BY
JOE MIELE
GOT A QUESTION FOR UNCLE JOE?
YOU CAN E-MAIL IT TO
ASKUNCLEJOE@HOTMAIL.COM.
WOULD YOU RATHER SNAIL MAIL
YOUR QUESTION?
SEND IT TO: ASK UNCLE JOE, C/O WILDLIFE WATCH, BOX 562, NEW PALTZ, NY
12561.
UNCLE JOE GETS A LOT OF MAIL
SO DON’T BE OFFENDED IF HE CANNOT ANSWER YOUR QUESTION IN THE COURIER.
HECK, HE’S GOTTA WORK A DAY JOB, TOO.
Letters are printed as received. They are unedited.
Dear Uncle Joe:
like you said wildlife is for everyone to look at i just choose to look
at it in my scope and on my plate in front of me . and in some cases it
could mean the meals some can eat or dont you ever see the donation
centers that we donate to for kids are able to eat and not go hungry o i
for got you probley make a couple 100 0000.00 a year so you go and just
look at your wildlife with what you want and just leave us hunters alone
we pay are taxs and we pay for are permits and other stuff so go and
stop some pouchers. cause i love the out doors and every thing in it .
Lloyd M.
Mead, CO
Dear Lloyd:
Forgive me if I misunderstood, but you mentioned that hunters donate
deer meat so kids will not go hungry? Again, it looks like you’ve been
misled by the game agencies if this is what you believe. Since hunters
kill a lot more animals than they eat, they concocted a scheme to make
it appear that “sportsmen” keep people from starving by donating their
surplus “game” to the “poor and needy.” Unknown to the public is that
the USDA does not inspect “wild” meat from these programs. With unknowns
such as where and what the animal had eaten, the amount of parasites and
bacteria, and unsanitary handling, the USDA decided not to get involved
in the mess.
Recently, a squirrel in New Jersey was found to have a high
level of lead in its muscle tissue, leading local legislators to wonder
about the safety of eating animals killed in the popular hunting ground
where the squirrel was found.
Would you buy food from your local market if you knew it was not
inspected and found safe for consumption? Understanding the risks
involved with consuming uninspected meat, the New York State Department
of Agriculture and Markets wrote “The poor and homeless are entitled to
receive the same level of health protections from government as those
more fortunate.
We do not take issue with hunters who choose to consume
game meat which they have killed since they do so at their own risk.
However, the general public should not be exposed unwittingly to the
potential food safety risks of consuming wild game...”
Hunters like deer meat donation programs because they allow them to
exercise their violent tendencies against harmless wildlife under the
guise of “helping the hungry,” but Uncle Joe questions the value of
programs that encourage senseless violence against nature while
simultaneously risking the health of the community.
Peace,
Uncle Joe
Dear Uncle Joe:
Your web site is absolutely ridiculous... It is a national heritage to
hunt all types of wildlife. One of the many points that can be made is
that there are over 100 times as many deer in the United States than
there were when Christopher Columbus first discovered America. The
decreasing amount of habitat and food is leading to an increase in
starvation, deer getting hit by cars and territorial dispute in the
wild. GET A CLUE... I’m a hunter and apparently I am much more humane
than anyone that would support this site.
Matthew C.
Morgantown, WV
Dear Matthew:
Thanks for telling us that there are exponentially more deer now than
when Christopher Columbus didn’t discover America. (How can you
“discover” a place that was already inhabited? But I digress.) If you
look at the statistics, the size of the nationwide deer herd exploded
about 100 years ago, right about the time when deer became managed by
hunting clubs masquerading as state wildlife agencies. Coincidence?
Hardly. This is by design, my animal-killing friend. I’ve been through
this before, but the point is important enough that it should be
reviewed time and again.
State game agencies manage hunted animal
populations for maximum sustainable yield, not for herd health or
greater biodiversity. To confirm this simply talk to any biologist at
the West Virginia DNR - to make it easy on you their phone number is
(304) 558-2003. If you’re truly concerned about what you say you are,
you should get involved in your city and do what you can to stop urban
sprawl - the very thing that is taking habitat away from wildlife.
Peace,
Uncle Joe
Dear Uncle Joe:
I have teenage drivers and I would rather see a few deer culled than
have my child hit a deer running across the street and possibly maim or
kill my child. That is a more real threat than a possible stray bullet
in the woods.
Amanda G.
Asheville, NC
Dear Amanda:
Unfortunately it seems that you’ve fallen for the hunters’ lie that
hunting reduces deer-car collisions. When you look at the facts, you
will see that the exact opposite is true - hunting increases deer/car
collisions because it increases the deer population.
Please put your logic cap on for a moment. Whenever they open their
mouths, game agencies will tell you that hunting reduces deer
populations. After they stop yapping about that, they will then tell you
that deer are overpopulated and need to have their numbers reduced. Wait
a second – I thought you just told me that deer hunting reduces deer
populations? If this is true, why, since you’ve been hunting them for
more than 100 years, are the deer *still* overpopulated?
Regardless of what they tell you, state game agencies are not trying to
reduce deer populations. Because deer overpopulation keeps DNR employees
employed and contributing to their 401k plans (if they’re smart), they
must look at the deer herd in such a way that allows them to hunt X
number of animals while ensuring that the herd grows next year, so they
can continue to cry about overpopulation and the “need” for a hunt.
Disgusting? Absolutely. But you have to realize that these people have
their jobs on the line, and they will do anything, including increasing
wildlife populations at the expense of increased deer/car collisions, in
order to ensure that they are employed next year. So if you are upset
about deer/car collisions, blame the problem on the state wildlife
hunting agencies; they are the ones who have made the problem as serious
as it is now.
How do we prevent deer/car collisions? First, people should obey posted
speed limits and drive responsibly. These two things will reduce
deer/car accidents more than anything else.
Second, abolish hunting.
This will end the artificial growth of the deer herd and deer
populations will shrink due to natural attrition.
Third, get politically
involved in your community and create a movement to have your town
install Strieter-Lite headlight reflectors on the sides of roads that
deer have been known to cross. These headlight reflectors have been
proven to reduce deer/vehicle collisions by up to 90% in some cases!
Reducing speed limits on particularly dangerous stretches of roadway and
enforcing those new speed limits will also help.
Since the DNR has been an absolute failure in reducing the deer herd
(remember, they really don’t want to do this because it could cost them
their jobs) other things have to be tried. It has been said that the
definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, each
time expecting a different result. The great minds at the DNR seem not
to realize this.
I too would be concerned if I had teenage drivers in my home, but I know
that hunting is not going to make them safe. Hunting will endanger their
lives because it puts more deer in the roads during the hours of dusk
and dawn, when most collisions occur.
Further, car-deer-collisions spike
during hunting season when deer are forced to flee onto the roads and
highways by hunters who are pursuing them. Don’t believe me? Check with
your auto insurance agency. They will confirm what I’ve just said.
Peace,
Uncle Joe
[You can also see
www.all-creatures.org/cash/cc2004-sp-huntingincr.html
and check out our article about this.]
