Suburban Deer Hunt: Circus in Northern VA
Last Sunday The Washington Post ran a story about John Peterson, a northern VA suburbanite who got fed up with deer eating his flowers to nubs, so he was going to let a hunter or two come onto his little property this fall and cull a few animals, likely does. OMG, a massacre the neighbors cried! PETA along with super-anti Bob Barker joined the circus. Lowlights from the article:
PETA founder Newkirk said: there is hardly “anything more selfish, callous and cowardly than shooting a mother deer.”
In a letter to the VA Dept. of Game Barker said that if the hunt were not stopped: “children will be catatonic, the neighbors will be up in arms, the fawns will be orphans and the does will be dead for the sake of a few flowers.” (Come on down, the washed-up game show host sounds like a drama queen!)
Another PETA person: “This is Bambi. This is between the life of an animal and a few shrubs… This is about the callousness of having someone with a bow just waiting to slice the mother in half and then watch it crawl into the woods to bleed to death.”
The story said Peterson had in the past “hired” a hunter who killed 2 deer and donated the meat to feed the homeless. VA wildlife authorities backed Peterson, said he would be justified in allowing hunting.
I post to remind you what we are up against, especially when it comes to hunting/managing the whitetail explosion in the burbs. There are way too many deer, some huge bucks and great opportunity, and all the wildlife departments are with us. But are the circus and the hassles worth it?
PETA wants you to say no, stay home, let Bambi live. I say find a 5-acre property, shoot your legal limit and help the urban deer managers out. Think of it as your civic duty.
In this saga's end, Peterson caved and PETA/Barker were happy as clams: “This is a real problem but harmony with your neighbors is important,” Peterson told the Post. “We’re not going to do the hunt.”
