“Al Fillmore rolls out
of the forest on his four-wheeler with blood on his hands and triumph in his
eyes. The adrenalin’s still pumping, he says, and he takes a while to collect
himself.
An hour before dawn he
pulled on fatigues, shouldered a $700 hunting bow and set off into the woods by
his home in Wisconsin in search of fulfilment, excitement and venison. He hid
and waited. As the sun came up, a 140lb whitetail doe wandered into his line of
fire with a fawn trotting behind her.
“I didn’t want to take
the fawn, I wanted to take the momma,” he says. So he killed the doe at 19
yards with a single arrow. It was a bad shot, not far forward of the rump, but the
arrow’s expanding head severed an artery next to the deer’s spine. He gutted
her close to where she fell, then called a friend to help him heave her into a
pick-up as the car stereo played Knocking On Heaven’s Door.
He looks contemplative
but sated. “I love nature,” he says. “I love these animals. The fawn will be
fine.”
This
article –in The Times today – is about how Paul Ryan (potentially the new US
Vice President) is obsessive about the ‘stealthy art of bow hunting’.
Well I just don’t get
it. I simply cannot imagine using a bow and arrow to kill an animal. Perhaps I
would have done 5,000 years ago – but in 2012?
But in New South Wales
- for the sake of political expediency – the government now allows hunting in
National Parks. They broke an election promise because they needed a vote from
the Shooters and Fishers Party.
Hunters are actually allowed in amongst the hikers, campers and picnickers to slaughter animals in droves
with both guns and bows and arrows.
Now the purpose of the
legislation was for hunters to kill animals which are regarded as pests.
In practice of course
they kill anything that moves - including occasionally – I am pleased to say –
each other.
They also kill things
that can barely move – such as Wombats.
This
article tells how the Park Rangers feel about it – and how they find hundreds
of mangled and mutilated native fauna – and also have to watch out for their
own hides in the process.
I think we have a long
way to go if at this stage of our ‘development’ as a civilization we still find
pleasure in massacring native animals in such a barbaric fashion.
This made me sick to my stomach. I thought there were laws that prevented this kind of thing.
ReplyDeleteI know true hunters, it is passed down from parent to child and these people are serious about providing food for their family. And venison is pretty tasty and you can't get it at the local market like beef.
ReplyDeleteWhat bothers me are asshats that want to live in the country, but don't want the deer to eat their landscaping. Or gentlemen farmers who destroy nature that does not fit into their plans to raise purple potatoes, 3 angora goats and a couple of emus.
Please God (or the equivalent thereof) let the idiots kill more of each other. We've got idiot shooting koalas here. Koalas with guns would be better.
ReplyDeleteI am eating pumpkin stew tonight, that's for sure.
ReplyDeleteSome Reese's Peanut Butter Cups for dessert or such, depending on my loot from trick and treating (such a civilised way to forage for food, isn't it?).
Written while waiting for The Great Pumpkin to make its appearance at my old home,
Merisi
(Sandy was mighty scary, but we did alright.)
SK Waller: Yes me too.
ReplyDeletefmcgmccllc: I can understand hunting for food - but not with bows and arrows.
Sandy: We should arm all fauna.
Merisi: The Peanut Butter Cups sound good!
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ReplyDeleteWell as I'm from rural Wisconsin, I grew up with all the hype of hunting season (really, it's the highlight of the year for some people...). Things like deer season and turkey season I understand, we've got tons of the animals and they're good eating. I don't really understand why we have all the different deer seasons (bow hunting, muzzle loaders, gun, early, late, T-zone...) except that there are a lot of hunting enthusiasts and the different licenses bring in some money for the state. The hunting seasons I don't understand are the Mourning Dove (our state bird of peace) and wolf season (which is new this year...). I think killing an animal you're not going to eat is just a waste, and no way to 'appreciate' nature.
ReplyDeleteI asked Big Daddy, who was a hunter, and here in Michigan I believe it is 4 licenses now for deer. Bow, fire arm, doe and muzzle loading. Bow is safer for the hunter, the weather is better and it is more highly skilled. You can only get one animal per license, at least the last time we checked. There is only 1 deer per license and the seasons are somewhat staggered. BD won't hunt anymore because it is no longer safe unless you are on private land.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if it became "Sport" because men can be quite competitive.
Allison: I know it happens - but I just don't get it.
ReplyDeletefmcgmccllc: Beats the hell out of me. I just cannot imagine killing a deer in the wild with a gun or a bow and arrow or indeed anything at all.
Hunting in national parks is yet another consequence of politicians who cannot count: Neville Wran gave us a democratically elected upper house, in which New South Welshman voted (not sure what the story is now) for 15 people at a pop as a single electorate. That meant that 1/15th of the vote plus 1 gave you a seat. At one point we voted for 23 at a time; 1/23 +1 or less than 5% of the total number of voters gave you a seat. We have the most ragbag collection of people holding the government to ransom in possibly the entire western world. Thanks, Neville.
ReplyDeleteMerricks: Yes - and he very nearly gave us Pauline Hanson as well!
ReplyDelete