Heartbreaking carnage

Dear editor:
I am a hunter, fisher, and gatherer. I am aboriginal!
The Creator gave my ancestors a wealth of gifts from which to make a living and the laws to govern the ways in which to exercise this sacred privilege.
I exercise this honour in my daily life mindful of the laws passed on to me by my parents and by my grandparents before that, and as I now teach my children.
My ancestors taught me as they learned from their ancestors the cultural code of conduct in taking a fish, a deer, or moose and any other resource I may need for subsistence.
It is heartbreaking to witness the carnage during this present hunting season. The evidence of waste and disrespect of the Creator’s gifts for sustenance lies in the garbage dumps and is seen in the hunting practices along the highways.
It appears there are no laws or regulations or conscience or respect for wildlife and safety! The Ministry of Natural Resources may be promoting this abuse and waste with tacitly-permitted expanded kills of deer to address human/wildlife conflict and abundance.
The garbage dumps are filled with almost complete carcasses of deer—only their hind quarters and strips of choice cuts along the spine taken.
These deer have been killed only for a quick beer-drinking barbecue after a day of “successful” hunting with grandiose stories of expert sportsmanship as well as tales of heroic hunting skills.
The hunters are assured that the take home trophies, duly tagged by licence, stand waiting along the highways to be shot and killed simply by driving up to tame animals.
We cannot condone this travesty!
I, myself, have gone hunting this year. I can honestly say I have had up to 12 deer in my sights but I felt I was not hunting. I couldn’t pull the trigger! But I thanked my brother, the deer, for the offer.
I moved my hunt to the wilderness, where the highway animals regained their maximum human encounter instincts and survived fairly, and with the respect of my own failure to deserve a gift from the Creator.
It is a simple law of conservation, yet total in human conscience. Take what you need, use it all, give to the neighbour not so fortunate, and respect the gift from the Creator.
My ancestors taught me this law in simple words: “It is not your skill as the hunter; it is a gift from your brother, the animal being.”
This is the law of my ancestors!
My respectful opinion,
Clifford Bob
Nestor Falls, Ont.