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I am disappointed this paper recently published articles promoting the hunting of moose and bear. Hunting causes these beautiful animals an agonizing, painful and sometimes slow death. Youth Bear Hunting Day for kids?
I believe it is cowardly, not a sport, to use dogs, inhumane leg traps or guns to kill these creatures. Sitting in a tree above a feeder, then shooting down to kill is not “sport.” Hunters, who thankfully are declining in number in the U.S., sometimes only wound the animal, who then runs terrified and in pain until it dies from exhaustion or loss of blood, sometimes days later. Hunters go for the larger animals as trophies and can kill the territorial male, which changes the herd’s or sleuth’s social organization. A “new” male bear, for example, will often kill the cubs sired by the original leader.
To say that hunting is helping the environment by controlling populations is like saying war is good because it stops human overpopulation. Hunters looking for the “thrill” of the hunt should join the Army and deploy to Iraq for 28 months of combat, like I did. That, my hunting friends, is a fair fight, because the other side is armed, trained and can actually fight back.
Charles Mitchell
Belfast