Walking the road along my property I discovered that my friend had been shot. Following the blood trail back to its origin, it was clear he was shot by my neighbor. The tracks and drops of blood—bright red against the stark white snow—led onto my land where at least he could die in peace.
I don’t usually say this about people, but I really loved this gentle soul; consequently, I hate whoever shot him.
I wish I could have warned him to always steer clear of that neighbor, whose thirst for blood is a well-known trademark among some of the other locals.
You’d think I would have called an ambulance for a wounded friend and a sheriff to put away the psychopathic neighbor. But medics and sheriff’s departments in this country don’t cotton to my friend’s kind.
The thing is, he’s an elk; and according to the law (enacted by humans exclusively for humans), shooting a non-human—especially a “game” animal—is considered “harvesting” or “sport,” rather than what it undeniably is: murder.
Text and Wildlife Photography ©Jim Robertson, 2013. All Rights Reserved
Exposing the Big Game 
What a sad story. How heartless is it for game hunters to leave bodies of their kills just for someone else to find it? Unless you intend to eat the animals you kill don’t kill them!
Don’t kill them, period. I am 54 years old, perfectly healthy, and have never killed anyone in my life. No human needs to kill to survive. Only to satiate twisted psychopathic bloodlusts.
Right, the piece of filth in the question certainly intended to eat the elk if it fell somewhere convenient for him–he poaches year-round, that’s why you don’t see deer around here very often–but he did not need to kill to survive. He spends more on diesel to drive back and forth all day than most people spend on food.
I am so sorry…
Thank you
I am sorry. My heart aches.
Mine too
Thank you for this post, Jim. An all-too familiar situation. It’s all so upside down and backward. A friend is murdered and there is no one to call for help. Even when the murderers are breaking laws, law UNenforcement officers make excuses for them and refuse to do anything. It’s all one good ol’ boys’ club around here. Wildlife murdered with impunity, and human residents harassed and threatened with the complete blessing of the authorities. And only I to mourn the dead.
Yep, you know the situation we/they’re in.
So sorry to hear about your friend. I hate his killer, as well.
Thank you. Just for the record, all the wildlife are my friends, not just this one. He represented all the animals I care about who are being needlessly killed by loathsome scum out for some fun.
Ledsen. bara att se framåt.
So horrible, and so common. People think they have a “right” to kill our wildlife! Too many “hunters” don’t even respect the few laws there are.
Jim, I am so sorry. This is heartbreaking to say the least. I don’t know how you manage, psychologically, with this guy as your neighbor. 😦
Did you see the cover of this week’s Time Magazine — the author calling for more hunting to “cull” the herd and wildlife in general, even in suburban and urban areas? The tide just has to turn toward the more compassionate. This can’t be the wave of the future. First, locavore foodies turn to hunting as a hipster way to get their “free range” meat. Then Duck Dynasty produces an uptick in hunting acceptance. The Food Channel and guys like Zimmern promote exotic and often cruel foods. Now articles like this in mainstream publications like Time. I refuse to believe it’s going to be a long-standing trend, but I realize a lot of damage can be done if people believe the propaganda and start pushing to implement more lenient laws.
Thank you Ingrid. This wasn’t necessarily about one elk or one neighbor in particular. In most areas where wildlife still find habitat, the vast majority of humans objectify them just as much as the neighbor who took a pot-shot as the elk that escaped wounded. In other words, this isn’t an isolated case.
Unfortunately it’s becoming more and more common, thanks to all the groups and publications you mentioned. I think there’s more than an uptick in hunting due to the likes of Duck Dynasty, etc. now even the Weather Chanel is promoting hunting! And of course, there’s the Time magazine article. One hopeful note is the amount of people who have unsubscribed or boycotted Time since that came out. Maybe it’ll backfire and cause an abrupt end to the trend towards more hunting.
Yes, I totally understand. For the past few years, I’ve trapped myself in urban environments during the season for this reason but, of course, we have our own constant forms of wildlife exploitation and abuse in the cities, too.
I wasn’t aware of the people unsubscribing from Time — that’s great news. You know I’m a realist, based on all I’ve seen and see, but my sanity lies in believing that a shift will happen, and that compassion will ultimately have a voice, even if we have to muddle through a lot of darkness first.
Robert Kennedy, Jr. when asked about how he maintains resolve in environmental efforts, even when opposing forces seems to be winning, said something to the effect of, “I can only control my own actions, and I plan to go down fighting.” It’s been years since I heard that so I’m sure I’m paraphrasing. But I do believe that the good fight the rest of us put out there *does* have an effect. Thank you, Jim, for exposing the truth, always, even at great cost to your own heart.
My heart can handle it as long as the wildlife populations can hold on.
My heart goes out to you. Ive experienced very similar situations on my protected lands.
Reblogged this on Sherlockian's Blog.
So sorry you lost a friend, i hate that large animals are called game. The fact that people kill a animal just to have on their walls at home sickens me. It is worse the fact that this person will get away with what he has done as others always do. It is not a brave thing to take the life of a animal. I am truly sorry for your loss and hope you will have a new friend soon.
Thank you, and I hate the word “game” for wildlife too.
I will always have other friends, as long as there are animals left. To be honest, I don’t know which elk was killed. I care for them all. That one was representative for all the animals killed. I care for them all and don’t want to see any of them shot.