I was absolutely astounded by what Tamara had to say about the case of the woman being shot by an idiot of a hunter at a bus top and the hunter was not held accountable because of the color of the woman's clothing. I do not remember ever reading about that case and can't believe the hunter was not held accountable for his irresponsible actions. Hitting and killing someone with a motor vehicle is manslaughter, and an automobile is not a weapon intended for killing, as is a gun. It would seem some prosecutor was woefully inept, to say the least. I surely would like to read what legal points and authorities were involved in that case.
I abhor the fact that animals are hunted and killed, period, but I remember that both my father and brother hunted deer now and then and my dearest friend in the world who was my former riding partner for some years before he passed away at age 80, had been an avid hunter in his younger days. He had grown up in Minnesota, but I think he did most of his hunting after moving to S. Calif. after WWII and would make yearly treks with his horse and mules up into Utah and Idaho. I would have to say that they were all responsible hunters who were skilled in the use of firearms and did not hunt wantonly and used the meat of whatever they did manage to kill. As to whether the idiots who shoot mothers at bus stops and will shoot at just about anything that moves are in the majority or even just a significant percentage of those who hunt, I have no idea...does any organization keep a record of those killed in hunting "accidents" by incompetent hunters, or does some animal welfare group keep statistics on other animals inadvertantly killed by hunters?? I do know my dear friend was an extremely responsible person where hunting was concerned and it was more for the experience of spending a week or 10 days out in the wilderness with his horse and enjoying the companionship of friends that he enjoyed moreso than hunting an animal to kill. He always took his camera, as well, and had books full of lovely shots of scenery and wildlife and some handsome trophy heads and or antlers on the wall of his office and he could remember the trip he made where each one had been hunted. He had a great respect for animals and the critters he hunted, almost the way the Native American hunters of yore are said to have said a prayer for an animal before they killed it to thank it for giving its life for their sustenance. As much as I've always hated the idea of animals being killed, I did have respect for my friend's love for hunting the way he approached it. On our weekly day-long trail rides that we made with our horses in the 5-6 years before he died, he would amuse me to no end with stories about the ignorant greenhorn city slickers who sometimes were among their group of hunters. Mostly it was tales about their stupidity in not being properly prepared for an outing in the wilderness or not knowing how to deal with the horses/mules, outdoor cooking mishaps, packing faux pas, encounters with skunks or porcupines and whatnot, but I do remember how he told me on more than one occasion that he had to track down and kill a deer or elk to spare it a slow, agonizing death because some other inept hunter had merely wounded it badly and it had taken flight. It would surely be great if before a hunting license was issued, a person had to demonstrate that he/she had a decent level of proficiency with firearms and had been required to undergo some sort of program to prove they could recognize their intended prey and were aware of what responsibility in hunting with a dangerous weapon is. Maybe some sort of computer game type test could be devised? And just as it is illegal to drive a car or operate a boat under the influence of alcohol, it should be a punishable offense to go hunting with a gun and drink alcohol at the same time. When I still lived in a rural area in Washington state, almost every year there were instances of farm animals (would you believe white-faced, hornless beef cattle and even black/white spotted dairy cows) and horses out in pasture being shot by idiot hunters. If such acts were witnessed, they were fined for the destruction of personal property, but few such acts were ever witnessed. I don't remember a case of a hunter inadvertantly killing another human other than an occasional hunter who was not wearing one of those orange or bright yellow vests. In the cases of one hunter shooting another, they were prosecuted for manslaughter or wrongful death and found guilty, I believe. Candidates for the Darwin Award, for sure...though, sadly, the shooter is the one who should be removed from the gene pool rather than the vestless prey, though I suppose anyone who would go out hunting in the woods dressed in anything remotely the same color as a game animal is also lacking in common sense, to say the least. I shudder to think what will happen to defenseless cats if hunters are allowed to hunt them. One can hope that being small, wary and fast may be a saving grace of sorts for cats, but so are rabbits and plenty of them get shot. The very idea is so ludicrous! If ignorant hunters cannot tell the difference between a Hereford steer or a Holstein cow and a deer, elk or moose, how in the world can they be expected to notice whether or not an animal as small as a domestic cat is wearing a collar or not? And if hunters who inadvertantly shoot another human being are not held accountable in some jurisdictions, you can bet it will be hard to hold them accountable for inadvertantly shooting and killing someone's pet cat. Here's hoping there may yet be some sort of appeal process to reverse this abhorrent decision, and that even if feral cats have been declared "unprotected" as a species that other ways can be found to stop the hunting. Does anyone know if this travesty has occurred in any other state? Sally in San Jose
