I am neither pro or anti on the proposed deer cull in Penticton. So many letters, however, are written strictly out of love of the beautiful animals. But many are also very uninformed.
Some writers have misquoted hunting regulations while others did not seem to know the difference between mule deer and white tailed deer. It is the one that wanted the deer to be shot in the heart that finally prompted me to write. It was obviously not written by a hunter.
Having hunted for over 50 years, I hate to see animals suffer, and seeing deer hit by vehicles brings tears to my eyes. However, while a shot to the heart and lungs is almost certainly fatal, it is not a quick death. I have seen deer travel up to 500 metres with the top half of its heart shot off. Luck was with me and I did not lose that one. A neck or head shot stands a better chance of dropping a deer in its tracks, but only a shot into the brain will result in instant death.
Since nearly losing that one deer I have strictly used head and neck shots. Head shots if at all possible and in every case the death was instantaneous. The last seven shots have resulted in seven deer.
Trapping and shipping deer out will not work as other deer will just move in to the area. The situation is likely to keep getting worse as more and more land is fenced to keep the deer out.
I also notice that not much commotion is raised about the death of bears, cougars or coyotes. I have read that apparently more people are killed by deer that than these predators. Unfortunately I cannot lay my fingers on the book to quote it.
Let’s try to learn to live with these animals.
Bob Richards
Penticton