Ripon College Days

Blaze orange streaks the white countryside once again this year as hunting season begins with full force.

The deer hunting season, which started Saturday morning and runs through Nov. 27, is arguably one of Wisconsin's more popular winter pastimes. As students prepare to head home for Thanksgiving break, some have hopes of "bagging the big one."

"There is something majestic about a white tail deer as it walks through the woods on a blanket of snow with the snow glistening in the sun," says junior Drew Davis, who has been deer hunting legally since the age of 12. "I have a deep appreciation for what I do."

Another student, senior Tyler Haddock, has been deer hunting with his father since he was ten.

"I got into the sport through family and friends," he says. "It was a week of bonding with my dad, uncles and cousins. Deer hunting brings us together for a whole week."

Junior Tyler Otto remembers wanting to go hunting with his father, an avid hunter, at a young age.

"I've wanted to hunt since I was a little kid and before I could hold a gun," he says.

The tradition of father and son hunting is one Davis says has existed for years.

"Hunting is what our fathers taught us. It's the ways of our fathers that just goes through the generations. It's a great reflection on our history," Davis says. "There is something exciting about the hunt, the pursuit of strengthening a bond with nature."

Though gun hunting is the better-known practice, there's also a defined deer hunting season for the bow, perhaps the most primitive way to hunt.

"Bow hunting for a deer is the most relaxing," says Otto. "You have to outsmart the animal while he unknowingly tries to outsmart you."

Junior Ryan Gustafson agrees.

"Bow hunting is a true connection. It goes back to when the playing field was more level, especially with a long bow," he says.

Professor of Philosophy David Seligman is also a devoted hunter. He has extended his interest into the classroom, offering the Philosophy of Hunting and Fishing next semester. The class will consider philosophical and moral arguments both for and against hunting, especially when done solely for sport. The class will also trace the development of hunting from its earliest form to today.

While this one-time offered course may be appealing to hunters, it will also highlight the beliefs of those on the other side of the argument: those who feel hunting is downright wrong.

"The logic of their arguments and the quality of our natural environment [is important]," says Seligman. "It would be stupid and foolish not to take them seriously."

Senior Jessica Forman is one such person.

"I don't see the masculinity in hunting," she says. "Just killing for the sake of killing doesn't fly. I never agree to killing animals at all just for sport. Everything should be respected."

Forman has never hunted herself and says that her distaste for hunting comes from the fact that she feels most people don't have respect for the lives of the animals they kill.

"[There are] tribes that hunted, but they respected the animals, something not all hunters today do," Forman says.

However, Haddock points out an argument he feels justifies continuation of the sport today.

"Deer hunting is not just a savage form of harming useless little animals," he says. "For instance, deer hunting is a way for the state to control the population of deer. Without deer hunting thousands of deer would starve during the winter or cause car crashes that harm you and me."

Though she says she understands the argument of deer overpopulation, Forman feels there are other ways to deal with this issue.

"I understand overpopulation, but if you are going to deal with overpopulation there are more humane ways," she says.

According to the Department of Natural Resources state website, this year's deer population in Wisconsin is estimated to be between 1.4 and 1.5 million deer.

"The toughest part about being a hunter is answering questions to the uneducated when it comes to the sport. There are too many people who think of it as killing innocent animals," Haddock says.

Though Seligman recognizes arguments against hunting, he continues to enjoy the sport.

"I wouldn't [hunt] if I believed there wasn't a moral reason to do it," he says.

Haddock hunts because he says it's an exciting and challenging sport.

"There is more to hunting than just killing an animal," Haddock says. "Hunting is about preparation and consideration. You need to know where you are going to sit, how the weather will be, what time you are going out, etc," says Haddock.

He continues, "I think it is probably one of the hardest sports you can do. It is nearly impossible to master and no matter how many times you see a deer your heart always starts to pound."

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