Eugene Kane writes for JS Online. In a July 21, 2007 article, “Vick story brings a vicious truth to light“, Kane attacks the savagery of dog fighting in reference to charges recently brought against Atlanta Falcons quarterback, Michael Vick.
While Kane is most assuredly entitled to his opinion of the inhumane treatment of dogs involved in the Vick fiasco, he shows to his readers that he doesn’t get out much and that he also has a real problem with hunting in general when he tries to get a dig in about there not being any differences between deer hunting and dog fighting.
I considered asking readers to weigh in on the differences between deer hunting and dog fighting in terms of animal cruelty. But I was afraid the computer system might crash from all the hunters proclaiming how much more humane their sport is, regardless of the annual carnage unleashed on Bambi’s mother.
Today he begins bailing water out of his sinking boat. The problem here is his pail is also full of holes. At his blog he says he got tons of emails and comments about the statement he made about deer hunting and dog fighting being one in the same.
I wasn’t being judgmental, but I did want to point out that deer hunting is not universally supported by most Wisconsinites I know.
It may be true in his tiny circle of friends and social acquaintances, but Wisconsin is no different than other states. It is a general trend that far fewer city dwellers are hunters than country folk but nationwide, the overwhelming majority of Americans understand and support deer hunting.
He then goes on to try to convince his readers that most deer hunters don’t eat the meat.
AND, the biggest fallacy about deer hunting – in my humble opinion – is the line that most deer hunters eat the meat.
I have lived in this state for more than 20 years, and I know more than a few women who say their husbands hunt every year but their families NEVER eat deer meat.
Perhaps in Mr. Kane’s circle of friends he sees this but it’s not the norm. In areas where hunters are allowed to take more than one deer, many times the extra deer are donated to feed the hungry. There are several organizations set up for this. There are, I’m sure, isolated cases of hunters who may not prefer the taste of venison and give it away or once again, donate it. I know of no one who shoots and leaves a deer to rot. As a matter of fact, there is a growing trend in this country among those who like to eat meat and are looking for naturally grown and healthier meats, to take up hunting for the venison.
The absurdity of Mr. Kane comes out in his idea that we should poison the deer in order to control the population.
I do understand the ecological impact of ‘thinning the herd’ but to be honest, I believe if we poisoned the deer each year, that would be much more humane than blowing their brains out.
Would you like to visit Mr. Kane’s blog and leave a comment? Click here, scroll down to the comments section and read what the not-so-happy commenters have to say.
Mr. Kane should have just stuck to the subject matter of Michael Vick’s involvement in dog fighting and left his bias against hunting out of the article. Then most of his readers would have agreed with him.
Tom Remington
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