Voices

Our right to slaughter certain animals is sacrosanct, logic be damned

SOUTH NEWFANE — Vermont Fish and Wildlife says the deer population is too large, and so they will issue more muzzle-loader licenses this year. Good, I get it. Too many deer means both an increase in Lyme disease and over-browsing of young trees, which damages the forests.

Now, to meet that same logical objective, how about stopping the wanton slaughter of coyotes? The forests are out of balance not because we issue too few hunting licenses, but because we have killed off all the predators.

And guess what coyotes eat? Mice. Lots and lots of mice, a key vector in spreading Lyme disease.

But I guess our right to slaughter certain animals is sacrosanct, logic be damned.

And while we can be very logical in seeing the harm of overpopulation in other species, we sure have a blind eye when it comes to ourselves.

I guess we think we are special - not subject to the laws of nature? Little gods? We sure act that way.

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