As hunting season approaches, we often hear stories about how hunters are saving deer from starvation.
The starvation myth is the biggest lie of all time. Hunters' license fees pay the Game Commission and Wildlife Agencies to create the overpopulation of deer through their propagation and wildlife management programs, thereby disrupting natures self-regulation process and in effect breed game animals for shooting as though they were cows for slaughter.
As numerous biological studies show, killing of animal populations actually stimulates the birth rate. Ironically, this is acknowledged by the Game Commission and hunters' and trappers' associations and is understood in their core concept of "maximum sustainable yield" (MSY), i.e., killing animals this year ensures there will be more to kill next year.
Hunting creates and perpetuates the very problem which it claims to solve.
The Game Commission promotes the killing of natural predators. In addition, it increases the food supply by manipulating the habitat, clear-cutting, burning land, cutting down trees to allow the growth of young trees, providing food for the deer so that they will multiply.
During hunting season, there are hundreds of thousands of animals that are crippled and wounded lying terrorized in the woods.
This is particularly true during bowhunting season. Wounded deer which are not tracked down and killed often die slow lingering deaths, during which time they eat little or nothing.
The pursuit and harassment of deer by hunters results in the loss of critical fat reserves. Because of this stress, deer in areas that lack safe sanctuaries eat less than usual.
Most wintering deer are fawns and pregnant does. A fawn which loses its mother during hunting season is more susceptible to malnutrition, starvation and stress-related ailments than a fawn whose mother lives through the winter.
The starvation argument is nothing more than an excuse to hunt deer as hunting creates more problems than it solves.
Silvie Pomicter
Chinchilla
Pirates deserve fate
I can't believe Pittsburgh Pirate owner Bob Nutting said "the fact is that the last two years have been nothing like those of the recent past."
Is this guy serious?
This team is a joke. Every decent player they get, they either trade him for nothing or they don't re-sign them. Jason Bay, Brian Giles and Aramis Ramirez are just a few players they let go, and for what?
They deserve their record, and they'll probably stretch their consecutive losing season streak to at least 25. Let's go Steelers!
Joe Ruggiero
Altoona
Tired of the Mannings
Here we go again.
Just when my poor arms were getting to be the same length, now the Manning boys are making another ad which will cause me to turn my volume down while they are advertising.
Maybe they think they are cute or maybe they are trying to get their names in the Guinness Book of World Records. Or maybe they need more than one bank to keep all their money. I'll wave my white towel and ask, "give me a break."
Marty Turnbaugh
Tyrone
