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It’s nice that the BDN wants to recognize people for their “sporting” achievements. But, I don’t appreciate the shock value of opening section B of the paper during my breakfast and seeing on Page One large color photos of hunters, including young children, proudly displaying the dead animals they just killed. It just doesn’t sit well with my cornflakes. In addition, for some reason, seeing a dead bear appeals to me even less than does a dead deer. Shooting a deer requires a certain amount of skill and hunting ability. Shooting a bear, when it has been lured by a barrel full of doughnuts, is like shooting a tree. Not much skill there, in my opinion.
I understand that hunting is part of the culture in Maine and other states. Plus, I’m sure that showing photos of hunters with their latest kill helps to sell newspapers, especially in current times, when fewer people subscribe to newspapers. Perhaps the BDN could put these photos farther back in section B (or in a separate section entitled “Dead Animals”) and make them smaller so people who find these photos to be unpleasant will be able to avoid them if they want to. That way, we can read the real and important news about Maine and not have someone’s trophy photo forced on us.
Steve Colburn
Orono
