Letter to the Editor: Oppose Deer Hunting on Public Land

To the Editor:

I am out of town and cannot attend in the deer question but I want to convey to the Conservation Commission my extreme opposition to the hunting proposal.

I oppose the plan to hunt for safety reasons. I live adjacent to conservation land and my family frequents the town's trails. I fear that adding hunters of any kind and for any duration could lead to a terrible and preventable tragedy.

I oppose the plan to hunt on the grounds of animal cruelty. It is incompatible with the lessons I teach my children on safeguarding the lives of all creatures.

I oppose the plan to hunt for ecological reasons. If we remove deer, have we thought through the ramifications on an ecological level? What animal will be next? What plant?

I oppose the plan to hunt because I think it is absolutely unnecessary. I have heard arguments about loss of shrubbery. Rabbits eat shrubbery too, should we hunt them too? How sad to kill a living creature simply to protect landscaping. If we were talking about a farmer losing his sustenance crops, I might think differently, but that is not the discussion.

The Town of Weston has for years consistently supported conservation. Witness the most recent Town Meeting vote to preserve the habitat at 80 Acres, at which discussion deer were several times mentioned. To allow hunting of any kind in our town seems to me to be antithetical to conservation. I appeal to the commission to vote against hunting in Weston.  

Thank you.

Alicia Primer,
Church Street