Dear Democrat and Chronicle:
Re: "Mendon weighs deer bowhunting" (2/12/04), bowhunting
is the most sadistic, ineffective means to deal with human/deer conflicts.
NJ Fish and Game noted that shotgun hunters cripple 19% of
the animals shot; bowhunters cripple 57%. Many of
these animals run onto roads, colliding with cars.
Auto insurance company statistics and The National Highway
Traffic and Safety Administration state that deer/car collisions
dramatically increase during hunting season, as terrified deer run from
The DEC intentionally uses hunting to create all of the
problems it purports to alleviate, to set up a self-perpetuating killing
program - the more hunting, the more deer, and the more lies to the public
that hunting is the solution.
The deer are doubly victimized by killing them and then
blaming them for the destructive results to humans and the environment
from hunting. Killing them for any reason is unconscionable, but to do
so because "in the subdivision, they're eating shrubs," is
an example of human selfishness at its most vile.
www.all-creatures.org/cash to learn more about
destructive wildlife management practices.
Susan Gordon, Representative
The Committee to Abolish Sport Hunting
New Paltz, NY 12561