Jason Patterson Editor & PublisherThis time of year I’m always as excited as a kid looking forward to Christmas because deer season has finally arrived.
I have also come to dread some things about this time of year because as a hunter I know that I’ll be associated with people who do stupid things like dumping carcasses in front of Dumpsters, trespassing and shooting from the roads.
These people aren’t hunters of course, but many people don’t understand the difference.
Many hunters, at their own risk, often forget that the majority of the population doesn’t hunt. Most don’t care if others do, but that could change if they begin associating the actions of those who refuse to follow the rules.
One individual has already raised the bar this week by shooting a young deer right in someone’s front yard in Yazoo County.
The action was dumb on several levels:
1. It’s not gun season to begin with.
2. Even during gun season, only someone who isn’t smart enough to be given a firearm or a true psychopath would shoot in the direction of someone’s home.
3. The deer was so small it wasn’t even a legal deer.
4. There was apparently no effort to recover the deer. Even poachers and road hunters usually take the meat.
Archery season has barely gotten started and we already have a new low. Hopefully that’s going to be the worst of it, but nothing surprises me anymore.
What hunters can do to improve this situation is refuse to tolerate unacceptable behavior.
If you see someone dumping carcasses in a public place like at the Dumpsters or on the roadside, explain to them how their actions can have a negative impact on us all.
You will probably have to explain very carefully. Anyone who doesn’t realize it’s a bad idea to leave a stinking and rotting carcass where someone has to step over it to throw away their garbage probably isn’t a deep thinker.
If you catch someone trespassing, have them prosecuted. People work too hard and spend too much money preparing and maintaining their land for trespassers to reap the benefits. It’s also a safety issue. You need to know where others are when you’re hunting.
The same thing goes for road hunting. Report them.
The recent incident where someone shot a deer right in front of a house, shows how dangerous this is. Like many Yazoo County residents in rural communities, I often have deer in my front yard, and I don’t want some fool taking potshots at them while my family is in harm’s way.
If more people would become less tolerant of these things, the problem would be reduced significantly. There’s nothing better anyone can do to protect hunting rights.