Wildlife preservation

Dear Editor:

In response to Larry Claasen "Keep it up, Mike" (Tuesday, March 15) and his comments on hunting and meat-eating...first he stated there is overwhelming evidence that man is a vegetarian by nature. Since he didn't explain that I'm guessing that might mean a discovered frozen caveman didn't have meat in his stomach so that's evidence early man didn't eat meat. Probably not...since all he had was a stick to hunt with. Had he had his choice I'm betting his belly would have contained meat. Also early man was considered old if they lived to be 35 years old. Probably would have lived longer if they could have ate more meat.

Larry Claasen also stated "hunting is a self-sustaining industry that has at its heart the concept of killing for fun and entertainment." People do enjoy hunting...can't deny that. Ever heard of "wildlife conservation" Larry? Last year the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission offered for sale or sold 103,737 deer permits. 14,448 were archery permits (bow and arrow) and 16,543 were muzzleloader permits. The remainder were mostly high-powered rifle permits. The reason this number of permits is sold is because there are way too many deer and the numbers need to be controlled to insure a healthy population. (conservation) In the area I live I am sure there are more deer killed in a years time by vehicles than by hunters. If the deer weren't harvested on a regular basis the population would be grossly out of control. Farmers couldn't raise a crop at all. There is already a huge crop loss due to animal damage. Think how many deer would be killed on the highways, not to mention vehicle damage and personal injury. This is something city-dwellers don't think about because it isn't a problem there. Wildlife "preservationists" like Larry Claasen think there is unlimited space and food for an unlimited amount of wildlife, but all species need to be checked to insure a healthy population of each. I would look forward to hearing some of your "sensible alternatives".

Mr. Claasens' last statement was "After all, no one is going to get angry at someone whose claims are ridiculous and easily dismissed." Not to worry Larry, I am not angry at you. You just need to educate yourself about wildlife conservation and I think you will agree it makes more sense than preservation.

Thank you.

Gary L Benson

Cambridge

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