I really don't have a problem with hunting, but this is an old, stupid sawhorse. Think for a moment. What did deer do before humans came hunting them with guns? It's not like rifles have been part of the ecosystem for millenia.
There *is* a greater problem with overpopulation now without hunting than 200 years ago, but the reason is that humans screwed with the ecosystem by removing most of the natural predators of the deer. And, yes, I *do* have a problem with that; I'm sympathetic to the emotional reaction farmers have against the Big Bad Wolf, but the reality is that domestic dogs take far more livestock than wolves. (This is going by reports from the current reintroduction program in Idaho. If I'm recalling the numbers correctly, the cost of all wild predators combined to livestock pales in comparison to factors unrelated to predation, chiefly disease.)
I really don't have a problem with hunting, but this is an old, stupid sawhorse. Think for a moment. What did deer do before humans came hunting them with guns? It's not like rifles have been part of the ecosystem for millenia.
There *is* a greater problem with overpopulation now without hunting than 200 years ago, but the reason is that humans screwed with the ecosystem by removing most of the natural predators of the deer. And, yes, I *do* have a problem with that; I'm sympathetic to the emotional reaction farmers have against the Big Bad Wolf, but the reality is that domestic dogs take far more livestock than wolves. (This is going by reports from the current reintroduction program in Idaho. If I'm recalling the numbers correctly, the cost of all wild predators combined to livestock pales in comparison to factors unrelated to predation, chiefly disease.)