One of our neighbors came by today, as he was headed out on a week-long hunting trip, to let us know deer/elk hunting season begins tomorrow. We live in an area heavily trafficked by deer, and apparently there are hunters who frequent this area, even though there are many homes scattered about.
My father was not a hunter; my husband is not a hunter; and I, being a vegetarian, am most definitely not a hunter. Even though I was raised in north Louisiana, where hunting is the next best thing to sliced bread, it was never a part of my life. And frankly, I do not understand the "thrill of the kill" mentality.
If a person is hunting for the main purpose of feeding their family, I am more comfortable with that. I actually prefer to know that someone raised or hunted their own meat rather than purchasing something from a factory farm where animals can languish in agony before being put out of their misery. But, killing just for the thrill of killing or to add another trophy mount to your collection, that is pure senseless to me.
We have really enjoyed having the deer visit our property, and we marvel at the magnificence of being in the presence of such a delightful piece of nature. While we do not put out feed for them, we do make sure they have a water source daily, and that sometimes involves breaking the ice and melting it down with warm water now that we are experiencing freezing temps.
Neal is headed out to place "No Hunting" signs on our property lines, and we will be on the lookout for any hunters who think they can score a nice "rack"on or around our property. And, I pray that the deer take shelter in the comfort of our wooded areas and learn to distinguish friend from foe.
2 comments:
I hate hunting season! They use dogs for hunting in Virginia. The hunters lounge against their pickups parked beside the road, waiting for the dogs to chase the deer to them. No one in my family hunts. My Hubby responds when asked that he will hunt when the deer have guns and it's a fair contest. We've put up our No Hunting signs
I come from a family of hunters and agree 100% with you. If you hunt to feed your family, fine. If you hunt to fill the legal limit, in search of the big rack to hang above your fireplace? No. I hope you are able to enjoy those deer visitors for a long, long time. On my recent trip to Vermont, I enjoyed seeing the deer. Oddly, the boom boom boom from a nearby shooting range didn't seem to frighten them.
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