Unfettered Letters

Bow hunting deer cruel, unnecessary

Rep. Anthony Brown has sponsored House Bill 2342 to create two bow-hunting seasons at Shawnee Mission Park to reduce the number of deer (3/9, Local). This is groundwork for a biannual slaughter of these creatures. Introducing this bill before the park board's findings and promised public forum is an attempt to circumvent discussion.

Bow hunting is an unnecessarily cruel method of killing. Some injured animals suffer hours or days before dying.

Georgia Mueller's suggestion (3/3, Letters) to connect the parkway system to allow the deer to migrate from area to area is an alternative. Kansas is getting a stimulus package from the government that could be used to create jobs building a green corridor.

Anita Colman
Mission

Control deer herds with hunts

We are sure we are not the only ones tired of hearing about the deer population getting out of control and roaming into the suburbs (11/25, Local, “Deer numbers raise worry; Shawnee Mission Park says herd threatens fragile ecosystems and the health of visitors”).

There is a very easy solution to this problem: managed deer hunts. It has worked at such parks as Burr Oak Woods and Fleming Park. And for a double winning situation, the meat can be donated to Share the Harvest and help feed our hungry.

Yet many people are against the killing of Bambi’s parents. If these people don’t support these hunts, then they have no reason to be angry about these deer eating their flowers and rubbing on their trees.

There is a food chain in nature, and if one population gets out of control in this circle, we’ll see the consequences. We are the top of the food chain, and it is our responsibility to manage it.

Nick Parks

Kansas City

Matt Anderson

Kansas City

Demise of free hunting permits

The Missouri Department of Conservation and the Commission have lost touch with their constituency if they persist in doing away with free permits to small landowners (10/31, Sports, “Landowners fume as free permits end”).

Being a small landowner, I still buy permits for hunting, because I also hunt on other land. However, I have used free permits for my teenage son as he was learning to hunt. I felt I could better control who and how many hunt my property, thereby making a safer place for my son to hunt.

The article states this will affect 75,000 landowners. Each landowner, their families, and friends and relatives should vote to provide backlash at the ballot box, in response to taking away this privilege.

We as small landowners should vote to thwart Department of Conservation initiatives at the polls, and if another agency wants the tax money that currently benefits the department, we should vote to give it to that agency.

This is the response of a small landowner who has improved habitat for wildlife on his land, who is a hunter safety instructor and who has bought hunting permits all of his life.

Don Smith
Blue Springs

When chickens shoot wolves

Like most Americans I was surprised by Sen. McCain’s choice of running mate. I can only guess his reasons to ask Gov. Palin may be an infusion of fresh blood and equality on the ticket. At first blush, Palin looks like the perfect choice to appeal to sportsmen and women. She is from the beautiful wild state of Alaska and fancies herself as an outdoors person. I would love to enjoy the outdoor sports in her state, as I have hunted and fished all my adult life. However, Palin very recently helped defeat a moratorium to halt hunting by airplane. Using small aircraft people locate game — most often wolves — then run the animal to exhaustion or fly low enough to shoot from the plane, most often wounding the animal.

When the animal is no longer able to move, the plane lands and the shooter kills the wounded or exhausted animal. This is not sportsmanship. These tactics are unethical and barbaric, even more so than cock fighting. At least in a cockfight the chickens are on equal ground. In this distasteful method of killing, the chickens stay in a plane. Therefore, I question Palin’s fairness and fresh blood considering her endorsement of such an unfair blood sport.

Ken Strange
Kansas City

Learn to live with coyotes

While it is unfortunate that coyotes in Leawood have attacked and killed several dogs in recent months, the coyotes are not to blame for the incidents. To prevent future incidents, our own behavior should be modified. Just as we lock our doors and install security systems to guard against unwanted human activity, we also should humanely protect our property against unwanted wildlife encounters.

Keeping our cats indoors and our dogs leashed will prevent them from being attacked. Securing trash containers and clearing rotting fruit and dense weeds from our property will go a long way toward keeping coyotes away from our homes.

Trapping and killing coyotes is cruel and ineffective. By taking simple measures we can ensure that coyotes will not become a safety threat. To learn how to peacefully coexist with wildlife, visit www.AbolishSportHunting.com.

Joe Miele
President, Committee to Abolish Sport Hunting
Maywood, N.J.

Feral hogs problem

The quantity of feral hogs around Clinton Reservoir is much greater than the governing authorities are admitting (2/1, Letters).

While deer hunting this year, we observed three large groups on different areas of the lake. The animals varied in size from yearlings to very large. There were both typical barnyard-type hogs and hairy, wild-looking boars. The largest group had an estimated 75 to 100 animals in it.

These animals are not native to Kansas, and they cause massive destruction to the areas they frequent, not to mention to the abundant natural wildlife of the area.

The biggest fear is from the diseases they are known to carry and the chance of diseases getting into our livestock and spreading.

I have sent numerous e-mails to both the state Department of Wildlife and Parks and the Kansas Livestock Association about letting hunters take some of these animals. But I feel my comments are falling on deaf ears.

Using sharpshooters and helicopters is a huge waste of time and taxpayer dollars.

I wonder what the governing agencies would say if they knew we also saw a group of 15 or so 10 miles south of where they think the animals roam.

Tim Allen
Overland Park

Shooting wild pig

Kansas has a wild pig problem, so I read (1/26, Local, Across Kansas). The new idea on how to eliminate feral swine in the Clinton Lake area is to use gunmen in a helicopter. What a bad idea!

Other animals, perhaps humans, could be accidentally sniped. It seems like a misuse of helicopters.

I think there should be a legal hunting season for these hogs, just as there are designated hunting regulations for deer, pheasants and other wildlife.

This would make the state or county a bit of income from hunting permits and would give the prolific hunters another activity.

Kenna G. Sorden
Kansas City

Cheney irresponsible

I have been teaching my 10-year-old son about firearms and safe handling practices since the first of the year.

I have given him copies of the “Ten Commandments of Firearms Safety” and other information from various Web sites, including the National Rifle Association.

When we heard about Dick Cheney’s accident, I asked my son what he thought. His reply was, “Dad, you are responsible for the projectile from the time you pull the trigger until the final impact.”

I was proud that he was able to understand the safety implications of the vice president’s irresponsible firearm handling.

He then asked me what the “stamp” was that Cheney didn’t have. I told him that it was part of the hunting license and that the taking of game without a license was called poaching.

This was a great teaching moment for my son and me.

I also was able to teach him that a real man owns up to his mistakes immediately and doesn’t have to have someone hold his hand.

Michael Wegley
Ozawkie, Kan.

Cheney hunting accident

Six hunters are hunting quail on a hedge row. I am in the middle of three on the right side.

A covey gets up. I have my gun up ready to shoot as they break cover.

Suddenly the man on my left jumps in front of my gun just as birds break cover in front of me. Did I pull the trigger? No. I was lucky and had good reflexes.

That was 40 years ago. I’m not sure I could do that today.

I think many, many hunters have a similar story to tell.

What happened to Dick Cheney could have happened to me and the guy who jumped in front of my gun. It would have been an accident then and is today.

Unfortunate, of course. Regrettable, of course. But an accident. Can the media knock it off already?

Bob Lager
Fairway

The Star quotes Dick Cheney as saying, “I’m the guy who pulled the trigger” (2/16, A-1).

Is this the beginning of a trend? Might we expect Cheney to say, “Saddam did not have WMDs” or “Iraq had no nukes”?

Never mind — probably not.

Scott Gregory
Roeland Park

If Dick Cheney runs for president in 2008, I bet Dan Quayle won’t agree to be his running-mate.

Lorie Stewart
Kansas City

Cheney accident

First we read the administration’s denial that the shooting was Dick Cheney’s fault. Then Cheney acknowledges that he in fact was responsible. Why were they trying to cover up?

This is so typical: Blame the other person, agency, country to see how it plays out. Only then start the slow march to the truth.

Judy Beyer
Lee’s Summit