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| Haudenosaunee hunters in Short Hills. Note the deer in the back of the truck |
Let’s say you’ve noticed that a stray cat has been hanging around your backyard. You love animals – who doesn’t? – and you want to help him out if you can. Maybe he’s a feral cat and you’ve tried getting close to him but he’s just too clever for that.
Still, over time, and because you’re putting out food for
him, he’s become used to your presence. He tolerates you. You’re kind of like
his guardian angel, and naturally you look forward to seeing him out there every
day. Regardless of what he thinks about you, you’re his friend.
So how would you feel to learn, upon coming home one night, that your friend, this stray cat who calls your backyard home, was shot through the head, killed by a neighbour who perhaps didn’t share your love of cats, or just enjoyed killing animals?
This happened today to a friend of mine. Only the victim wasn’t a cat. It was a whitetail deer. He was killed in Short Hills Provincial Park during the first day of the now semi-annual First Nations deer hunt. My friend, protesting at the gates of the park, instantly recognized the antlers sticking out of the back of one of the hunter’s trucks as it left the park tonight.
So how would you feel to learn, upon coming home one night, that your friend, this stray cat who calls your backyard home, was shot through the head, killed by a neighbour who perhaps didn’t share your love of cats, or just enjoyed killing animals?
This happened today to a friend of mine. Only the victim wasn’t a cat. It was a whitetail deer. He was killed in Short Hills Provincial Park during the first day of the now semi-annual First Nations deer hunt. My friend, protesting at the gates of the park, instantly recognized the antlers sticking out of the back of one of the hunter’s trucks as it left the park tonight.
The buck, with his incredibly massive and unusual looking rack,
was a frequent visitor to my friend’s backyard, which borders the park in the
south end. In fact, my friend had
showed me pictures of this magnificent animal only a few days earlier. Now he
was dead, because someone else saw him as a THING to eat.
Had this been a cat or dog, the public would be up in arms and
demanding the killer be charged with animal cruelty. But because it’s a deer,
the law says it’s okay. How is this okay? How is a deer any different than a
cat or dog? Aren’t they all mammals and, given the choice, would rather live
than die?
What kind of world do we live in where someone can kill
someone else’s friend and get away with it? Why is it someone’s “right” to end
another’s life?
A friend of a friend of mine was killed today. The killers are celebrating the death of this animal even as I write these words but as far as I’m concerned, this is a sad day for humanity.
A friend of a friend of mine was killed today. The killers are celebrating the death of this animal even as I write these words but as far as I’m concerned, this is a sad day for humanity.
