowels on a railway track = in late twilight and was mistaken for a woodchuck. Another walking = through his orchard in late twilight was mistaken for a bear. In = response to such accidents the legal times before sunrise and after = sunset were shortened a few decades ago. And before that change most = hunters, who I knew, emptied their chambers long before they legally had = to quit. But offhand I can not recall one instance where anyone who was not a = member of a hunting group was shot in good light. Are there any such = examples and if so what is the frequency in accident per hunter-hours ? = =20 Sometimes members of a hunting group do get shot but that is a = different matter because they are close at hand (even only 50 yards away = the chance of being shot by a gun pointed at random is remote); people = get tired and forget to follow common sense procedures. Greenhorns have = been known to do silly things like squeezing a trigger to see if their = safety is on. One hunting partner put a handfull of ammunition in a = jacket pocket that also had a handfull of wooden matches and hours later = one of the matches lit. Fortunately I smelled burning matches and = alerted him. And so on.=20 Moving along to another quote=20 "I do think is absurd is to suggest that animals need to be culled by = man. Nature can do its own culling." While it is true that nature can do its own culling there may be = better ways to achieve the same result.=20 Coyotes (really Coywolfs here) could contribute I suppose but (as in = the Cape Breton instance) they would likely cull more than a few hikers = and tourists especially when deer became less abundant. I once came = across the scene on snow of a deer killed by several Coyotes, one day = after it had not been there, and it was a perfect example of nature red = in tooth and claw. A very large area covered with deer tracks, blood, = deer hair, Coyote tracks and only a small part of one leg left. If deer = could vote I am sure they would chose swift death by bullet or even slow = death by a paunch shot over being torn apart apparently over a period of = hours by Coywolfs.=20 I would suggest that in some situations, especially overstocking = relative to the sustainable yield of the cover, it is desirable to = reduce herd density and further suggest it is downright cruel to not = attempt suitable herd reduction. And downright wasteful to not make use = of any of this excellent meat, provided the tradition of how to gut a = deer properly and how to cut it up properly is maintained. And these = skills once lost will be regained only with great trial and error. . Natural culling could involve degradation of available food sources = to the point that animals entered the winter in a weakened condition, = forest and understory regeneration were damaged, soil degradation and = erosion might follow and many deer would starve in average winters. Or = they might move into residential areas, where they can not be shot, be = fed and eventually become a pest as has increasingly been happening in = the North East. If there is a fork in the road where one arm leads to a field of = positives and the other leads to a field of negatives how can one = seriously consider the negative fork to be the better choice ? It is way past my bedtime. Yours truly, Dave Webster, Kentville =20 =20 =20 ----- Original Message -----=20 From: Keith Lowe=20 To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca=20 Sent: Monday, February 16, 2015 11:24 AM Subject: RE: [NatureNS] Nova Scotia Sunday Hunting survey Most fear is irrational but irrigational or not the habits of many = people and the behavior of animals is greatly effected during hunting = season. Many people fear bears in NS even more which is even more = irrational and unlike shooting accidents (which actually do happen = sometimes), bear attacks don=E2=80=99t.=20 =20 Excluding duck hunters, I actually come across far more birdwatchers = and hikers than hunters in the woods but I tend to do more = coastal/nature reserve hiking on Sundays during hunting season and I = know the hiking clubs do the same.=20 =20 It=E2=80=99s a matter of perspective, I don=E2=80=99t think is absurd = to fear getting shot in the woods during hunting season but I do think = is absurd is to suggest that animals need to be culled by man. Nature = can do its own culling. =20 I thought some hunters would also be against this.=20 =20 =20 From: natuns-owner@chebucto.ns.ca = [mailto:naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca] On Behalf Of = darrell@abolitphotos.ca Sent: Monday, February 16, 2015 10:27 AM To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca Subject: Re: [NatureNS] Nova Scotia Sunday Hunting survey =20 I am a hunter but still against it, for the reason of giving the = animals one day free from human pressure, not for non existing hikers in = the country side. For perspective, many hunters only get Saturday to hunt, to pay the = money and only get 4 days in the woods is not worth it. Too many deer = and the herd needs to be culled. Another reason is the natives get to hunt 7 days a week/365 and it is = not fair that they get free rein while others do not. This bias and = discriminatory practice has to stop. All people should be treated = equally and fairly as not to cause tensions. The government has to stop = the free for all harvesting by natives. All animals have a harvest = season and limits and all people should abide by them.=20 It would be nice to see some rational thinkers in the naturalist = community, it would go a long way. Simply look at the shooting accidents, they are near zero, to be = afraid to go in the woods in hunting season is down right ridiculous. = =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D= =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D On Mon, 16 Feb 2015 09:50:09 -0400, Keith Lowe <mythos25@live.com> = wrote: I=E2=80=99m shocked the Nova Scotia government is even considering = allowing hunting on Sundays. If you don=E2=80=99t want to lose both = weekend days for wintertime recreation in the woods, please take a = moment to answer these 3 questions. =20 =20 http://novascotia.fluidsurveys.com/surveys/OSR/sunday-hunting/ =20 =20 Keith Lowe =20 Halifax =20 =20 =20 No virus found in this message