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I don=E2=80=99t know anything about hunting, but I do have one addition =
to this discussion. We lived in =E2=80=9Cthe wilds=E2=80=9D of Pictou =
county all through the =E2=80=9870=E2=80=99s. During hunting season, we =
used to see totally drunk guys with rifles with some frequency. They =
often drove right up to our house, claiming to want to be =
=E2=80=9Csociable=E2=80=9D. Of course, being as we were young, and from =
Away, and living in =E2=80=9Cvoluntary poverty=E2=80=9D, they assumed we =
must be =E2=80=9Cstoners=E2=80=9D. So, they hoped we=E2=80=99d want to =
share the good times with them (lol!).
I hope this phenomenon=E2=80=94of drunks with guns=E2=80=94has been =
eradicated; but I somehow doubt it.
Jane
From: David & Alison Webster=20
Sent: Tuesday, February 17, 2015 9:59 PM
To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca=20
Subject: Re: [NatureNS] Nova Scotia Sunday Hunting survey
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.
=20
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 ?
=20
It is way past my bedtime.
=20
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