Deer Hunting Protest - Essay Example

Deer Hunting Protest The topic of deer hunting is one of great discussions today. Many goagainst hunting, protesting that deer, in one way possible must be treated fair. We can't force them, though. But the way deer invades human properties raise a question if it is still humane to let them or shoot them. Several groups try to protest against deer hunting. But several groups, at the same time, continue the local way of dealing with deer. Although hunters can take pleasure in the thrill of the sport and the vast out-of-doors, hunters must also know of the threat involved regarding hunting and the effect they have on deer as well as their surroundings environment. Hunters should also be sure to stay within their games legal limits and regulations. The deer hunting season started all over New York State in this first week of October. In the Adirondacks, the normal season began the very next day at the same time the bow season of hunting deer also started in the southern zone as well as in Westchester County. A pilot program is planed for the deer hunting season in New York to develop the constitution of bucks inside 4 Wildlife Management Units (WMU's) which is situated mainly in Ulster and Sullivan Counties. The new set of laws require that bucks which are handed over to Wildlife Management Units 3C, 3H, 3J and 3K consist of 1 antler along with three point each one is a inch long. This limitation is can also be used in archery, regular and muzzle-loading seasons (Carson 7). For approximately 100 years, a lawful buck had been a deer having one antler which is three inches long. Other states began trails on with plans to alter the age limit of the hunted bucks, and these programs usually generate bucks that live longer and grow bigger antlers. If a hunter does hunt a deer, the law states that he has to report the kill by means of the tax free DECALS game reporting method before forty eight hours. The finding of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in the wild white-tailed deer flock a few years ago in Oneida County encouraged the DEC to accept set of laws to assist in minimizing the spread of the illness. The rules created a CWD restraint area in parts of Oneida as well as Madison Counties. Each and every one wild white-tailed deer which is killed by a hunter in a containment region in various open hunting seasons should be given in for investigation at the check station of the DEC by five o'clock in the evening on the day after it was hunted. Deer might not be skinned or slaughtered. No parts of the body of the hunted deer, apart from those removed as part of standard dressing, of the field might be removed prior to examination. It's the first time hunters have been allowed in the area, it's stirring up plenty of controversy. Some two million Marylanders use water from the Loch Raven Reservoir. The land around the water is a popular place for deer's. (http://insidecharmcity.com/2008/08/29/anti-deer-hunting-activists-propose-contraceptive-darts-at-loch-raven). Deer Hunting Season Dates for 2008 Regular Season Bow hunting Special Firearms Season Northern Zone (yellow shaded) Oct. 18 - Dec. 7 Sept. 27 - Oct. 17 Southern Zone (light blue shaded) Nov. 15 - Dec. 7 Oct. 18 - Nov. 14 Dec. 8 - Dec. 16 Westchester County (mustard shaded) Oct. 18 - Dec. 31 (bow hunting only) same as Regular Season Suffolk County (dark blue shaded) Oct. 1 - Dec. 31 (bow hunting only) Jan. 5 - Jan. 30, 2009 (Weekdays only Special permit required) ( http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/28605.html) They have been fighting against the cull for eight years they consider it to be a barbaric slaughter of harmless deer. A group animal rights group Save Our Wildlife has been the most active protester against deer hunting. They consider their protest to be the voice of the deer. As to them it is disgusting, the idea of these lovely deer being hunted. Legal Aspect In New York City, another law which is very different from the rest of the country is that bills equalize the NYPD's duty to guarantee the public safety with citizens' right to peacefully gather. If included into the law, the bill will be more essential then parade permit rules which NYPD implemented a year ago which, the law was designed by City Council oversight and consist of a group of fifty plus to get a permit. At present, anyone in a group like this having no permit may be arrested Protests Against Deer Hunters Attacking Deer Hunters With Ski Poles An article in New York Times gave an over view of how Protesters, in New York, attacked deer hunters with ski poles, and the whole scene was telecasted live- the protest was a violent exhibition of rage against the hunters. Threats The deer hunts is immensely intense issue this deer season in New York, protesters and some of those concerned gave nasty phone calls to the people in charge calling them "Bambi Killer" and gave threats as well. Stalking Hunters In Protest Another protest took place in which 14 animal-rights protesters were arrested for trespassing when they reached Yale-Myers Forest to protest against annual deer hunt. These protestors stalked the hunters then gathered meeting the hunters head-on and attempting to scare the deer away. A lot of of them had flash cameras with them and gruesome photographs of recently deer which were shot by the hunters, stalked hunters in the Yale-Myers Forest in an endeavor to disturb the beginning of annual controlled deer hunt in the forest in New York. The protesters, moved about noisily throughout the woods in an intentional attempt to scare away deer, however they were faced with the protests, pushes and gestures from a few of the stalked hunters. Rude Signs In Protest In opposition to the forthcoming deer season in New York, deer hunters turned out to be the hunted- as many animal-rights activists groups spoke loudly into bullhorns and carried signs that read Hunters are murderers. Use Of Deer Repellent Or Human Hair To combat the upcoming hunting season in New York PETA place "no hunting" signs on the reversion in New York where the hunting season is going to take place; they protested to the organized hunt by means of scattering deer repellent and human hair on the hunting grounds. Protest By Protestors Chaining Themselves Two women were arrested after they chained themselves to the front doors of a Catholic diocese building to protest the authorized killing of deer on church property. "We're appealing to members of the diocese who respect God's teachings of love and compassion of all creatures to halt the inhumane deer killing," Deirdre Guelke, a Hunter College student from Queens, said in a statement before her arrest. Guelke and Therese Ferreira chained themselves to the entrance of the Diocese of Rockville Centre offices to protest the deer cull at the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception and in Caumsett State Historic Park. A marksman with a shotgun has been hunting the deer because of an increase in the number of car accidents and near misses with the animals on local roads. The deer meat has been used to stock a food pantry (http://amywelborn.typepad.com/openbook). March Against Deer Hunt Organized via the Initiative for the elimination of Blood-sports, the march went through the main shopping streets and the city centre for most of the day. Activists came from many states. The march was led by drummers who beat the drums as the protesters sung anti protest songs. Information regarding the absurdity and cruelty of hunting was shouted out loud over a sound system which was set on top of two cars. However, what actually made the march a hit was a man dressed up as a deer and each two hundred meters the deer was attacked by hunters, who killed the animal with a loud gun shot. A coffin was carried by four men who were dressed in black and represented the sorrow felt by all the participants of the march for the 10,000 animal victims of hunts, which take place in New York every year. (Pearce p 2). Harassing Hunters Near Property In New York an animal activist harassed hunters who were hunting near his land. He was arrested for harassment of the deer hunter. On January 1 the New York Police arrested a man who confronted law following deer hunters on a next-door property and drove back and forth down his property line whilst firing a 30-30 rifle. Soon, NRP officials detained him. He was arrested for interfering with hunters, having loaded weapon in a car, reckless endangerment, and distressing the public peace. Animal Liberation Font Targeted Mayor In Protest The mayor of Lloyd Harbor, NY, has again come under attack by animal liberation activists for his support of the annual deer slaughter there. Last year, the New York State Parks Department suspended the Long Island deer massacre days after the town's mayor, Leland M Hairr of 6 Beech Hill Rd., Huntington, NY was targeted by the Animal Liberation Front. The so-called hunt allows hunters to shoot the deer point blank with shotguns, in a misguided attempt to limit the deer population at Caumsett State Park. (http://www.animalliberationfront.com/News) Protest against Deer Hunt The government planned shutting down the South Mountain Reservation over a number of days to permit skilled sharpshooters to reduce the population of deer. The hunters hid in bushes and managed to kill more than 200 deer in just 8 days in 2008 (Teague 58). In this hunting season the county administration wishes to do the same thing. County officers say the hunt is essential to care for the vegetation in the park and reduce the number to deer killed by car accidents. PETA have been protesting against the hunt. The protestors are in opposition of the town official's decision to hunt the deer, whereas others agree with the officials that New Jersey requires coming up with a number of methods to manage the deer population as it has increased. The protestors stated that the deer hunted in the last season were not hunted in a humane manner. They state that these "marksmen" do not shoot a bullet in the head of the deer, they die painfully. PETA sated in their protests that a number of the "kill" as well as fawns which weighed approximately thirty five pounds were shot but they were not found and they went out onto the street and thus killed in a car accident after which they fall in a puddle of their own blood whilst still alive, and in sometimes they even become the pray of unleashed pit bull (Heavey 7). Apart from this keeping in mind the density of the population near the reservation protestors say that a wandering bullet could easily infiltrate a home, a window of a car or an innocent bystanders head. PETA sates that parents should think of the message they are giving children residing in this that beautiful, essentially gentle animals are allowed to be killed, that guns and bullets are good solutions and should be used, and that an individual for whatsoever cause can potentially influence an bright body of people to allow him have his means in continuing this butchery. Play Mocking Protest Animal rights activists who performed a play mocking Yale University's Thanksgiving Day deer hunt were arrested for harassing hunters at the Ivy League school's forest, officials said. About 50 animal rights proponents gathered at Thursday at Yale's 7,800-acre forest preserve by dawn where the third annual hunt to reduce the growing deer herd opened hunting season, officials said. Yale officials said the hunt was organized to reduce the number of deer that feed on tree seedlings in the forest. Yale markets the lumber grown in the forest. Several people who performed the ''woodland theater'' dressed as deer and others as hunters, said a spokesman for the group, Marsha Rabe of New Haven (http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.htmlres=9A0DE1DC123BF93BA15752C1A960948260&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss). What Protesters Get Out Of the Protests Very few animal rights group protest for the deer out of guanine concern, most of them just want to be on the media or for the sake of publicity. These groups are usually run on funds of famous people so they don't even have to use any of their own money for the cause. Protesters place warm bodies in addition to heavy feet out there on behalf of a concern, taking up space as well as a lot of time, giving the cause real voices and faces who are concerned regarding the reason to go and protest only for a little time, and are a representative for it (Hickey p1). As a result the media finds out when a protest event takes place. Spectators notice when a protest event takes place. Politicians know when a protest event takes place. Moreover if the protest is done well it attract attention to the cause with a new point of view. Conclusion Hunting was said to be the only job way back that we considered today as a leisure or part of the festivity. The thing is many of us today don't even see the sense why deer hunting is essential. If hunting way back wasn't illegal, then why can't we do it today just the same way And it must be as cruel and gore as it is today. Several laws had been given for hunters on hunting deer, and that's enough. People shoot deer because they seem to be around. If we can't stop their population and leave them at the roads blocking the way, or trying to infest our properties, would we allow them If one day deer can cause too much catastrophe to the society, there won't be anybody against hunting, for deer are not like "Bambi" either. Work Cited Carson, Larry County to continue deer hunting: Poll shows support for thinning the herd in undeveloped parks. Baltimore Sun, 2008; p7 Heavey, Bill; Hunter's Heart, Field & Stream Vol. 111 Issue 10, 2007 p7 Hickey, Andrew. Deer, bear take is up this season, Ulster County Press (Stone Ridge, NY), 01/07/2008; p1 http://amywelborn.typepad.com/openbook retrieved on 24th November 2008 http://insidecharmcity.com/2008/08/29/anti-deer-hunting-activists-propose-contraceptive-darts-at-loch-raven/ retrieved on 24th November 2008 http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.htmlres=9A0DE1DC123BF93BA15752C1A960948260&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss retrieved on 24th November 2008 http://www.animalliberationfront.com/News retrieved on 24th November 2008 http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/28605.html retrieved on 24th November 2008 Pearce, Michael. Deer-hunting rules come up for discussion . Wichita Eagle, The (KS), 01/06/2008 p 2 Teague, Matthew. A more dangerous game. Preview, Sports Illustrated, 11/24/2008, Vol. 109 Issue 20, p58-66 Appendix: Deer Seasons - Regular and Archery Source: http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/28605.html Read More