[NatureNS] Nova Scotia Sunday Hunting survey

From: David & Alison Webster <dwebster@glinx.com>
To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca
References: <BLU405-EAS35E9F2FBB2C2B14474EF2FB02E0@phx.gbl>
Date: Wed, 18 Feb 2015 10:50:22 -0400
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Return-Path: <naturens-mml-owner@chebucto.ns.ca>
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Hi Jane & All,   =20
    Part of the problem in this mix is the promotion of alcohol =
consumption by glossy fliers generated by the NSLC; get drunk and have =
fun. And unfortunately some people become addicted and can't become dry. =
It is very shorted sighted of our glorious leaders to chose short-term =
profit for long-term loss of lives and wealth.=20
    I have never seen a drunk armed hunter but I am sure it still =
happens. I have known daytime hunters to take a drink or two in the =
evening while playing a friendly game of poker.=20
Yt, DW
  ----- Original Message -----=20
  From: Dave&Jane Schlosberg=20
  To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca=20
  Sent: Wednesday, February 18, 2015 10:27 AM
  Subject: Re: [NatureNS] Nova Scotia Sunday Hunting survey


  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