Hunter not guilty in trail death

[UltraQueenga]

Sad story. Hunters and hikers don't mix. The annoying part is that a hunter would just take a shot at "something moving". Is this done in an effort to take a look at whatever it is that is moving? Oops, that wasn't a deer after all. Doh! If they can't see clearly what it is they are shooting, they shouldn't be pulling the trigger. Period.

[jonovision_man]

I don't get the hunting thing either.

I used to fish, which I guess is "hunting light". You're out in nature, and there's a certain thrill when you catch something, a very primal sense of satisfaction.

And in the end you have the freshest (organic!) food possible. My family members hunt deer, I really enjoy the meat.

Interesting reading all the posts, not being a hunter the guy's explanation and the judge's ruling seemed reasonable, but it sounds like he was being more careless than I first concluded.

jono

[jgore]

The annoying part is that a hunter would just take a shot at "something moving". Is this done in an effort to take a look at whatever it is that is moving? Oops, that wasn't a deer after all. Doh! If they can't see clearly what it is they are shooting, they shouldn't be pulling the trigger. Period.

Exactly.

My father took up deer hunting when he moved to Canada but gave it up shortly before I was born after being pinned down by a couple of other hunters who took shots at "something moving", which turned out to be him.

[runjanerun]

I remember going out trail running at Batawa a couple of years ago. As we ran across the ridge of the ski hill, we heard shots being fired below. We high tailed it back across that ridge pretty fast. I was definitely not comfortable being out there knowing there were hunters there -- with guns! The problem is, it used to be that hunting was only allowed six days a week. Well a couple of years ago, the local politicians in all their wisdom decided that they would let them hunt on Sundays as well. Thanks a lot stupid local politicians!

[trixiee]

I remember going out trail running at Batawa a couple of years ago. As we ran across the ridge of the ski hill, we heard shots being fired below. We high tailed it back across that ridge pretty fast. I was definitely not comfortable being out there knowing there were hunters there -- with guns! The problem is, it used to be that hunting was only allowed six days a week. Well a couple of years ago, the local politicians in all their wisdom decided that they would let them hunt on Sundays as well. Thanks a lot stupid local politicians!

I TOTALLY AGREE WITH THIS!!
Hunting has become more of a money grab...

[horselady]

+1 eme and clocker.

I'm no longer a hunter but I used to be, and where I come from we had a saying that there's no such thing as a hunting accident. If you can't be 100% sure of what's going to happen with your shot, you don't take it. Full stop.

+2

I also echo exactly what clocker and eme said. I have guns (at my parent's farm). I have never used them hunting, just target practice. You NEVER take a shot unless you are positive where it will go. My dad talks and dreams hunting and if he were reading this, he would totally agree what eme and clocker said. Not only did the courts lose the opportunity to hold this hunter responsible for careless hunting and taking the life of this hiker, but they also lost the opportunity to make an example to all the even more careless hunters out there.

+3 I echo what all have said here. We live on a rural property and there is alot of hunting in the area. We don't hunt but we do allow a group of responsible/experienced hunters to deer hunt on our land. Out here though ( and I would have assumed the same in Toronto area..) hunting season is a fixed 2 week period for deer with rifles. The season is well publicized. Is this the same in more urban areas. Although I love to hike and ride on my property and others in the area, the rather unwritten rule is you don't go and partake in those activities during hunting season. Too much risk. For me staying off the trails and out of the woods for those 2 weeks is not a big deal.
Accidents can happen.

[fstreet]

2. Deer normally don't like humans. I'm an exception. I have run with deer 30 meters away. I think they thought it was fun. I see them 2 - 3 times per week, so maybe they are used to me. If you are a hunter, do you really expect to find deer 500 meters from 168 houses?

Wow, you're lucky that you don't have to defend your garden from deer like we do on Vancouver Island.

Coming home from my run today I ran within 15 feet of a nice young deer. It looked up at me while still chewing and then went back to eating whatever it was chewing.

Given that I just finished "Born to Run" by Christopher McDougall I was tempted to try a "persistence kill" tactic on the deer (this is where you chase the animal down until it is so exhausted it collapses).

I didn't bother because I don't have the tracking skills necessary had it fallen in with any of its buddies - i.e. I don't want to play a shell game with deer when I'm too "city boy" dumb to tell any of them apart (but they sure looked cute and tasty!).

Too bad though. I was in my Vibram Five Fingers so it would have been close to a barefoot paleolithic era run down.

But how would I explain it to the neighbours if I were successful?

[Albertatraildog]

You also would have needed a spear or something to finish the job in the traditional way... not a sight I'd like to see, but it is a fascinating way to hunt if you are into that sort of thing. Once saw an amazing video by David Attenborough showing a Kalahari Bushman who successfully hunted an antelope to exhaustion. Great, great runners.

[fstreet]

You also would have needed a spear or something to finish the job in the traditional way...

I would have had to have strangled it using one of my Five Fingers (the shoes, not my fingers).

They are very versatile that way.

[RyanConroy]

Even if the guy had hit a deer, if he only saw something move and did not even really know that it was a deer he is totally criminally negligent.

I have nothing against hunters, and enjoy wild meat, but a critical part of responsible hunting is to kill the animal humanely. The shot should only be taken when they are ready to kill in one shot, not just injure or maim the animal. Shooting wildly at something moving is a recipe for disaster and cruelty and no one who doesn't know that should ever be allowed to handle a firearm until they've been properly trained.

At least the guy had the balls to stick around and face up to what he did but it was completely irresponsible and wrong nonetheless. Makes a good case for the firearms registry though, if the number of hit and run accidents is any indication (ie: Vancouver RCMP Dziekanski-taserer Monty Robinson), many would have just fled the scene and left them to die to save their own skin.