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It was drilled into me at an early age that humans have an obligation to properly treat and take care of animals.
Much of this training came from being the son of a dairy farmer. The cows really came first on the farm and taking proper care of them was foremost. Some of this sense of obligation or responsibility was, of course, driven by economics. The cows and the milk they produced were the primary source of revenue for the farm.
Just think about it--a cow which may weigh 1,200 lbs., can, in one season of milking (10 months,) produce 20,000-25,000 lbs. of milk. A milk cow is an incredible food-making machine, and, for a dairy farmer, it is where the money comes from to operate the farm.
Yet, taking proper care of a cow or any animal is more than an economic issue--it is a humane and moral issue. I can still remember those early days in Sunday School where we were taught from the first book of Genesis, that mankind was to have "dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth…." Having "dominion over" means having responsibility for and properly caring for these creatures of God's earth.
This principle applies not only to domesticated animals but also to wildlife. When I was in the State Assembly, I was appointed Chair of the Fish and Wildlife Subcommittee. In that capacity, the committee worked closely with the Fish and Wildlife Division of the DEC in establishing hunting, fishing and other regulations to protect and preserve wildlife populations.
Right now, we are in the midst of another deer hunting season. The rules that surround this hunt are geared toward trying to ensure that deer populations are balanced with their habitat. Since, in many areas, deer are now over-populating their habitat--regulations have been established to allow hunters to take more deer. This is what good deer management means. It is part of our human obligation to properly care for the animals amongst us.
Of course, not everyone likes the hunting season. Some don't like guns, others believe that killing any living thing is bad. But, the truth of the matter is that in our human-oriented world, we need a hunting season to help balance wildlife populations with the environment that they live in. It is part of our human obligation to properly care for animals.
I still have a hunting license, yet, to be honest, have never found it much fun to actually kill a deer. When it happens, there is also the duty to properly bleed and gut the animal, preserve its meat and then pay for it to be butchered, processed and frozen. The "fun" I get from hunting comes more from just being out in the woods, listening to its sounds and appreciating mother nature. There is nothing like it.
So, when you hear gun-shots going off this time of year, just remember that what is going on is a good thing. Hunters, on the whole, are good conservationists. They know and appreciate the importance of wildlife management. They abide by the rules and are involved in implementing the mandate that one of the obligations we humans have is to properly and humanely take care of the animals that are "under our dominion."
Rolland Kidder is a Stow resident.