Love it or hated it hunting season is here
When the fall colors fade and the cool, winter air starts to move in from the mountains, it can only mean one thing: hunting season ha
s arrived. For many Utahns, the opening day of deer hunting rivals the opening kickoff of football in popularity and anticipation.
This Saturday, tens of thousands will wake up in the wee hours of the morning and take to the hills in pursuit of the wily mule deer. The morning of deer hunt is the only time of the year, other than Christmas, that young men and women can inexplicably wakeup at 4 a.m. and actually be in a good mood. Thousands of trucks and sport utility vehicles will get their chance to leave the pavement of the city streets and snake their way up mountain peaks and down hidden canyons.
For thousands of years, hunting was a necessity for survival throughout the world. Nowadays, it is fairly safe to say that most people who hunt do not depend on venison for their survival. Still, most avid hunters will argue that it is no less a right and necessity today as it was a hundred years ago.
Oct. 22 is the opening day for general buck deer hunt. In Utah, in order to hunt big game, one must complete a hunter education-training course to learn the basics about firearm safety and the laws pertaining to hunting.
A person must also apply for a hunting tag in January and then wait a few months to see if he/she has drawn out or not. And the price tag to go out and take a deer? Forty-five bucks.
The management of wildlife in Utah has been delegated to the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources. Their annual budget is about 48 million dollars, the majority of which comes directly from the sale of hunting tags. Only 7 percent of the DWR’s budget is revenue from general taxes. According to the DWR Web site, for the year 2000 there were a total of 103,336 hunters, harvesting 37,551 deer.
However common deer hunting may be in Utah, there are still plenty of people who unwaveringly take issue with the sport. From the unadorned emotional appeals to the purely scientific issues, anti-hunting arguments are taking on more and more legitimacy.
More recently, some states have had to kill thousands of deer and elk in an attempt to contain a deadly disease called chronic wasting disease.
According to the DWR, chronic wasting disease is a neurological illness that has been compared to mad cow disease in its symptoms. Although fatal to infected wildlife, the contractibility and the effects of the disease to humans are still being studied.
The spread of the disease can be partially attributed to the dense population of deer now found in most states. Contrary to popular belief, there are far more deer in Utah today than there were a hundred years ago. In 1908, hunting was stopped for fear of further damage to the scarce deer herds in the region. Deer populations were at a maximum during the early 1960s. According to DWR reports in 1961, more than 132,000 deer were harvested.
Deer herds in eastern states have seen an even greater explosion in numbers, giving rise to criticism from environmentalist groups such as PETA and the Animal Protection Institute that conservation efforts have catered to the demands of hunters by recklessly increasing herd numbers. Because of overpopulation, diseases such as CWR might now spread in epidemic proportions and cause even greater damage than they would under previous ideal animal populations.
This quote, taken from the official PETA website, may have some validity to some people: “To attract more hunters – and their money, federal and state agencies implement programs-often termed “wildlife management” or “conservation” programs-to boost the number of “game” species so that there are plenty of animals for hunters to kill and, consequently, plenty of revenue from the sale of hunting licenses.”
Another problem with hunting, some say, is that it is simply inhumane. Trent Lacey, a sophomore in sociology, said, “Hunting is just sad. How would you like to be chased around by some crazy man with a gun?”
While many hunters would simply respond by explaining that hunting is necessary to keep deer numbers in check, it is doubtful that the so-called “thrill of the hunt” has anything to do with the fulfillment of civic conservation duties.
But then again, is assigning the task of killing an animal to some worker in a slaughterhouse any less humane? One could argue that in appeasing our conscience, we only further distance ourselves from nature.
Despite their differences, non-hunters and hunters alike generally find common ground on many hunting issues. For instance, so called “canned hunts” are generally frowned upon. Already outlawed in some states, this form of hunting is generally viewed as a disgrace to the sport of hunting.
Jace Waddoups, a sophomore and mechanical engineering major, said, “I think hunting is a good sport as long as the rules are observed.” The majority of hunters do abide by the laws and hunt ethically. But the misconduct of a few leads to criticism for the entire group.
For more information one both sides of the hunting issue, check www.peta.org and www.wildlife.utah.gov.
– abclarke@cc.usu.edu