“Hey Bungalow Bill
What did you kill,
Bungalow Bill?”
– The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill, The Beatles; Lyrics by John Lennon
By Dan Wilson
Far be it for me to stereotype people, make sweeping generalizations or paint everyone with the same brush, but hunters are a despicable lot (despicable, adj. deserving to be despised; contemptible; morally reprehensible; vile).*
Deer remains. Photo by Dan Wilson.
Case in point: I’m hiking out at Rockway last Sunday and I notice these two guys in the parking lot of the Rockway Community Centre doing something out of the back of one of their trucks. I didn’t think too much about it as I figured they were getting ready to go for a hike as well.
When I returned a few hours later, they were still there, getting ready to leave. I also noticed something in the grass directly behind their truck so I went over to investigate. Turns out it was a deer carcass, freshly killed and cleaned. The head was severed, the flesh removed and the innards stuffed into two garbage bags along with a rolled up sheet of plastic dripping blood.
The two guys jumped in their vehicles and took off as I went over to take pictures of the gruesome scene (and snapped a couple license plates in the process). One of the men drove slowly, smiled and gave me a little wave before pulling out of the parking lot.
Deer guts left in back in Niagara area park. Photo courtesy of Dan Wilson
I called the police when I got home, who suggested I contact the Ministry of Natural Resources. A very nice girl up in Sault Ste. Marie (who handles all hunting violation issues for Ontario) explained that although what these two men did was “unethical” and “not smart”, they did not violate any laws (providing they have a tag to hunt deer).
If anything they are guilty of littering, which, I was told, will be addressed by the local municipal bylaw office. However, killing a deer, stripping the flesh off his body and tossing his remains in a parking lot where people go hiking, walk their dogs and take their children to experience nature, is perfectly legal, if not “smart”.
Another deer that befriended Dan Wilson in a provincial park near Georgian Bay. Photo by Dan Wilson.
According to the MNR, if these two Bungalow Bills had littered on Crown property, like a provincial park, then charges would be laid, but only for the garbage bags and the sheet of plastic. The nice girl on the phone explained that if a hunter dumps the bones or body of a deer back in the woods it’s a good thing, because he’s returning the animal to nature where other animals can benefit from it.
I wanted to ask her what was so natural about two weekend warriors, armed with high-powered weapons and driving a Hummer and an SUV, going in the forest (not exactly man’s natural habitat anymore) and taking down a healthy young buck when natural predators take down the sick and old, but fought the urge, knowing I would be wasting my time and hers.
The day before this happened I had taken a number of people to Short Hills Provincial Park – just down the road from Rockway – to do some nature photography. While we were on the trail, we spotted half-a-dozen deer, almost completely camouflaged in the tall grasses. We tried to get closer to take some pictures but they bolted across the field, their white tails flapping as they ran away.
No wonder they’re so afraid of us. Some people respect life, and feel lucky if they just get a glimpse of these beautiful and graceful animals in their natural environment. Others get their rocks off by destroying life. It makes them feel big and powerful to take down a helpless, innocent animal and kill it. I’m told it’s the way of the world. Maybe it is. But does it have to be?
My apologies to all you hunters out there who slaughter animals “responsibly” and “sustainably” and other such garbage like that, as if that makes it okay or means anything to the animal being killed. My advice? Get a life, instead of taking someone else’s. It’s ALL despicable.
Dan Wilson is a Niagara resident, a longtime advocate for other species on this plante and a regular contributor to Niagara At Large.
(Niagara At Large welcomes readers to comment to this post below. Please remember that we only post comments from individuals willing to attach their full names to them.)
Niagara At Large 
Well I sure don’t agree that these hunters should leave the garbage from the kill for someone else to clean up I do think Dan should spend some time at the slaughter houses across the country – There they Kill a lot of animals — He would go stark raving mad !!!
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What possible purpose could be served if Dan witnessed the brutal, inhumane killing of animals in a slaughterhouse?
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May we presume that Dan Wilson is a Jain by religion, and a Vegan by diet, who wears no leather, wool or other animal products?
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You may be aware that Niagara has the highest number of deer in Ontario per hectare. Before the Loyalists came and cleared forests, the tender green leaves that deer eat were not available.
A friend of mine is a cattle farmer and has reported an increase in the number of deer on his property, following the natural sunspot cycles around which animal populations rise and fall.
Coyotes have also increased to chase and eat the deer, but are also killing his cattle, often eating only part of them and/or eating them alive, so that, even if he catches them in the act and chases off the coyotes, he must destroy the traumatised cow. Worse, the cow may not be butchered for fear of disease.
Which death is more ‘humane’ (only humans would define some types of killing as ‘humane’!):
– the wild death of my friend’s cow?
– the quick death of the deer by the modern hunter?
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As a vegan, like Dan, (who by definition does not wear leather or wool or other animal by-products) I am in absolute awe that the above question is even up for a debate. Coyote are carnivores. Their diet consists of the flesh of other animals. They are doing what is natural to them. Humans are omnivores. As a person who has thrived on a vegan diet for over two decades, raised two beautiful healthy vegan boys, I can say with absolute confidence that eating animals is not necessary for our survival. That cow that died so that a coyote could live was only being kept alive so that it could be brutally and mercilessly slaughtered because of the farmer’s greed and some people’s fancy for the taste of his/her flesh covered in a sweet sauce.
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Lorne, I don’t know if Jainism is technically a religion because it doesn’t recognize a creator deity, but I do appreciate and respect their doctrine of non-violence towards all living beings. I however, profess no religious affiliation but as Loraine points out, I am vegan, in all aspects of my life.
I feel sorry for the cows that are raised for slaughter on your friend’s farm, but I have no sympathy for anyone who exploits animals for profit. If the coyote situation is so bad, maybe he should think about another line of work (perhaps raising soybeans?), one that doesn’t involve butchering others.
So to answer your question about which is more humane for the cow, I would say the most humane and compassionate and respectful thing to do is to not exploit and kill them in the first place.
And anyone who uses the “overpopulation” argument to justify killing animals is, in my opinion, being dishonest. Hunters don’t kill to benefit the herd or for the good of the planet or because they’re dedicated environmentalists; they kill because it’s fun and challenging.
I know of no hunter who views hunting as a sad but necessary duty, akin to putting a beloved pet down when he or she gets too sick while wiping a tear from their eye. All the hunters I know are usually pretty happy when they’re out hunting and killing.
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Well said Dan!
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Of what use is a cow if we don’t eat it or it’s products?
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How about manure?
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Many farmers have told me they lose 5-6 acres of grain per year to deer. Deer are predators of grain, which is why many farmers allow hunters.
Many farmers also don’t allow hunting on their farms, because of the actions of a few assclown hunters, who spoil it for everyone.
While those two hunters are inconsiderate assclowns and embarrassments to real hunters, many deer starve to death every winter. I doubt killing some quickly with bullets is less “humane”.
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