I recently discovered this wonderful blog by Willard. His post today made my stomach turn. Not because of the photos – those are amazing – but because of what the photos are of; deer killed for their antlers and tenderloins. Here is the actual blog post.
The whole idea of people killing deer for their antlers blows my mind. I have heard of Rhios and elephants being killed for their horns and tusks but a whitetail deer… killing any animal just for sport, I think it wrong. Keeping the population in check – yes. If the hunters in Willard’s post didnt want the meat, why not donate it to food pantries?!?! I did a quick Google search for donating deer to pantries and came up with this nation-wide list of organized groups that help. I would like to think that there are butchers out there that would also donate their time and talent in helping out with the process.
To hunt a whitetail and have the fortune to bag one is an incredible experience. For me and my family, I hunt for the freezer and am grateful if that meat comes along with an impressive rack. But, I would have been just as excited if I shot a 4 or 6 pointer (ok, not as excited, but still pretty happy). If there was a way for these people to just drop off their kill at a butcher and get what they want, do you think they would do it? Am I being way too hopeful? With so many people who are hungry and just trying to make it, the idea of leaving 50, 60, 70+ pounds of meat on the ground to rot makes me sick. But can we do anything about it? What do you guys think??
Thanks Willard for your post (and I give you total photo credits for the photo I used here)
It’s unfortunate, I don’t get it myself, how people could be so cruddy just to kill something for a trophy, and leave the real substance to rot. I think all we can do is keep hunting for the right reasons and do it ethically. I think sharing stories like this is good too, rally the troops.
You know, in everything there are going to be some bad apples that spoil it for everyone else. A friend told me a story their hunt the other day. They heard a shot and saw a deer break through thicket and fall dead in a field. When the hunter showed up a few minutes later, he looked, realized it was an illegal buck (not enough points) and turned and hightailed it away from the scene.
Luckily, they went, grabbed the deer, called it in to the PGC, processed the meat and gave it to the land owner, and told them exactly what they saw.
So, at least some of us are out there behaving ourselves!!!
Maine doesnt have a law about how big a deer has to be to shoot it. You can shoot a spike horn, but tag it. If you can kill an animal, you should appreciate it enough to honor it by using it for what it is intended – food.
Thanks Tom!!!
Thanks for stopping by my blog and commenting, Erin-and also thanks for posting about it on your blog. It is much appreciated.