Re: Shot at a deer today at 900 yards, wounded it.
Dead animal carcasses feed scavengers and predators. I guess the question becomes, do you want to help the predators and scavengers or hinder them?
In our area of Upstate NY Coyotes have become a genuine threat to livestock, pets, and small children. The area is literally rotten with deer, but a significant portion of the predators' diet is a result of road kills and hunter negligence. Added to the situation is the poplation of wild coy-dog crossbreeds which result when folks run their dogs free at night.
This is not going away.
The NYSDEC sends mixed messages about these animals; the hunters shoot at big game, wound animals which then elude them, and go home for dinner, having just contributed indirectly to the problem. The animals might not die on their own, but the predators just enjoy the easy kill.
Personally, I think both we and the deer need the predators. The Hunters are not getting the deer population culled in anywhere near the degree that the predators once did with the help of the original native population, both of whom our predecessors drove off.
When I hunt, I hunt for meat, and try for younger, smaller animals, which don't exhibit the strength and toughness that disappoints the diner. I figure the habitat is going to kill this animal anyway, the Winter kills in our area are extensive. Only the really big animals have the mass that allows them to conserve heat and survive the months of near and sub zero temperatures our Winters impose on the herd.
All too many hunters will concentrate on the big ones, precisely the ones the herd needs to have survive winter's challenges and pass on their successsful genetics to the herd's descendants. The net result is an overpopulation (we get it anyway) that is deprived of its best genetic heritage.
Killing the animal is not enough. Its biomass must be removed from the habitat, or it simply goes on to contribute to the other manmade habitat imbalance problems.
If you're gonna hunt, complete the job.
Greg
