Originally posted by troglodyte Is it the deer's fault no predators exist anymore? That's the problem with man. We break it, we fix it by being the predator?
I'll be rooting for the deer. Just to let you know, deer aren't defenseless. More deer hurt man than hunters.
Many years ago, at the height of anti hunting sentiment, I recall one local paper in toronto posting the score.
Hunters 10, deer 20.
In fact the deer's score was entirely co-lateral damage caused by the hinters. They hit more of themselves than deer.
As for the whole debate, and this is getting off topic, I don;t have an issue with hunters and deer personally providing:
- they actually eat the meat.
- they do not leave the guts, which may include lead from either small shot or splinters of bullets that migrate through the blood into the organs, for other animals and birds to eat (this is what killed off the condors for example)
- they do not take more than they need.
Personally I prefer to "hunt" with a camera as I find it actually harder to get a great shot with a camera (and I have lenses that go out to 500mm) than it is to kill something. That is my personal choice.
The deer population is in many areas out of control to the point where they present a hazard, and if the heard is culled, I don't see any issue with man taking the place of the natural preditors we have already eliminated.
As far as being humane,I would think a hunter is generally more humane than the natural preditors would be.