A Huntin' I Won't Go

I don’t hunt. I never have and, most likely, never will. In fact, the closest I’ve come to deer hunting is hitting those swift buggers with my vehicle. If that’s the case, I’ve had a couple hunt me as well. But, in all honesty, I just don’t see the point of killing poor, defenseless creatures. Yes, I hear all of you out there simultaneously murmuring about controlling the herd and all that, but my mind is made up on that topic.

Regardless of how I feel about it personally, I’m not the kind of person who would chain myself to an animal to protest hunting or anything. If people want to hunt, so be it. After all, that’s how our ancestors survived. But what I don’t agree with is the Department of Natural Resources’ recent slew of cockamamie ideas to alter the hunting regulations.

Earn a buck? I say, if hunters are lucky enough to see one while out in the blistering cold, freezing their you-know-whats off, he or she shouldn’t have to earn it. It should be a given. I mean, it’s the least that could be allowed for those who still get a thrill out of the hunt. And now our friends at the DNR are suggesting the 9-day season be extended to 16 days?

In an effort to reduce the whitetail population, the DNR has proposed starting the gun-deer season one week earlier. And while the first four days would be restricted to antlerless deer, I don’t think starting the hunt an entire week before normal is a good idea. In my experience, the gun-deer season has always coincided with the Thanksgiving holiday. And that makes a great deal of sense. In addition to gathering with relatives, the hunters in the family have the opportunity to get in some early-morning bonding time.

And if the state does decide to extend the season, what about the kids? Typically, students get out of school for at least three days to celebrate Thanksgiving ... and to go hunting. When I was growing up, attending school the other two days after the gun-deer season began was pretty much optional; the teachers would usually just pop a movie in the VCR (no, that’s not a typo) because over half of the class was expected to be absent.

Surely the school system wouldn’t think too highly of young hunters who don’t attend classes the week before and the week of Thanksgiving. And I doubt parents would want their children to miss out on that quality education either. Sure, maintaining the herd is a superb and necessary idea, but I have a feeling that, if the state wants to continue having successful hunting seasons and encourage youngsters to get out and hunt, then maybe this isn’t the right approach. Giving hunters another full week out in the woods would, unquestionably, decrease the herd; but how long will it be before that herd is large enough to provide a healthy hunting season again?

My guess is hunters would like to maintain the current regulations or tweak them a little in order to have prosperous hunting in the future. At least that’s what I would want if I were to ever venture out into the woods in late November wearing blaze orange and wielding a shotgun.

Jennie Oemig
Editor
Arcadia News-Leader