This beautiful painting by Marlaina Mortati says it all…
Why They Hide
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Tag Archives: bowhunting
Meanwhile in Oklahoma…
Oklahoma hunters have already checked in 30,500 deer this season. However, that pace is slightly behind last year.
As a general rule, deer aren’t moving much around during most of the muzzleloader season, but that will soon change with the beginning of the rut, the time of year when whitetails become less cautious. Deer are now starting to move more during the day, and some bucks already have been seen trailing does.
Okla.’s 16 day deer gun season, the biggest hunting season of the year, begins the Saturday before Thanksgiving. Almost 200,000 hunters in Okla. participate in the deer gun season.
Archery deer season remains open thru Jan. 15th. [So, you can expect to see more of those arrow-impaled deer wandering around for another 2 months….]
The Okla. Dept. of Wildlife Conservation has extended the deadline for the agency’s guided youth waterfowl hunts to Nov. 21. The youth hunts are open to hunters ages 12 to 15 who have completed the hunter education course. An adult guardian must accompany the youth hunter. Many of the states wildlife refuges have guided hunts.
Wildlife Photography © Jim Robertson
Happy Ending for Arrow-Impaled NJ Deer
N.J. biologists find injured Rockaway Township deer and remove arrow from its head
By Robin Wilson-Glover/The Star-Ledger
November 10, 2013
ROCKAWAY TOWNSHIP — A hunter’s arrow that had pierced both sides of a young deer’s head has been successfully removed, according to state officials and the woman who first notified authorities about the animal.
Staff from New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife tranquilized the deer Saturday afternoon in the backyard of Susan Darrah’s Rockaway Township home, removed the arrow, treated the wound and released it back in the wild, Darrah said today. DEP Spokesman Larry Hajna confirmed the arrow removal.
“Everybody loves a happy ending,” Darrah said.
After first spotting the deer with the arrow on Nov. 1, Darrah called Fish and Wildlife and authorities there instructed her to put out corn to draw the deer back into the yard. On different occasions, staff members staked out the area in an attempt to catch the animal and remove the arrow, she said.
Saturday evening, when the small deer wandered into her yard to eat, a member of Fish and Wildlife was able to tranquilize the animal, then follow it into the woods and bring it back into Darrah’s yard, she said.
They removed the arrow, put topical antibiotics on the wound, gave it a shot of antibiotics and then waited for it to wake up. The biologists who did the procedure say the arrow did not damage major arteries or organs and the deer’s prognosis for survival is excellent.
Once the deer was able to stand, it walked off into a nearby pasture and took a nap before it headed back into the woods, Darrah said.
“I can not say enough, give enough accolades to the guys at Fish and Wildlife,” Darrah said. “These guys were dedicated, determined and totally respective of me and my property… They were just terrific.”
The deer, which she had come to jokingly call Steve Martin because of the comedian’s stand-up routine with a fake arrow through his head, gained notoriety worldwide after Darrah shared the first images of it with The Star-Ledger last week.
Darrah said friends in the Netherlands told her the story appeared in the largest newspaper in Holland and a friend at the Nairobi Hilton in Kenya sent her an email, letting her know that the deer’s photograph and story also appeared in a newspaper there, as well.
Given the animal’s celebrity, she is hoping that the 5-month-old male deer will survive the fall bow hunting season.
“He has as good a chance as any when it comes to making it,” she said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Speaking of Crossbows…
http://www.lifewithcats.tv/2013/11/06/3-mayor-rescues-cat-shot-with-crossbow-arrow/
Outgoing Norwich CT mayor Peter Nystrom is being thanked for his good-heartedness and good citizenship after he found an injured cat, called for help and offered to pay for the animal’s care.
Elliot the cat had been shot in the chest and had a crossbow bolt sticking through him when Mayor Nystrom, out doing some last minute campaigning before Tuesday’s election, found him Monday night in his family’s Norwich yard.
“He wasn’t moving,” Nystrom said. “We weren’t sure he was alive at first but then [the owner’s] daughter came in and got down on the deck with him and that just broke your heart watching.”
Elliot had been missing for two days when he was found. His vets say he most likely had the arrow in him for most of that time.
Nystrom called the animal control officer, and Elliot was rushed to the vet for emergency care at All Friends Animal Hospital in Norwich.
Veterinarians were able to remove the arrow and say Elliot is doing well in his recovery, though it remains to be seen whether he will suffer lasting neurological damage. The cat was up and walking, taking a few steps on Tuesday.
“It didn’t hit anything major, which is unbelievable. It was inches away,” said Lona Harrelle, from All Friends. “Inches away from hitting his heart, his lungs.”
“He didn’t once try to bite or act vicious,” Harrelle said. “And I wouldn’t have blamed him. He’s been in a lot of pain. But he’s been just like this the whole time.”
All Friends vet Kathleen Tangari performed the surgery on Elliot, and said the tissue surrounding the arrow had begun to harden over the two days it was stuck through him, and had sealed off the blood vessels. Dr. Tangari said that plus the cold nighttime temps likely prevented Elliot from bleeding to death.
According to the Norwich Bulletin, Elliot’s owner is elderly and disabled, and unable to pay for the cat’s procedure and related care, so All Friends dipped into its “angel fund” of donated monies to cover the costs. The hospital indicated that Nystrom personally paid toward Elliot’s medical costs.
All Friends says Elliot is much loved by his family, who are devastated by what has occurred.
Peter Nystrom lost a close contest for Mayor to Deb Hinchey on Tuesday, but has earned himself a great deal of good will from the community through his actions and compassion for Elliot and his family.
All Friends Animal Hospital shared photos at Facebook on Monday, and wrote:
“We need your help!! We had a sweet kitty named Elliot come in today with an arrow through his chest. We are hoping to find the person responsible for this heinous act of cruelty. Fortunately for this kitty our city’s mayor Peter Nystrom was is the area and able to contact animal control who rushed Elliot to all friends to seek immediate treatment. Elliot is resting comfortably after having the arrow removed, although we still don’t know if there will be long term nerve damage. Elliot was shot in the area of Gates road in Norwich. If you have any information please contact Norwich animal control at (860) 887-5747.”
The shooting is thought by officials to have been intentional.
Elliot had a visitor today, when a young animal lover named Antonio Annicelli came in to bring a get well card to raise Elliot’s spirits. Antonio shared some special moments with Elliot curled up on his lap.
All Friends hopes Elliot will be ready to go home by the end of the week.
See the video report from WFSB 3 at bottom for more on the story.
Wisconsin Adds Crossbows to Their Quiver
Now the only question that remains is, what cruel kill method is NOT allowed in Wisconsin?
I can think of only a few offhand:
-Grenade launcher
-Flame thrower
-Nerve gas
-Chemical weapons
Hell, why doesn’t the state DNR just nuke itself every fall (starting with this one) and be done with it? That should take care of their deer, rabbit, squirrel, duck, geese, sandhill crane and wolf “problems” once and for all.
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Assembly unanimously passes crossbow hunting bill
By Paul A. Smith of the Journal Sentinel
Nov. 9, 2013
In an era of deep political divisions, Wisconsin legislators can agree on at least one thing: increased crossbow hunting opportunities.
On Oct. 27, the Assembly unanimously passed an amended version of AB 194.
The bill would create a crossbow hunting license and a crossbow hunting season. Hunters of all legal ages could purchase the license.
Under current state law, only hunters with physical disabilities and those age 65 and over are allowed to hunt deer with crossbows.
The crossbow hunting season would run concurrent with the archery deer season.
The amended version creates a three-year trial period during which the Department of Natural Resources will monitor harvest rates by crossbow hunters. The Senate approved the bill in September.
The Assembly vote was 91 ayes, 0 no.
The bill now awaits the signature of Gov. Scott Walker. If the governor signs it as expected, the crossbow hunting season will take effect in September 2014.
Wolf season update: As of Friday, hunters and trappers had registered 201 wolves in the 2013-’14 Wisconsin wolf season, according to the DNR.
Harvest quotas were filled in five of the six wolf management zones.
Trappers have taken 82% of the wolves; the balance have been killed by hunters with firearms.
Zone 3 in north central and northwestern Wisconsin remains open. Nineteen wolves had been registered in Zone 3 as of Friday morning; the quota is 71.
The zone will be open to wolf hunting and trapping until the quota is filled or Feb. 28, whichever comes first.
Given the fast pace of wolf kills since the season opened Oct. 15, the season could be over before the Wisconsin gun deer hunt begins Nov. 23, as well as before wolf hunters could begin using dogs Dec. 2.
The DNR had sold 1,837 resident and 11 nonresident wolf hunting and trapping licenses as of Friday. It authorized the sale of 2,510 licenses through a lottery.
State wildlife managers set a kill goal of 251 wolves for the season.
Hunters and trappers are responsible to know the status of zone closures. Information is available at dnr.wi.gov and by phone at (888) 936-7463 .
Read more from Journal Sentinel: http://www.jsonline.com/sports/outdoors/assembly-unanimously-passes-crossbow-hunting-bill-b99137922z1-231303281.html#ixzz2kGrLqn3p
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Bowhunting for Wolves in Montana
Wolf puppies are legally arrowed to death in Montana: How arrows slowly kill
http://www.examiner.com/article/wolf-puppies-to-be-legally-arrowed-to-death-montana-how-arrows-slowly-kill?cid=PROD-redesign-right-next
September 6, 2011
This season, hunters are allowed to kill 220 wolves — nearly triple the 2009 quota of 75.
Even if you agree with hunting, do you agree with the legal shooting of pups? This week in Montana, hunters are even allowed to shoot wolf puppies. Yes, puppies. And they can shoot them in the most agonizingly cruel way of all, using bow and arrow. And it’s all ‘legal’.
Worse, Mark Gamblin, spokesperson for Idaho Fish and Game, is already trying to justify bringing wolf-puppy season to his own state next spring:
“OK, I’ll try again. As I noted in my last post – in two (actually three – Lolo, Selway and Middlefork) wolf management zones, the 2011-2012 wolf hunting season extends until June 1 when new born pups will be technically legal to harvest/kill/take by wolf hunters. I think your point is: that is an example of how wolves are NOT managed like lions or bears. Without looking at all other hunting seasons I can’t say with certainty, but I can’t think of a routine hunting season that overlaps the birthing period of a wildlife species. With that said, if you or jon suggest that constitutes a violation of wildlife mangement or other priciples, please explain how. In those wolf management zones, the sesaon was extended to enhance the likelihood that the management prescription to reduce wolf numbers sufficiently to achieve elk population recovery objectives. That certainly is a high priority for the Lolo, Selway and Middlefork wolf management zones. Would a wolf hunter use a wolf tag on a new born pup, IF that hunter had the opportunity? What do you think? I’ll go first – Nope. Again, this is(drum roll)….. a red herring issue of very little consequence that gets some folks lathered up, but has little or no relevance to meaningful considerations for this wildlife management issue.
And finally, the old “what constitutes a meaningful trophy for the Idaho wolf hunter” discussion that you and I have engaged with since 2009.
You have a high level of certainty that you understand the desires, values and criteria for a “trophy” of thousands of Idaho hunters when it comes to ….. a wolf pelt. If you mean to say that hunters will not, cannot value the pelt of a 5 month or older wolf as a trophy or to use for other legitimate purposes – well I have to tell you that you are wrong. The legitimate value of a “trophy” to thousands of individual Idaho hunters cannot be described or catagorized by your personal values or preferences nor by mine of by any fixed set of criteria. It is enough that each hunter is given the choice to harvest/kill/take a wolf during the hunting season that runs from August 30 to March 1 in the majority of the state and until June 1 in the remaining 3 wolf management zones. The hunters who participate in this wolf hunting season will make their own decisions and if legal those decision will be entirely legitimate and ethical within the bounds established by the Idaho governmental electoral process. And yes, absolutely, one important objective of this hunting season is to significantly reduce the Idaho wolf population to achieve a broader balance of public wildlife and personal property benefits than can be achieved with the current Idaho wolf population. Hopefully, we will be able to report success after all of the data are collected and analyzed at the end of this hunting/trapping season. “
Whether you agree with arguments that support hunting for sport or so-called ‘management’ or not, most so-called ‘ethical’ hunters would agree a clean, fast kill is the goal – no matter what species is in the cross-hairs, and only in a ‘sportsmanlike way’ that gives the hunted animal a fair chance of escape.
While we won’t discuss the ethics of hunting per se, I do offer this video to consider – especially for those of strong Christian faith. Whatever your personal take on hunting, what is ‘sportsmanlike’ in arrowing puppies? Is it OK to kill babies using one of the slowest and most painful of hunting methods?
Dying from an archery wound can take – up to two WEEKS, according to Benke, and then only as a result of massive infection.
Does a puppy deserve to die this way? For that matter, does a deer, elk or any animal deserve to be sentenced to a long, agonizing death for the purposes of human ‘sport’?
Since the controversial politically-motivated delisting of endangered grey wolves resulted in open-season on wolves in several US states, including bow-hunting season beginning Sept. 3 in Montana, wolves have intentionally – and legally – been shot and killed – Although the actual statistcs and the numbers reported keep changing.
Bowhunting season is considered legal and is permitted – although perhaps not for much longer now that this video has been released. And yes, unfortunately, certain backwards states are legalizing – even encouraging – the hunting of newborn wolf puppies as ‘trophies’. Even if you think it’s OK to hunt and kill truly helpless baby animals -puppies- for sport, is it OK to torture them first?
For some reason the general public seems to feel that bow-hunting is somehow more noble, more challenging, fair or more humane than hunting with firearms.
In this video a veteranarian describes the actual, prolonged and agonizing death these bow-shot animals actually experience.
Warning – This is graphic video. It was taken over the shoulder of a hunter – documenting his legal kill using a bow and arrow.
How many feel this kind of death is justifiable in the pursuit of ‘pleasure’? And what about for baby animals?
Should bow hunting remain legal?
For more information on open-season on wolves and the legal killing of puppies, click here.
For additional insights into why people seem to love to hunt, please see this recent study.
Another photo of the poor deer with an arrow though the face
Image
Environmental Cops Bust Connecticut Man for Drunken Archery Hunting
[Newsflash: Booze and bowhunting don’t mix!]
Nov. 4, 2013 3:51pm Fred Lucas
A Connecticut deer hunter is facing a slew of charges after environmental officers busted him for allegedly drinking while hunting with a handgun and crossbow.
Officers with the State Environmental Conservation Police were checking an area in the Charter March Sanctuary where they had previously found a tree stand baited with apples and corn. Connecticut law prohibits baiting for deer because it’s considered poaching. This led police to Darin C. Hanna, 48, of Tolland, Conn., The Hartford Courant reported.
According to the newspaper, Hanna was archery hunting, carrying a crossbow and a loaded handgun. State law prohibits possessing a handgun when archery hunting, police said. Officers also said he didn’t have a permit.
Connecticut State Police assisted the conservation officers in the arrest, after which he was charged “with hunting deer over bait, possession of a firearm while archery hunting for deer, hunting under the influence, possession of a firearm while under the influence, and carrying a handgun without a permit,” the Courant reported.
Hanna was released on $10,000 bail. His court date is set for Nov. 14.
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Could this news help explain why we’re seeing so many injured deer lately?…
Bow Hunting — A Growing Blood “Sport”
[This is just what the wildlife doesn’t need right now–more people out sending even more stray arrows into the air! Here are just a couple of this year’s recent injuries to target animals as a result of the sport of bow hunting]:
http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2013/11/04/bow-hunting-a-growing-sport-in-minnesota/
Bow Hunting — A Growing Sport In Minnesota
November 4, 2013 10:15 AM
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — Minnesotans make that annual trip to the tree stand this weekend. The firearms deer hunting season
kicks off on Saturday. But bow hunters have been searching for that prize buck since September.
Joe Caminati, of Average Joe’s Archery, said he’s seeing a lot more popularity when it comes to bow hunting.
“I think the main thing that’s driving it is accessibility,” he said. “Some of the movies that have come out recently, ‘Hunger Games,’ ‘Brave’ … has put it in front of a lot of kids and with that, the manufacturers have stepped up and made it more accessible.”
Caminati said the equipment is becoming easier to use, as well, which helps younger hunters and families as a whole.
An added bonus for bow hunters – the season is much longer – three and a half months, versus nine days.
For those looking to get into the sport for the first time, Caminati said the first place to start is at your local pro shop.
“First of all, you need to go to a Pro Shop and get fitted for a bow that’s appropriate for you,” he said. “We see it a lot of times where people come in with a bow that doesn’t fit them properly.”
The type of bow to get depends on the user – all will serve similar functions, it’s just a matter of traditional or more high tech. He said things like draw lengths, the amount of draw weight the bow can pull back and other aspects all go into the fitting.
Once that’s completed, it’s time to practice – typically in the woods or at the range. …
[Sure practice is always important. I used to practice with a bow and arrow at a target and a backdrop of straw bales. That’s how I know that bows are notoriously inaccurate–especially on a moving target.
Even William Tell, the best archer of all time, missed the target far more often he hit it. Here’s a short video of him practicing, trying to hit an apple on his son’s head.]:
N.J. woman says deer carries arrow in its head as it wanders suburban backyards
[I make a point not to talk to bowhunters. Like if I knew a guy watching the kids in a school yard is a pedophile, I can’t be held accountable for what I might do if I saw one aiming at a deer! This isn’t some kind of a game, and the animals aren’t your playthings put here for you to do with as you will! Each and every dear, elk, bear, or any other living target you fantasize about is a living being far more deserving of life than you camo-clad bow-toting scumbags who take pleasure in sending arrows into them!
Here’s the statement made by the person who sent me this article about ANOTHER wounded deer:
“I can’t even contain my outrage. Just like what happened here, this woman saw this poor deer who had been injured with an arrow. This is where our reactions differ: the article says ‘I know a lot of hunters and I know that was nothing done intentionally,’ Darrah said by phone this morning, noting her yard attracts deer often since it has a large pear tree and its located near Split Rock Reservoir. ‘I’m sure if any hunter saw him, they would have been kind of enough to put him down,’ she said.
Really? Not intentional? Ok, it was a bad shot. WHICH CONFIRMS THAT BOW HUNTING MUST BE OUTLAWED. But what is even more ironic is her comment about hunters being ‘kind.’ Fuck that. Clearly she is out of her mind and drank the cool aid on hunting. ‘Yes, we shoot them with a gun or an arrow and they quietly go to heaven and give us food.'”]
A Boonton woman saw this deer in her backyard on Friday and Saturday. (Courtesy Susan Darrah)
By Jeff Goldman/The Star-Ledger The Star-Ledger Email the author | Follow on Twitter on November 04, 2013 at 1:32 PM, updated November 04, 2013 at 8:36 PM
ROCKAWAY TOWNSHIP — Seeing deer wander through her Boonton backyard is a regular occurrence for Susan Darrah.
But even Darrah admits she was taken aback by what she saw when she looked out her living room window at about noon on Friday: a young deer with an arrow through its head.
As startling a sight as it was, the animal wasn’t bleeding and didn’t appear to be frightened, she said. Darrah immediately contacted animal control in town as well as the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife.
“I know a lot of hunters and I know that was nothing done intentionally,” Darrah said by phone this morning, noting her yard attracts deer often since it has a large pear tree and its located near Split Rock Reservoir. “I’m sure if any hunter saw him, they would have been kind of enough to put him down,” she said.
Darrah spoke to a Fish & Wildlife representative and followed their advice to put out a supply of corn for the deer, which appeared to be traveling in a herd with four others.
The animal re-appeared at 5 p.m. Friday and then again at 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. Saturday, but Darrah said she hasn’t seen it since.
The state Division of Fish and Wildlife sent out a crew to the area today looking for the deer, spokesman Bob Considine said. He added that the department would tranquilize the animal in the hopes of removing the arrow.
The state is in the midst of its fall bow hunt season.
Exposing the Big Game 