Dear Neighbors:
I periodically receive e-mailings from the MSPCA regarding their initiatives to ease animal suffering, which I support – but I never thought it was absolutely necessary to forward any of those mailings to the A-B neighborhood google groups — until now. Although it’s not a neighborhood issue, it is a Boston area issue, and one in which DCR is involved.
It turns out that bow-and-arrow hunters are lobbying DCR to be allowed to shoot deer with arrows in the Blue Hills! There is a hearing on this issue today, Tuesday, in Milton, and another one this Thursday in Quincy. DCR is also accepting written comments. Please see the message pasted farther down for details, and to find the link for sending a comment.
When bow-and-arrow hunting in the Blue Hills was going on in the 19th century or before (it has been forbidden for over a hundred years now), the Boston area population was much smaller, with far fewer people using Blue Hills for recreational purposes. Now, many people, including families with children, go there multiple times a year to enjoy hiking, nature watching, sunbathing, skiing and snowshoeing. There is no question that people’s safety would be impacted if hunters are allowed to roam the Blue Hills reservation and shoot left and right.
People’s safety notwithstanding, one cannot overlook the pain and suffering that an animal shot with an arrow experiences. There are better, more humane ways to keep the deer population under control, and the MSPCA message points out.
Arrows almost never kill the animal on the spot. The wounded individual can run away, and take days to die a slow, torturous death. (Do you remember the recent story of Cecil the Lion that got murdered in Africa? He got away, and suffered with an arrow in his body for over 48 hours.)
If anyone has any doubt if getting shot and having an arrow in your body causes a lot of pain, here is a photo of an arrow that hunters use on animals.
Also, see this very recent story about an incident in which somebody’s pet cat was killed by an arrow in Westford, a town in Massachusetts that allows this barbaric “sport”.
Westford police searching for archer who shot cat in paw, forcing owner to put animal to sleep - The Boston Globe
Please consider writing to DCR in opposition to bow-and-arrow hunting.
Thank you.
Eva
 September 28, 2015 Tell A FriendDo you know someone who might be interested in receiving this email?  |
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ATTEND A PUBLIC MEETING ABOUT DEER HUNTING IN THE BLUE HILLS! Attend one of two upcoming hearings on a new plan to allow bow and arrow hunting in the Blue Hills (it has been prohibited for more than 100 years).
- Sept. 24 at Ponkapoag Golf Course, 2167 Washington St., Canton
- Sept. 29 at the Blue Hills Trailside Museum, 1904 Canton Ave., Milton
- Oct. 1 in the auditorium of the Lincoln-Hancock Elementary School, 300 Granite St., Quincy
Each meeting will be held from 6:30 to 8 p.m. The meetings are held by the state's Department of Conservation and Recreation. If you can't attend, please voice your opposition by submitting written testimony here.
Culling deer and hunting them with bows and arrows presents problems and is not a solution to address deer population in the Blue Hills. Dozens of studies show that bow hunting suffers from an unacceptably high “crippling rate,” (when a deer is crippled but not killed). Please speak out and encourage more humane, longer-lasting methods of population control. To learn more, visit www.mspca.org/BlueHillsHunt Things to keep in mind: - Culling deer is not a viable solution for reducing deer numbers -deer culls result in larger "bounce back" populations.
- Immunocontraceptive vaccines have proven a viable and affordable method to reduce deer numbers in many communities
- Deer
hunting is ineffective at controlling Lyme disease because hunting does not
significantly reduce the tick population
- No major health organization has identified hunting as an effective
means of addressing Lyme disease
- A multitude of scientific studies and real-world results demonstrate that more effective and less expensive non-lethal options are readily available, both to reduce deer numbers and curb the spread of Lyme disease
Located only minutes from downtown Boston, the DCR Blue Hills
Reservation stretches over 7,000 acres from Quincy to Dedham, Milton to
Randolph; the state calls it a green oasis in an urban environment. |
 | The Mission of the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is to protect animals, relieve their suffering, advance their health and welfare, prevent cruelty and work for a just and compassionate society. |  |
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