8.14.2006

Hunting vermin is a moral quandry for me

Not that I've ever hunted mind you. But hunting implies to me that you be able to do something with the kill; like eat it.

Crow season opened in NH today. Crows, apprently, are vermin and considered an out of control pest. In an NHPR story on the opening of crow season one hunter complained that the birds wake his wife up every morning, and so he hates them. One farmer/gardener complained that they ruin her garden. My question to her is, how much do you rely on your garden for living? Is it a cash crop for you, or do you simply enjoy having some fresh tomatoes straight from your own land?
Compost is one use for a dead crow, and there is no limit on how many a hunter can kill.
True, there is the west nile virus concern to think about. Fewer crows could certainly decrease the potential spread of west nile. But so could fewer mosquitos.
NHPR had a brief report on crow season this morning, but all I can find on the site is the follow up piece they did about the origins of the saying "eating crow". Crow is not reknowned for its savory qualities. Apparently the opening of actual crow season is too sensitive, or not important enough, to post on the site. So people are left wondering, "Did I really hear that crow season opened in NH today?"

So, how much of a pest does something have to be to get it's own no limit hunting season? I know that in some places deer are considered vermin, and they have a truly destructive impact on the land. Same goes for wild boar in Hawaii. (This doesn't mean I'm comfortable with the mass killing/hunting of these animals, but at least you can eat them or sell the meat.)

But crows? I need more convincing before I believe they are enough of a pest for open season rights.

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In other memorable news; on August 14 in 1945 Japan accepted the terms of the Potsdam Declaration.

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