As I have said, I live in the country. I also live in a hunting area. This comes with its own risks. When I first came to my area, a neighbor told me that her neighbor's sons used to sit on their back balcony and shoot squirrels in her back yard. She responded in anger, of course, and the boys eventually grew up. I had a piano tuner come one day. He was blind, and said it was caused by a hunting accident. He was a very young man.
We walked in the fields with our dogs. One day we met a young fellow (age 12?) with a rifle. He was less than 100 yards from the houses, so we really blasted him. Pardon the pun. He got the message. Because our dogs were sable in color, when we walked during hunting season, we had to talk loudly, sing, or bang things--besides keep our dogs close. We did not want them to be shot for foxes, or ourselves shot for that matter.
It always amazes me that if people are motivated they will make sacrifices. I think of this every time I am awakened in the early hours of the morning by gunshots. Duck season has begun! Down by the river, the men sit in the cold and damp of first light, and shoot at the ducks. Yes, some are shot cleanly, but others are merely wounded and left to die in misery. It stands to reason, all will not be found. Hunters will argue for this sport. Do so, but is it sport to leave animals clinging to life in pain?
How can one reconcile these results of hunting with a love of nature?
Do you agree?
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