@Aster Where did anyone say that hordes of deer should have their brains blown out to feed the homeless? I can understand a deep love of animals, but let’s be rational about it. I’m sure there are hunters that are awful people. The bear hunting example above makes me ill. There are probably some hunters who feel a deep, connecting spirituality to the forest and the animals and behave in a noble, responsible way.
Most are probably somewhere in the middle. You cannot deny that overpopulation is a problem and that hunting is, in most areas, the only way to control this. Nothing else is feasible. Spaying or neutering millions of deer across the country would be impossible (who is going to catch them all? who is going to pay for the procedures? who is going to want to do it again each year when fawns are born?) Medical contraceptives, if such a thing exists for deer, would have to be administered regularly to be effective. Again, the sheer numbers of deer make this virtually impossible.
I, too, think deer are beautiful. I don’t want to see them starve, or see them have nothing to eat other than the foliage in my yard. It’s always sad to see one dead by the side of the road, and I think animal trophies are creepy. I also think venison tastes really good, and if someone shoots a deer (or runs over one) that they can’t eat and they give the meat to a food bank or shelter, that person is taking the time and effort to put the meat to good use instead of letting it rot.
And yes, it is a fact. My mom’s husband has given deer meat to shelters and food banks. In a good year, if he takes his limit of deer he can’t fit it all in his freezer, so he donates it. He’s also butchered deer that have been killed by cars and donated that meat. He sounds like a real asshole, doesn’t he?