PETA may paint hunters as bloodthirsty savages who don’t give a rip about animals but we know the truth. No one does more to protect and preserve wildlife than hunters.
Though I’m preaching to the choir on this, did you know that sportsmen contribute $9.4 million every day to conservation? That’s $3.4 billion annually! We raise more for conservation in a week than PETA does in an entire year (PETA’s total revenue in 2017 was $48 million).
But our affinity for the game we hunt isn’t only expressed in dollars and cents. We really care about the health and well-being of wildlife.
Hunters in Pennsylvania proved this when they rescued an eight-point buck that was stranded out on a frozen lake in Lackawaxen Township.
Using a small boat, a lasso, and some rope, hunters Josh Davis and Ed Schmalzle were able to secure the deer and bring him safely back to shore. Their buddy Jeff Sidle caught much of the rescue on camera (see full video below).
“He must have made it out that far, slipped and fell and couldn’t get back up,” Davis told WNEP.
The footage shows the deer struggling to get back on its feet hooves. As for why the men risked their own hide for the buck, the answer was simple.
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“People don’t realize that just because hunters go out and kill that they’re not humane or they don’t have those feelings about animals and the environment,” explained Slide. “That’s the way we are. It captured who we are.”
Davis added, “I wouldn’t want to see the deer suffer. I am a hunter. There’s a giant difference between an animal being harvested humanely and one being left out to die on the frozen ice.”
The buck was released back into the wild. The rescue came two days before the start of hunting season, which began Monday.
The men were asked how they’d feel if the buck was harvested this year to which Davis responded, “If someone did happen to get him on Monday, that’s feeding a family as opposed to him sitting out there going to waste.”
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