I have never understood why the very people and government agencies that make policies and mandates regarding wildlife so often turn to violence in their attempts to deal with wild animals. As a person that grew up in Montgomery County Maryland I was horrified to see the attitudes towards deer become so intolerant, hateful and violent. I sat in so many civic and environmental meetings where people never once spoke about the plight of the deer. I am an avid environmentalist, but I do not share the view that mass killing of animals is either ethical or any type of environmentally balanced solution. Deer are often scape goats for our own imbalances.

Why do we think it is normal and acceptable to shoot deer and other wild animals with bullets and arrows? Why is it called management to kill deer with arrows, including pregnant does? Many years ago at Brookside Gardens in Montgomery County Maryland the deer in the gardens were shot to death. I heard horror stories about fawns running to the edge of the fence trying to get out of the gardens. How did Brookside Gardens become a mass murder scene? Unfortunately this was massively supported – accept by humane groups of course. And that is the sickness of the era in which we live.

What we call wildlife management is perceived quite differently by those animals whose lives and families are being killed. Why don’t we look at the issue from their perspective?