ASK AUNT ANNE – Spring 2022
Dear Aunt Anne:
I don’t understand how people can complain that we are killing all the deer when, no matter how many we kill, there are more and more. And it’s not just deer that seem to multiply because of hunting, it’s coyotes, too. So please stop saying that we’re wiping out wildlife populations.
Sincerely puzzled, Harry F.
New Paltz, NY
Dear Puzzled Harry,
C.A.S.H. can explain to you in simple terms why every time you kill a deer, more will appear the following season. State game agencies have figured out the biology and behavior of various species of wildlife to the advantage of hunters and hunting. Let’s look first at coyotes. Coyotes in natural packs consist of an alpha male and an alpha female. Without hunting, only the alpha pair will mate and have young, and the other members will help to raise the pups.
Once an alpha male or alpha female is killed or trapped, or otherwise removed from the pack, ALL the coyotes begin to mate and have young. Thus, the population of coyotes will increase.
In the case of deer, since deer are not monogamous, and a male deer can impregnate many females, the ratio of males to females will determine the number of offspring for the following hunting season. If the game agencies are trying to build numbers of deer for hunters’ guns or other weapons, they will want hunters to take males only and leave females to give birth. The fewer males there are, the more food will be left for the females so that they can have healthier offspring.
This is really the short of it, Puzzled. If you’re still puzzled, I suggest that you take a look at many of our articles for a more thorough understanding. You will find it clear that hunting is a business that involves our state government and the firearms and archery businesses. Once that basic fact is understood, you’ll no longer be puzzled.
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Dear Aunt Anne;
I really wanted to talk to Uncle Joe, but I guess I have to ask you, since Joe is doing TNR these days.
I love cats, too, but I can see how those little furry hunters can affect the ecology of my backyard woods. Just yesterday, I saw a cat playing with a chipmunk and when he saw me run- ning at him to save the chipmunk, he ran away.
How can you be against human hunters but be for cat hunters? I feel that you are being hypocritical.
Cat M.
Florham Park, NJ
Dear Cat,
We reached out to Uncle Joe and he pounced at the opportunity to address your letter.
Hi Cat. Nice name! I hope this doesn’t get too confusing, but there’s a huge difference between human hunters and cat hunters. First consider this – domesticated cats are obligate carnivores, meaning that they need the nutrients in meat to stay healthy. Humans don’t need to eat any meat, and studies show that when we don’t eat any at all, our risk of dying from any cause plummets (https://www.nih.gov/news-events/ nih-research-matters/vegetarian-diets-linked-lower-mortality).
Then consider this: TNR (the process of trapping feral cats, having them spayed/neutered, vaccinated, and ear tipped for identification) humanely reduces the number of outdoor domesticated cats and as a result, reduces the number of cats killed in animal shelters. Spaying/ neutering renders them permanently unable to reproduce, and returning them to the area where they were living prevents something known as “the vacuum effect” – when new cats move into an area to take advantage of the shelter and food that is available but not being used by the cats who were trapped and removed. Spaying and neutering also makes the cats better citizens in that they no longer have the desire to roam an area for breeding opportunities, and are less likely to fight among themselves and exhibit other behaviors that often prompt calls to animal control for the purpose of trapping and removing them. Additionally, TNR doesn’t end with the neutering and return of the cats, it also maintains feral cat colonies through proper feeding and sanitation to keep messes and hunting behaviors to a minimum. With regular sources of fresh food and water cats are less likely to hunt and this reduces their impact on local wildlife. Cats are individuals and some will indeed continue to hunt, but like other predators their efforts will result in strengthening wildlife populations because they target the old and weak, while the healthiest and strongest animals do not become their dinner and are able to reproduce. TNR is good for cats and for wildlife and when we humanely address the situation everyone wins.
More food for thought: Game agencies don’t manage game animals for cats to kill with various types of firearms including semi-automatic weapons that use lead ammunition. Cats also don’t kill each other, whereas humans often kill and wound other humans in what are called “hunting accidents.” Just take a look at the many accidents that C.A.S.H. has documented over the years https://abolishsporthunt ing.org/hunting-accidents/ — and these reports are still just a fraction of what actually happens during hunting “seasons.” When and if cats start buying AR-15s and crossbows to kill for fun, we will definitely reconsider our pro-TNR position.
Uncle Joe
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Dear Aunt Anne,
I’m so fed up with anti-hunters who think they’re holier than thou. I grew up in a hunting family and we were subsistence hunters. We ate what my daddy killed and we were happy to have the meat. If not for my daddy’s hunting we all would have starved. Is this what you think is ok? That a family of humans can starve to death so that a deer can live? I think you people are totally upside down.
Harvey H. Madison, WI
Dear Harvey,
C.A.S.H. stands for the Committee to Abolish Sport Hunting. I emphasize “Sport.” Please understand that the game agencies couldn’t care less about you, your family, or the other subsistence hunters. To them, you are a drop in the bucket when it comes to making money for them. You go into the woods one time a year with your old muzzleloader, you use one lead bullet from a box that you purchased 10 years ago, and you go back home, not to show up for another year! If all hunters were like you, the entire hunting economy would collapse.
You and your ilk are less than 1% of the entire hunting population and you do nothing for the firearms business. I’m sure they see you as moochers off the managed deer that they work so hard to overpopulate. If you’re hunting legally with a permit, then I guess you contribute a tiny something since the portion of the firearms excise tax they get is based in part on the number of hunting permits they sell, but if you aren’t getting a permit, you are doing nothing for them at all.
Does that mean that we think you’re ok? Not at all. We’re very sorry that you are eating meat when there are so many great veggies to eat and so many great meat analogs. Seriously, we’re concerned about your health, so please look into other food options. I know that old habits are hard to break but do give it some thought.
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