We should focus on conservation
To the editor:
Do we need bowfishing articles in our sport pages? Is this a practical method of controlling invasive species, or another excuse to use animals for target practice? I would like to hear the opinion of someone who is not affiliated with a pseudo-conservation group. It’s my opinion this is a good example of what not to do in the outdoors.
I recently read an article from a state fish and game agency that said 50 percent of deer are wounded by arrows, and 75 percent miss their target entirely. Even when hit accurately, it’s common to wait between 30 minutes and 24 hours to look for the animal, to allow time to bleed out.
In states where regulations are strict and qualifications are mandatory, recovery rates can be as high as 80 percent with a bow and arrow. Is that something to be proud of?
The hunting industry promotes these weapons for deer and small game because missed or wounded animals can survive to be hunted again. Hunters like them because it’s more exciting and challenging. Apparently, it’s too easy to kill a deer with a rifle. Out west they shoot at them from a mile away.
I suggest reading the INDNR Hunting and Trapping Guide and look at everything that is allowed: muzzleloaders, drowning beavers and otters, traps that have been banned in 100 countries, etc. They don’t allow fishing with dynamite, but almost anything else goes, if you pay a small fee.
Excessive hunting is part of our wild west legacy, a holdover from the days when you could fire a cannon full of nails into a flock of birds and nobody would think anything of it. Prior to the 18th century, much of Europe considered it pagan (not Christian) to admire nature. Wildflowers were condemned as weeds, and the Carolina parakeet was destroyed to supply feathers for women’s hats.
Today, an estimated 86 million Americans are wildlife watchers, many people donate money or pay entrance fees to parks. Instead of pushing for more hunting, conservationists should be looking for more ways to capitalize on non-consumptive wildlife users. We have a tax on bullets, perhaps a tax on bird food would be a good start.
Colby Cochran
Greenfield
