Through the years, I’ve had very few negative comments related to this column. Two weeks ago, a reader found fault with deer hunting. I understand that not everyone comes from a hunting background. They like to see deer. When deer are spotted along the road, they may lower their window and say, “High, pretty babies.” I do that too.
This is the reader’s short message: “If I had my way, big bad hunters, like you, would have to kill a deer with your bare hands. That would make it fair, seeing as the deer has no guns.
You are just like the rest. You think you are a big bad hunter, but you sure a shell are not.”
This is as written. I made no changes. Following is my reply.
I’m sorry you feel that way. Deer & turkey hunting is a heritage to me and many others. I pass on many more deer than I ever harvest. In fact, the property owners where I hunt in southern Indiana are telling me they have too many deer. I’ve hunted there for 20 years and never killed a one. The population has exploded.
A Pittman-Robertson 11 percent excise tax levied at the manufacturing site of anything to do with hunting, plus license fees, reintroduced deer and wild Turkey to Indiana and other states. The only money to make this happen came from hunters.
I grew up in Jefferson County, near Madison. I’m 81. There were no deer when I was a boy, except inside this fenced military facility. I shot my first whitetail within 200 yards of the Jefferson Proving Grounds fence in 1962. That year, there were fewer than 4,000 licensed archery hunters in the Hoosier state.
Our deer harvest is about 115,000 a year. If we stopped hunting them, their population would likely increase dramatically. Mother Nature would then become the one who culls the herd, and she would not be kind. We have fewer hunters, not harvesting enough deer. Something called EHD is killing them in late summer. This is a midge (no-see-um) that hatches from the mud of receding lake & pond levels. It causes the animal to have a high fever. Deer are often found dead in the water.
Another disease is Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD). This fatal disease eats the brain. It has been combated in other states by having sharpshooters and hunters try to kill every deer in a three-county area. Would you prefer this over professional wildlife biologists managing our deer herd? Only two cases of CWD have been found in Indiana. Controlling the population should keep it that way.
After years of not allowing deer hunting in our state parks, the decision was made to change. The majority of the trees that sprouted were being eaten. What would our state parks look like in 80 years? Hunters who are drawn to hunt in state Parks are allowed to harvest three deer, with only one of them having antlers. They must reduce the population to protect the entire ecosystem.
To increase the harvest, our Indiana DNR has developed a “Feed the Hungry” program. I only need one or two deer to eat, but I can harvest up to six if I purchase the required licenses. I can field dress the animal and take it to a processor who will cut and package the carcass. Those who have applied to receive this meat will be notified. The venison is free.
Have you ever driven behind a truck hauling hogs or cattle? Grocery store eggs come from chickens raised in cages so small they can’t turn around. How about those muddy feed lots where the animals are exposed to all kinds of inclement weather? These cruelties are being practiced to put food on your table. Should we kill these animals with our bare hands?
We have a deer reduction zone along I-69 in Madison County. With the proper licenses, hunters are given an extended season and encouraged to harvest 10 deer from one mile of the centerline on either side. Several of these zones exist along busy roadways in Indiana. This initiative aims to reduce deer-vehicle accidents and save human lives.
The next time you see a dead deer along the road, ask yourself if a legal harvest of that animal would have been a better outcome.
Thank you for reading my column. I will be eating venison for dinner.
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