SUN JOURNAL • July 31, 2020
More hunters stalking Maine’s wildlife with crossbows is no reason to celebrate (“Outdoors in Maine: Highlighting changes in crossbow rules,” by V. Paul Reynolds, Sun Journal, July 26). A member of the Maine Bowhunters Association found that for every deer killed outright by a bowhunter, one more was only wounded and escaped to suffer and die slowly of its injuries. A study by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department determined that the “wound rate” for bowhunting exceeds 50%. Add this to the long list of ways that hunters hurt animals, which includes tearing animal families apart, orphaning young and hitting “non-target” species. ~ Michelle Kretzer, The PETA Foundation, Virginia