Fine. Guilty as charged. But where I am there is certainly no deer overpopulation, and they are hunted nonetheless. My family and I have also been actively feeding the deer near our cottage. We have built a feeding platform above the snowline complete with a small roof to prevent the feed from being snow covered. Almost nightly, we watch as families of deer come to the best deer feeder in the area to munch on corn and take in a few laps of saltlick. Most of their food has been crusted over for weeks now.
What strikes me most about the view is the gentle nature of the deer, and that they travel in family groups. How anyone with a conscience can kill one of these creatures in unfathomable to me.
To me, to say that hunting them controls population would be akin to proposing open season on New Yorkers because there are no good apartments left. Of course, I know that with fewer natural predators, thinning the herd is required in some areas. Though you'll never catch me doing it, I would hope that such efforts would be carried out with precision and compassion.
In what will be a useless attempt to head-off my detractors: Yes, I eat meat. No, it's not that much different. No, they've never destroyed my shrubs. Yes, they'd be welcome to if they so desired.
Perhaps I should have considered my words more carefully on the "dead hunters" line. That said, if confronted with the hypothetical situation of a hunter taking aim at a deer, and a gun in my own hand, I suppose I would fire a warning shot before taking aim on the hunter.
Regards,
Craig