Reaching my spot in the woods that morning, I had no illusions about my chances of seeing a legal buck. My first three years, I had come up empty-handed. My fourth year, I had gotten lucky. This was my fifth year. Given that only one in eight Vermont hunters tags a whitetail each autumn, I … Read more
Hunters and anglers, writes Marc Bekoff in Animals Matter, “often like to hang signs that say ‘Gone Fishin’’ or ‘Gone Huntin’.’ But what these slogans really mean is ‘Gone killing.’” When I opposed hunting, I would—like Bekoff—have objected to the euphemisms. Even catch-and-release fishing, with its professed intent not to kill, often does. Now that … Read more
“How are you doing?” Cath asked. We were sitting at the kitchen table, having coffee. I waggled one hand: so-so. “I’m in that zone.” She nodded. She’d known before I answered. Less than an hour after sunrise that November morning, she’d heard the shot. From the direction and distance, she’d known who squeezed the trigger. … Read more
The twinkle in my stepson’s eyes should have told me I was in for it. He and his wife were up from Jersey for a Christmas visit. It was a month after I’d killed my first deer. And we were opening gifts. The box was small. Pushing aside the tissue paper, I saw the silvery … Read more
The doe stepped into the road, then trotted across and bounded into the woods as I slowed the car. Cath and I both relaxed. We weren’t going fast, but that had been close. Then the second doe was there, very close, pausing at the edge of the road. I caught the flash of movement at … Read more
When I lived in Brooklyn in the early 1990s, I wouldn’t have gone hunting. For one thing, I found the idea of killing animals reprehensible. For another, I would have attracted police attention if I’d hiked over to Prospect Park toting a squirrel rifle. Not that firearms were taboo in the neighborhood where I had … Read more
The man called about buying some rabbit. My friend Lila—ex-vegetarian and present-day purveyor of fine, homegrown meats—welcomed him to stop by the house late in the day. The rabbit would be cool by then. “You mean it’s still alive right now?” It was. And the caller, perhaps suddenly imagining Thumper hopping happily about, decided not … Read more