A Word on Hunting and Hunters-From my own Relationship As A Non-Hunter

High Water Levels in Muskoka Again!

(Friday, November 8th, 2013)

 

The recent accumulation of rain over the past week has created high levels of water in the Muskoka region with a flood watch issued to the Bala Moon River area.   Many regions within Muskoka are just cleaning up from the recent floods of a few months ago. (Photo By Fred Schulz)

A WORD ON HUNTING AND HUNTERS - FROM MY OWN RELATIONSHIP AS A NON-HUNTER

I COULDN'T KILL A SPIDER UNLESS IT BIT ME FIRST

     I WAS A BASHFUL, NAIVE CITY-KID FROM THE INNER CONCRETE JUNGLE, OF SOUTHERN ONTARIO, THRUST INTO LIFE AND RESIDENCY, HERE IN THE HINTERLAND OF ONTARIO.
     I JOINED MY GRADE FIVE CLASS, AT BRACEBRIDGE PUBLIC SCHOOL, IN MARCH OF THAT YEAR, 1966, AND I WAS, LIKE MOST TRANSPLANTED URBAN KIDS, WAY OUT OF MY COMFORT ZONE; UNAWARE, FOR EXAMPLE, JUST HOW IMPORTANT "HUNTING SEASON" WAS IN OUR NECK OF THE WOODS. I CAN RECALL THE EXCITEMENT OF SOME KIDS, REPRESENTING A QUARTER, TO A THIRD OF MY CLASSMATES, (FROM 1966 RIGHT THROUGH HIGH SCHOOL), WHEN FALL HUNTING SEASON HAD ARRIVED. SPECIAL FORMS WERE HANDED OUT BY TEACHERS, TO THOSE STUDENTS WHO WERE PLANNING TO ACCOMPANY PARENTS, OR EVEN PARTICIPATE AS HUNTERS THEMSELVES; HEADING OUT TO THE BUSH AND THEIR RESPECTIVE HUNT CAMPS. THEY HAD TO GET THE FORMS SIGNED SO THEY COULD BE EXCUSED FROM REGULAR CLASS. I THINK HUNTING SEASON LASTED TWO OR THREE WEEKS BACK THEN, BUT I'M PROBABLY WRONG ABOUT THIS. THE WHOLE TOWN SAW A LARGE PORTION OF ITS CITIZENRY HEADING OFF WITH THEIR TRUCKS AND CAMPERS, TRAILERS LOADED FULL OF GEAR, WITH GREAT EXPECTATION OF RETURNING AFTER THE HUNT, WITH DEER AND MOOSE HANGING OUT THE BACK OF THE PICK-UPS. HUNTING SEASON WAS SO IMPORTANT IN OUR REGION, THAT IT WOULD ACTUALLY STOP-UP CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS, IN PROGRESS, CARPENTRY, PLUMBING, RIGHT DOWN TO BULLDOZER OPERATORS, GAS STATION ATTENDANTS AND STORE CLERKS. YES IT WAS MOST DEFINITELY MALE DOMINATED. NOT EXCLUSIVE BUT WAY MORE FELLAS THAN GALS.
     IT WASN'T UNUSUAL TO COME UPON A NEIGHBORING PROPERTY, UP ON BRACEBRIDGE'S HUNT'S HILL, WITH THE CARCASS (OR NUMEROUS) OF A DEER, CLEARLY VISIBLE, HANGING IN THE BACK, POSSIBLY FROM A TREE, BEING BLED, THEN EXPERTLY BUTCHERED, ON WHAT IS TODAY CALLED A PATIO.....BUT THEN WAS KNOWN AS "BILL'S OR SAM'S BACK YARD," OR CREDITED TO WHOEVER OWNED THE HOUSE....EXCEPT THE MISSUS. YUP, ONCE AGAIN, MOSTLY OF MALE INFLUENCE. IT WAS THE SIXTIES AFTER ALL. I'M JUST TELLING YOU, WHAT YOU PROBABLY REMEMBER YOURSELF, IF YOU LIVED THROUGH THOSE WILDLY FLUCTUATING YEARS OF SOCIAL/CULTURAL REBELLION. MY PARENTS CALLED ALL HUNTERS "RED NECKS," BUT I NEVER HAD MUCH OPINION OF THIS, BECAUSE MANY OF MY SCHOOL CHUMS, QUITE NORMAL AND POLITE CHAPS, ALWAYS WENT OFF TO THEIR HUNT CAMPS IN THE FALL OF THE YEAR....AND NONE OF THEM SEEMED JEFF FOXWORTHY-LIKE IN RETROSPECT.
  EVERY FALL. THEY TALKED ABOUT SHOOTING DEER, MOOSE, AND THE OCCASIONAL NUISANCE BEAR; BUT GRADUALLY, OVER TIME, CLEAR EXPOSURE TO HUNTING AFTERMATH, REMOVED WHAT BEGAN AS HORROR, SEEING THESE DEAD CRITTERS IN THE YARDS OF MY NEW NEIGHBORHOOD. MOST OF THESE SAME PEOPLE HAD FISHING RODS STORED IN OBVIOUS BUNDLES, IN THEIR GARAGES AS WELL, SO IT WAS THE WHOLE OUTDOOR ADVENTURE LIFESTYLE. I LIKED TO FISH BUT BECAUSE I COULDN'T MAKE MYSELF KILL ANYTHING, EVEN THE WORM TO PIERCE ONTO THE HOOK, I WOULD MAKE IT APPEAR AS ACCIDENTAL, WHEN I SLID THE CATCH BACK INTO THE WATER, AFTER REMOVING THE LINE. I CONFESS TO HAVING KILLED AT LEAST A DOZEN WORMS, BUT SPARED THE FISH. I GUESS THIS IS WHAT A LOT OF FISHERMEN DO TODAY AS WELL. AS FOR KILLING A DEER OR BEAR, I COULDN'T HAVE EVER BEEN PART OF THE HUNT. IT DOESN'T MEAN I WASN'T EXPOSED TO HUNTING, BECAUSE I WAS. I HAD ACCESS TO THE HILLMAN HUNTCAMP ON THE FRASERBURG ROAD, AND AL AND RICK'S BROTHER ROSS, OR GARY, WOULD TAKE US THERE ON A SUMMER OR EARLY AUTUMN AFTERNOON, FOR A GANDER AT WHAT WAS GOING TO BE NEEDED FOR THE UPCOMING SEASON. I USED TO WATCH AL FIRING A 22 CALIBRE RIFLE, SHOOTING CANS OFF STUMPS, AND I WAS LEFT TO IMAGINE WHAT THE PLACE WOULD LOOK LIKE, WITH MANY MORE HUNTERS AND DEER CARCASSES HANGING AT THE SIDE OF THE BUILDING.
    SETH HILLMAN, THE ELDER STATESMAN OF THE FAMILY, AND ONE OF THE OWNERS OF BRACEBRIDGE'S DOWNTOWN ESSO, WAS EXTREMELY PATIENT WITH HIS BOYS AND THIS GREEN CITY KID, WHEN IT CAME TO FIREARMS, AND IF ANYTHING, HE WAS UNCOMPROMISING ON SAFE HANDLING....AND THERE WERE STRICT PROTOCOLS WHENEVER LIVE AMUNITIION WAS AWAILABLE. MY MOTHER NEVER KNEW I WAS AT THE HILLMAN HUNT CAMP, BECAUSE SHE WOULDN'T HAVE LET ME GO. I NEEDED THIS IMMERSION IN THE REAL NATURE OF MY NEW HOME DISTRICT. I LOVED IT OUT THERE, AND THE HILLMAN FAMILY GAVE US NEIGHBORHOOD KIDS A LOT OF NEAT MUSKOKA ADVENTURES, AND MEMORIES OF PLAYING IN THOSE BEAUTIFUL, SUN DRENCHED FORESTS; KEEPING US OUT OF TROUBLE, AT THE SAME TIME; BEING BORED IN TOWN....WHICH WAS ALWAYS A SPARK OF TROUBLE BREWING. WHAT I LEARNED ABOUT HUNTING FROM THE HILLMANS, WAS THAT IT WAS A VERY SERIOUS TIME OF THE YEAR, AND YET AT THE SAME TIME, IT WAS PART OF AN ENJOYABLE, COMMUNITY-WIDE CELEBRATION OF MUSKOKA'S WILDLIFE RESOURCES. SEEMS CONTRADICTORY BECAUSE WILDLIFE WAS BEING PLANNED FOR DINNER. BUT IT WASN'T. THEY DIDN'T OVER-KILL FOR SPORT. THEY HUNTED FOR THE FOOD THEY PLANNED TO EAT, OR SHARE, OVER THE WINTER MONTHS. EVERY PART OF THE SUBJECT ANIMAL WAS USED, AND NOTHING WASTED. MEAT WAS SHARED, AND I KNOW FOR FACT, ROASTS WERE GIVEN TO FOLKS WHO WERE DOWN ON THEIR LUCK, OR SHUT-IN, BECAUSE OF POOR HEALTH OR AGE. IT MAY SEEM TODAY, IN THIS MODERN ERA, WHEN CONSERVATION ISSUES DOMINATE ENVIRONMENTAL CONSCIENCE, THAT HUNTING IS UNNECESSARY, WASTEFUL OF EARTHY RESOURCES, AND EXTRAVAGANT TO THE EXTREME. YET EVEN THOUGH I CAN GET FANATICAL ABOUT COMPROMISES TO THE ENVIRONMENT, SUCH AS INFILLING WETLANDS, AND POLLUTING OUR RIVERS AND LAKES, I STILL CAN'T FAULT HUNTERS FOR DOING WHAT THEY HAVE DONE SINCE THE DAWN OF MANKIND. PART OF THIS COMES FROM MY FIRST HAND EXPERIENCES, AS A WIDE-EYED YOUNGSTER, BEING EXPOSED TO THE INSIDE WORKINGS OF THE HUNT CAMP, AND TO SOME DEGREE, THE HUNT ITSELF. I CAN EVEN REMEMBER, REMAINDERS OF THE BUTCHERED DEER, BEING FED TO THE HILLMAN'S DOG "DANNY," ONE OF SETH'S PRIZED HUNTING HOUNDS. WHILE THIS WAS ONLY ONE CAMP, AMONGST HUNDREDS IN OUR REGION, I COULDN'T FIND ONE FAULT WITH HOW THESE LOVERS-OF-THE-LAND, HANDLED THEIR FALL RECREATION. WHILE I DON'T AGREE WITH KILLING CREATURES, I STILL RESPECT THOSE WHO DO IT, FOLLOWING THE RULES, RESPECTFUL AND MINDFUL OF THE SAFE WAY OF CONDUCTING THE HUNT. IT IS TRUE, WE LOST A FEW HUNTERS AND ANGLERS BY MISADVENTURE BACK IN MY DAY.....SOME HAVING BEEN SHOT, OTHERS DROWNING WHEN THEIR BOATS OVERTURNED ON AREA LAKES AND RIVERS. JUST AS I'M SURE THERE WERE INTENTIONAL AND INADVERTENT ACTS OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS, BEING HUNTED, THAT NEVER BECAME PUBLIC. BUT BY THE LAW OF AVERAGES, IT WOULDN'T BE A STRETCH TO RECOGNIZE THE POTENTIAL AS BEING HIGH, ESPECIALLY AT A TIME WHEN REGULATIONS WERE LESS STRINGENT.
     I STILL KNOW A LOT OF AREA HUNTERS, SOME FOLKS I'VE KNOWN SINCE I ARRIVED IN MUSKOKA, IN 1966, AND THEY ARE ALL PEOPLE I WOULD ACCOMPANY BACK TO THEIR CAMPS, IF I WAS INVITED, AND NEVER ONCE FEEL THAT ANY OF THEM, NOT A SINGLE ONE, WAS EVEN CAPABLE OF ANIMAL CRUELTY FOR THE HELL OF IT. THERE IS A WILD ASSUMPTION THAT IF YOU HUNT, YOU ARE SOMEONE WHO DOES SO WITHOUT HEART AND SOUL FOR THE WILD CREATURES THEY INTEND TO KILL. IT DOES FEEL A LITTLE STRANGE TO ADMIT THIS, BECAUSE I FEEL THAT, AS AN ANIMAL LOVER TO AN EXTREME, I SHOULD CARRY GREAT DISLIKE FOR ANYONE WHO HUNTS. IT JUST ISN'T SO. MAYBE IT'S MY KNOWLEDGE OF PIONEER HISTORY, AND HOW THE HUNT AND ITS FOOD PROVISIONS SAVED THE LIVES OF HOMESTEADERS.....INCLUDING OUR OWN FAMILY, WHO SETTLED IN UFFORD, ON THE SHORE OF THREE MILE LAKE IN THE 1860'S, AND MADE USE OF FISH AND WILDLIFE ROUTINELY FOR SUSTENANCE. AND RESOURCES WERE SHARED AMONGST THOSE WITHOUT; THE SAME AS HAPPENS TO THIS DAY IN THE HUNTING COMMUNITY.
     I AM ONE OF THE MOST UNLIKEY PEOPLE ON THE FACE OF THE EARTH, TO BE WRITING A BLOG, IN SUPPORT OF WILD GAME HUNTING. CONSIDER THIS. FOR THE PAST THREE WEEKS, I HAVE BEEN REMOVING SMALL TREES AND LIMBS FROM BIRCH HOLLOW. THESE ARE TREES I PLANTED AROUND OUR HOME, AS FAR BACK AS THE EARLY 1990'S. WITH THE EXCEPTION OF A SMALL CLUSTER OF TREES IN OUR SIDE-YARD, THE PROPERTY WAS VOID OF ANYTHING MORE SUBSTANTIAL THAN FERNS AND DANDELIONS, WHEN WE MOVED IN, BACK IN THE AUTUMN OF 1989. MANY OF THE SMALL TREES WERE RE-LOCATED FROM SUZANNE'S FAMILY HOMESTEAD IN WINDERMERE, ESPECIALLY THE LILACS AND RASPBERRIES FROM THE COTTAGE ON LAKE ROSSEAU. IT'S WHY I HATE MYSELF FOR HAVING TO CUT ANY OF THEM DOWN, BECAUSE WE HAVE TOO MANY TREES FOR OUR OWN GOOD. NOW HERE'S THE TRUTH. I OFFER A HUMBLE AND HEARTFELT APOLOGY TO ANY TREE I'M CUTTING DOWN OR TRIMMING, IN ADVANCE OF MY FIRST AXE SWING OR SAW CUT. IT'S HOW MUCH RESPECT I HAVE FOR NATURE AND GOD'S CREATURES. MY FAVORITE NATURE FLICK IS THE MOVIE, "MR. SYCAMORE," WITH JASON ROBARTS, (MAN WHO WANTS TO BECOME A TREE), SO IT'S HARD NOT TO BE CONSIDERED CONTRADICTORY, FOR THEN CONDONING THE ANNUAL HUNT.....WHEN ACTUAL BREATHING, MOVING CREATURES ARE FELLED BY ORANGED VESTED PURSUERS. I SATISY MYSELF WITH THE NARROW PEACE OF MIND, NO MEMBER OF OUR IMMEDIATE FAMILY HUNTS, AND THOSE WHO I KNOW HUNT, DO SO RESPONSIBLY WITH NARY A CRUEL BONE IN THEIR BODIES. HUNTING IS PERCEIVED TO BE CRUEL ON ITS OWN, AND NO MATTER WHAT A BLOGGER LIKE ME WRITES, TO THE CONTRARY, MANY FOLKS WILL NEVER CHANGE THEIR MINDS ABOUT THIS.....AND I RESPECT THAT. I HAVE NO MISSION HERE, TO CONVINCE ANYONE READING, THAT HUNTING IS ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY, OR IS WITHOUT BASE ELEMENTS OF WHAT CAN ONLY BE CONSIDERED UNNECESSARY SUFFERING, AND CRUEL TREATMENT. BUT WHEN HUNTING IS CONSIDERED ALONGSIDE THE MEAT AND POULTRY INDUSTRY IN THIS COUNTRY, AND WEIGHED IN TERMS OF PAIN AND SUFFERING, WELL, WHAT IS WORSE? HAVING JUST WATCHED A CTV DOCUMENTARY ON INDUSTRIAL FARMS IN THE EGG-LAYING INDUSTRY, SUZANNE AND I SWIFTLY SWORE OFF THESE EGGS. IT LASTED ONE DAY. FOR SUNDAY BREAKFAST WE HAD EGGS FROM CHICKENS POTENTIALLY TREATED CRUELLY, ALONGSIDE THE BACON, OF PIGS ALSO POTENTIALLY ABUSED AS PART OF MEAT PROCESSING. THERE ARE MANY CONTRADICTIONS OUT THERE, AND I'M QUICK TO SEE MYSELF, REGRETFULLY, AS A HOPELESS SLAVE OF THE WAY IT USED TO BE....ALSO BEING THE TEMPLATE FOR THE FUTURE.
     THIS IS NOT TO SAY THERE AREN'T A--HOLE HUNTERS OUT THERE, WHO WOULD SHOOT AN ANIMAL, AND TREAT IT UNMERCIFULLY BEFORE IT HAD ACTUALLY EXPIRED. I'VE READ ABOUT THEM, AND BEEN TOLD STORIES ABOUT FOLKS LIKE THIS......BUT THEY'VE NEVER, EITHER CROSSED MY PATH, INCLUDING MY YEARS IN THE COMMUNITY PRESS, OR BESTOWED SOME ACT OF CRUELTY IN MY PRESENCE. THERE WAS ONLY EVER ONE CASE OF DISCREDITABLE CONDUCT, IN THIS REGARD, AND IT WAS THE RESULT OF A MENTAL INSTABILITY ISSUE, INITIATING THE SHOOTING. I WAS EDITOR OF THE HERALD-GAZETTE, AND A NEARBY RESIDENT, SEVERAL STREETS WEST OF OUR DOMINION STREET OFFICE, PHONED TO SAY HE WANTED US TO TAKE A PICTURE OF SOMETHING HE HAD SHOT ON HIS PROPERTY. WE HOPED IT WASN'T HIS WIFE, AS THEY HAD BEEN HAVING VERY PUBLIC MARITAL DIFFICULTIES. HE JUST HUNG UP, SO WE HAD NO CHOICE BUT TO MEET HIM OUT FRONT, AND HAVE A LOOK-SEE WHAT HE REFERRED TO AS A "SURPRISE." AS A SIDE-BAR TO THIS STORY, THIS SAME ELDERLY CHAP HAD BEEN EXPERIENCING SOME MENTAL PROBLEMS, IN THE MONTHS LEADING UP TO THIS EVENT, AND HE WAS WELL KNOWN TO THE POLICE.
     WHEN HE ARRIVED, IN FRONT OF THE OLD BRACEBRIDGE TOWN HALL, HE HAD ALREADY STEPPED OUT OF THE CAR, AND OPENED THE TRUNK FOR OUR INSPECTION. EVEN BEFORE WE GOT TO THE BACK OF THE AUTOMOBILE, HE HAD STARTED TO PULL THE DECEASED CREATURE OUT OF THE TRUNK, WHICH, WHEN HE SUDDENLY LOST HIS GRIP, LANDED RATHER AWKWARDLY ONTO THE TARMAC OF THE ROAD. A REPORTER MATE, AND I, JUST STOOD THERE WITH MOUTHS HANGING WIDE OPEN, TRYING TO COMPREHEND WHAT WAS RESTING THAT MOMENT, AT THE TIPS OF OUR SHOES. THE MAN WAS BOASTFUL ABOUT KILLING THIS NUISANCE BEAR THAT MORNING. IT WAS A BEAR CUB. A TINY WEE FELLOW THE SIZE OF A LARGE DOG. AT FIRST THAT'S WHAT WE THOUGHT IT WAS. THEN HE BENT OVER AND PICKED IT UP BY THE HEAD, RAISED IT UP AS HIGH AS HIS CHEST, AND DISPLAYED IT AS IF IT WAS A TROPHY KILL. BY THIS POINT OTHERS HAD GATHERED AROUND, AND SOON, EMPLOYEES AT TOWN HALL, WERE LOOKING OUT THE WINDOWS NEXT DOOR, AND A FEW COUNCILLORS HAPPENED BY, TO SEE WHAT ALL THE FUSS WAS ABOUT. THE MAN ACTED AS IF HE HAD JUST SAVED THE TOWN FROM THIS ROGUE, DANGEROUS BEAR. HE REALLY DIDN'T APPRECIATE, HE HAD JUST KILLED A CUB. IT HAD APPARENTLY CLIMBED UP A TREE OUT OF FEAR, AND HE DECIDED THAT BECAUSE IT WAS ON HIS PROPERTY, IT WAS ALSO HIS BEAR CUB.
 THERE WAS A LOT OF ANGER BUILDING AMONGST THE SPECTATORS, SOMEWHAT THE SAME SCENARIO, AS THE MOST RECENT KILLING OF A SMALL BEAR IN GRAVENHURST THIS PAST WEEK. (HIT REPEATEDLY WITH A ROCK, SHORTLY AFTER BEING INJURED IN A MOTOR VEHICLE COLLISION). THE INCIDENTS WERE MILES APART IN ACTUALITY, OF COURSE; AND THIS BRACEBRIDGE DEBACLE WAS A MOST WASTEFUL, STUPID AND ILLEGAL ACT, AND THIS WAS EMPHASIZED WHEN MINISTRY OFFICIALS ARRIVED ON SCENE, AND CHARGED THE URBAN RIFLEMAN, FOR HIS ACT OF CRUELTY. WE WEREN'T DEALING WITH A LIVE, OR BADLY INJURED BEAR CUB; WE HAD A DEAD ONE, AND A MENTALLY FEEBLE MAN IN POSSESSION OF A GUN. I CAN'T REMEMBER WHAT WE RAN IN THE PAPER THAT WEEK, THOUGH I SHOULD; BUT IT COMPANIONED WITH A SIDEBAR STORY ABOUT THE CHARGES LAID, AS A RESULT OF THE INCIDENT. WE RAN HIS SIDE, AND THE LEGAL OPINION GIVEN TO US BY THE AUTHORITIES WHO LAID THE CHARGES. IF WE RAN THE PHOTO OF THE MAN HOLDING UP THE DEAD BEAR CUB, I WOULD BE SURPRISED, BECAUSE TO SLIP SOMETHING LIKE THAT THROUGH OUR MANAGER, AND PUBLISHER, AND THE LEGAL EAGLE WHO WE CALLED IN SUCH SITUATIONS, WOULD HAVE TAKEN A LOT OF CONVINCING.  IT MAY HAVE BEEN THE CASE, THE COMPETITION RAN THE POSE WITH THE BEAR, AND WE RAN A PICTURE OF THE HUNTER WITHOUT HIS TROPHY. I DON'T WANT TO BE A HYPOCRITE HERE, SO I WILL CONFESS TO NOT KNOWING HOW WE HANDLED THE STORY, AND HOW WE AUGMENTED IT USING A PHOTOGRAPH. WE DEFINITELY WOULDN'T HAVE TAKEN A PHOTOGRAPH OF HIM KILLING THE BEAR IN HIS YARD. HE HAD INVITED US TO HIS HOUSE IN THE PAST, BUT WE DECLINED, KNOWING HIS MENTAL DETERIORATION, AND THE FACT HE HAD AMPLE FIREARMS TO CAUSE BODILY HARM, IF HE CHANGED HIS MIND ABOUT US DURING THE VISIT.
     THERE IS A GOOD CHANCE I KNOW THE PERPETRATOR OF THE CONTROVERSIAL MERCY KILLING, OF AN INJURED BEAR CUB IN GRAVENHURST, LAST WEEK ON BETHUNE DRIVE. IT'S A SMALL TOWN AND WORD TRAVELS FAST. I STILL HAVE MANY NEWS SOURCES, AND THEY LET ME KNOW ABOUT EVENTS LIKE THIS OCCURRING IN THE REGION. I HAVE BEEN TOLD AS MUCH BY THOSE WHO WERE AT THE SCENE, ON BETHUNE DRIVE. IT'S A NAME I WILL  PROBABLY HAVE SOME ASSOCIATION, SO I MUST REFRAIN FROM CASTING FURTHER OPINION ABOUT THE EVENT ITSELF, BECAUSE OF A POTENTIAL CONFLICT. I DON'T WANT IT TO APPEAR THAT I AM MOUNTING A DEFENCE SOLELY BECAUSE OF PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP, THUSLY PUTTING IT ABOVE WHAT MIGHT POTENTIALLY BE A CRIMINAL ACT. I REALLY WANT TO HEAR THE OTHER SIDE OF THE MERCY-KILLING STORY,THAT WE DON'T KNOW  ABOUT, SO FAR, OTHER THAN WHAT WE ASSUME AS THE ALLEGED TRUTHS, PUBLISHED IN PHOTOGRAPHS AND EDITORIAL COPY, RELEASED BY THE LOCAL PRESS.
     THE IMAGES OF A TINY CREATURE ABOUT TO BE PUMMELLED WITH A ROCK, IS HARD TO DEAL WITH EMOTIONALLY.....EVEN FOR ME, HAVING WITNESSED A LOT OF ROAD CARNAGE AND DEATH IN MY YEARS COVERING MUSKOKA NEWS. BUT NO MATTER HOW HARD IT IS TO READ AND VIEW, THERE IS STILL ANOTHER SIDE TO THE STORY WE MUST CONSIDER, BEFORE CONDEMNING THE PERPETRATOR TO HARSH PUBLIC PUNISHMENT. THE PRESS IS NOT THE MIRROR OF JUDICIAL DUE DILIGENCE. WE'LL LET AUTHORITIES IN THE FIELD DECIDE THE NEXT STEP, TO DEAL WITH THIS TRAGIC EVENT. NOT "TRIAL BY MEDIA"!
     THANK YOU ALL FOR JOINING WITH ME TODAY. I ALWAYS ENJOY YOUR COMPANY. AND IF YOU'RE DRIVING, FOR GOD'S SAKE, BE PREPARED FOR MUSKOKA'S WILDLIFE TO WANDER ONTO THE ROADWAYS. I CAME CLOSE TO HITTING A BABY MOOSE THE OTHER AFTERNOON, ON MUSKOKA BEACH ROAD; AND TWO DEER A WEEK AGO ON THE SAME ROAD. THEY CAN'T HELP IT....BUT WE CAN HELP THEM BY BEING EVER ALERT WHILE MOTORING THROUGH OUR BEAUTIFUL REGION OF ONTARIO.