Cooperative Living February 2015 - 7

ANOTHER VIEW ON HUNTING
After reading all of the views on
hunting expressed in the January
MAILBAG section, I wanted to add my
opinion.
I am one of many Virginia-licensed
wildlife rehabilitators. We take in
orphaned wildlife. People contact us
about orphans who lost their mothers,
fell from trees, or were lost. We raise
these baby animals until they can survive
in the wild. Not all survive, no matter
what we do for them. We release
them back into the wild. When I do this
I say to them, " You are in God's hands
now. What will be will be. "
There are reasons for hunting. I was
raised in a hunting family and so was
my husband in the late 1960s and early
1970s. Wild meat was on our table a lot.
We both had jobs, but money didn't go
far.
A trophy on the wall doesn't mean it's
a power trip. It's a trophy - a reminder
of a great experience and food on the
table. Wild meat is natural - no additives.
Game
wardens work day and night
to protect our deer from people who
take advantage of our wildlife.
In some areas, the deer population
has grown. I agree coyotes are taking
care of a lot of this. Farmers in our area
are already concerned for their farm animals.
Some counties have bounties on
coyotes because of this. Coyotes also
like cats and small dogs. What's next?
HISTORY MYSTERY
Each issue, we will publish
a photo of some person, place
or thing (or a portion thereof)
of historical significance in
Virginia, and readers will be
invited to submit their best guess
as to the identity of the photo.
Send it in writing with your
name, address, and phone
number to HISTORY MYSTERY,
c/o Cooperative Liv ing, P.O. Box
2340, Glen Allen, VA 230582340;
or guess online at
www.co-opliving.com under
" Contests. " Deadline for entries
is Feb. 15. All correct entries will
be put into a drawing and a winner
announced in the May 2015
issue. The winner will re ceive a
check for $25. 
 DO YOU KNOW WHAT THIS IS?
The November/
December 2014
HISTORY
MYSTERY (r) was
the Ashby Inn,
built in 1829 in the village of Paris,
located in Fauquier County at the foothills of the
Blue Ridge Mountains. Reader Joan Brown (l) of
Boyce, whose grandparents lived nearby, was our
$25 winner. Congratulations, Joan!
People who put other people down
for hunting are exercising their freedom
of speech. With all due respect, they
should remember that at some point
their own ancestors hunted to have food
and survive.
Ruth Ann Shipe
Strasburg, Va.
WOMAN HUNTER DOESN'T NEED
TO 'PROVE HER MANHOOD'
I am compelled to respond to the
January MAILBAG letter you received from
the reader who questioned hunting practices.
She suggests that humans not " lure
an animal to its death " ; however, this is
practiced throughout the animal
kingdom.
Snapping turtles use a worm-like
tongue, and humans use what we are
given: our intelligence and ability to make
products that attract prey.
As far as killing squirrels that are simply
bothering you, well, some humans are
given more intelligence than others.
It is nearly impossible for a human to
pursue a deer on foot, and that is a silly
notion.
Natural predators clearly do not control
the deer population. Contrary to what
the reader suggests, it is in fact the older
deer ― the prime bucks with large racks
- that a good hunter harvests, which
February 2015/www.co-opliving.com
allows the younger generation to flourish.
This is just one of many methods of
conservation that hunters practice.
" Wall hangers " are few and far
between, and most often hunters take
their deer for meat, not for show.
Taxidermy is quite expensive, after all.
Finally, I do not need to (as mentioned
in the MAILBAG letter) " prove my
manhood " when I hunt. I am most definitely
a woman, unabashedly sporting
my pink camo!
Candice King
Culpeper, Va.
CALLING ALL YOUNG ARTISTS!
Cooperative Living magazine's
13th annual Youth Art Contest is
now underway, and all youthful
artists are invited to show us your
best work!
The theme for this year's Youth
Art Contest is " My Favorite
Vacation. " Artwork entries should
reflect the young artist's conception
of that theme. Deadline for entries is
May 1, 2015.
The contest is open to all children
in kindergarten through fifth grade.
There are three winners in each
grade category ― first, second and
third place. All winning entries will
continued on pg. 6
5
http://www.co-opliving.com
Cooperative Living February 2015

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Cooperative Living February 2015
