the ugly death of a deer

[MontanaFarmer]

1. I won't argue the merits of hunting with you.

You and your wife clearly have an opinion you've formed with thoughtfulness and consideration, and i respect that. The one question i will ask is about the deer's "violent death," as you say. Undoubtedly true; bullets are violently lethal. From your description, the death was also basically instantaneous. What makes a hunter killing a deer more unconscionable to the life of that deer than any of the other ways an animal dies in nature? Most are violent, all cause suffering greater than a hunter's projectile. Being torn apart from back to front by a coyote or wolf is a violent death, no? Starvation in a winter where that deer could no longer quite keep up with the demands her body had would be drawn-out and painful, I'd imagine. My point is this: there are hunters who do so with good intentions, not to satisfy blood-lust but to connect with their food in an intensely personal way, to feel something very real in their hands, to learn about nature as a participant not an observer.
Again, I'm not here to criticize your opinion; you're entitled to that and witnessing something so close to home, with a deer that you knew from watching, is certainly startling. And i don't know that hunter, i only know myself and some like me, and i just wanted you to consider the possibility that hunters love deer, too, want deer to continue to flourish, and possess a humanity for the things we kill and eat. Thanks for reading, fire away.