Letter sent:
Dear Editor,
It was with considerable disappointment and anger that I read the article by B. Groeneveld of 25 September 2007. Clearly Mr. Groeneveld has little or no understanding of the long and proud tradition of hunting in Canadian history, or of the true motivations of those Canadians who continue that tradition today. His attitude reeks of smug superiority, utter hypocrisy and blinding ignorance.
Every human being living on this planet is a direct descendant of a successful hunter. Indeed, our very identity as human beings is in large part derived from our evolution as hunters during ages past.
Our modern lifestyle of fast-food chains, grocery supermarkets and microwaved, overprocessed 'food' represents an enormous departure from our natural state. Our roots are as hunter-gatherers who lived in harmony with our environment.
The 'natural connection' Mr. Groeneveld refers to is most faithfully represented in our modern society by those men and women who choose to venture out into the wild places of this country and harvest their own food. Those men and women are the very hunters Mr. Groeneveld derides in his article.
As to the use of firearms for harvesting game, Mr. Groeneveld has clearly never seen a moose being run down, hamstrung and torn apart by a pack of wolves while still alive, or else he wouldn't be so keen to advocate the use of tooth and claw for harvesting game. A swift, merciful death by a hunter's bullet is certainly the way I'd want to go.