The following letter was sent to Sechelt mayor and council and copied to Coast Reporter.
Dear mayor and council, or should that be Robin Hood and his Merry Men?
In Sechelt briefs, Coast Reporter, Feb. 5, wildlife biologist Darryl Reynolds explained the need to "harass" elk away from golf courses and people's gardens where they are apparently trampling dogs and roses.
He said, "Hunting in this case is not about killing animals, it's about harassing" He goes on to say that bow hunting "has a kill rate of only about 20 per cent, relative to rifle hunting, which is virtually 100 per cent."
To me, this implies that although there are incompetent rifle hunters who sometimes don't make a clean kill, hunters using the more unusual bows and arrows are much less likely to make a clean kill, and will in fact most of the time just maim their targets.
But that seems to be the idea. Reynolds said, "If their [elk] buddy gets shot with a bow and arrow, they'll see that and they'll have greater fear of humans and human areas."
Yeah, I guess it's more visual and will make more of an impression on the other elk if their buddy has arrows sticking out of him, instead of just a simple gunshot wound. It'll certainly make the elk think twice if they see their buddy die an even more agonizing death as the arrows sticking out of him snag on every branch as he staggers through the woods.
We aren't living in medieval times. This is Sechelt, not Sherwood Forest. We are supposedly "civilized" and the idea of maiming elk because they a have become a nuisance is barbaric.
Cecilia Ohm-Eriksen
Sechelt
