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I have yet to form an opinion on Sunday hunting, but do feel that different=
users of a chunk of turf have to work together to reach mutually acceptabl=
e arrangements. Civilized, mutually-respectful face-to-face conversations =
between/among users with conflicting needs should be the way to go, there, =
with all finger-pointing verboten.
Otherwise, I fully agree with the merit in culling and using species when t=
hey are over-abundant. There are too many white-tailed deer in too much of=
the province. Ditto for Canada geese, grey seals, porcupines, raccoons, c=
hain pickerel, and smallmouth bass. They are reaching pest levels in many =
places and otherwise, likely having undesirable effects on ecosystems.
We need to develop more catholic tastes in what we are willing to eat.
Otherwise, wonder how many deer starved or are starving to death this winte=
r=E2=80=A6
From: naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca [mailto:naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca] =
On Behalf Of David & Alison Webster
Sent: February 17, 2015 10:00 PM
To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca
Subject: Re: [NatureNS] Nova Scotia Sunday Hunting survey
Hi Keith & All, Feb 17, 2015
Monday was largely taken up with finding if there was a car or woodpile=
s under that snow; still there but somewhat buried.
I am curious about your remark that "...shooting accidents (which actua=
lly do happen sometimes), "
I recall two instances, and there are no doubt many more, where men (no=
t hunting) were shot in very low light conditions (both in Kings County). O=
ne was 6'4", stopped to empty his bowels on a railway track in late twilig=
ht and was mistaken for a woodchuck. Another walking through his orchard in=
late twilight was mistaken for a bear. In response to such accidents the l=
egal times before sunrise and after sunset were shortened a few decades ago=
=2E And before that change most hunters, who I knew, emptied their chambers=
long before they legally had to quit.
But offhand I can not recall one instance where anyone who was not a me=
mber of a hunting group was shot in good light. Are there any such examples=
and if so what is the frequency in accident per hunter-hours ?
Sometimes members of a hunting group do get shot but that is a differen=
t matter because they are close at hand (even only 50 yards away the chance=
of being shot by a gun pointed at random is remote); people get tired and =
forget to follow common sense procedures. Greenhorns have been known to do =
silly things like squeezing a trigger to see if their safety is on. One hun=
ting partner put a handfull of ammunition in a jacket pocket that also had =
a handfull of wooden matches and hours later one of the matches lit. Fortun=
ately I smelled burning matches and alerted him. And so on.
Moving along to another quote
"I do think is absurd is to suggest that animals need to be culled by man. =
Nature can do its own culling."
While it is true that nature can do its own culling there may be better=
ways to achieve the same result.
Coyotes (really Coywolfs here) could contribute I suppose but (as in th=
e Cape Breton instance) they would likely cull more than a few hikers and t=
ourists especially when deer became less abundant. I once came across the s=
cene on snow of a deer killed by several Coyotes, one day after it had not =
been there, and it was a perfect example of nature red in tooth and claw. A=
very large area covered with deer tracks, blood, deer hair, Coyote tracks =
and only a small part of one leg left. If deer could vote I am sure they wo=
uld chose swift death by bullet or even slow death by a paunch shot over be=
ing torn apart apparently over a period of hours by Coywolfs.
I would suggest that in some situations, especially overstocking relativ=
e to the sustainable yield of the cover, it is desirable to reduce herd den=
sity and further suggest it is downright cruel to not attempt suitable herd=
reduction. And downright wasteful to not make use of any of this excellent=
meat, provided the tradition of how to gut a deer properly and how to cut =
it up properly is maintained. And these skills once lost will be regained o=
nly with great trial and error.
=2E
Natural culling could involve degradation of available food sources to t=
he point that animals entered the winter in a weakened condition, forest an=
d understory regeneration were damaged, soil degradation and erosion might =
follow and many deer would starve in average winters. Or they might move in=
to residential areas, where they can not be shot, be fed and eventually bec=
ome a pest as has increasingly been happening in the North East.
If there is a fork in the road where one arm leads to a field of positiv=
es and the other leads to a field of negatives how can one seriously consid=
er the negative fork to be the better choice ?
It is way past my bedtime.
Yours truly, Dave Webster, Kentville
----- Original Message -----
From: Keith Lowe <mailto:mythos25@live.com>
To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca
Sent: Monday, February 16, 2015 11:24 AM
Subject: RE: [NatureNS] Nova Scotia Sunday Hunting survey
Most fear is irrational but irrigational or not the habits of many people a=
nd the behavior of animals is greatly effected during hunting season. Many =
people fear bears in NS even more which is even more irrational and unlike =
shooting accidents (which actually do happen sometimes), bear attacks don=
=E2=80=99t.
Excluding duck hunters, I actually come across far more birdwatchers and hi=
kers than hunters in the woods but I tend to do more coastal/nature reserve=
hiking on Sundays during hunting season and I know the hiking clubs do the=
same.
It=E2=80=99s a matter of perspective, I don=E2=80=99t think is absurd to fe=
ar getting shot in the woods during hunting season but I do think is absurd=
is to suggest that animals need to be culled by man. Nature can do its own=
culling.
I thought some hunters would also be against this.
From: natuns-owner@chebucto.ns.ca [mailto:naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca] On=
Behalf Of darrell@abolitphotos.ca
Sent: Monday, February 16, 2015 10:27 AM
To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca
Subject: Re: [NatureNS] Nova Scotia Sunday Hunting survey
I am a hunter but still against it, for the reason of giving the animals on=
e day free from human pressure, not for non existing hikers in the country =
side.
For perspective, many hunters only get Saturday to hunt, to pay the money a=
nd only get 4 days in the woods is not worth it. Too many deer and the herd=
needs to be culled.
Another reason is the natives get to hunt 7 days a week/365 and it is not f=
air that they get free rein while others do not. This bias and discriminato=
r