My friend and co-worker Tom Williams has taken off the last few Mondays after Thanksgiving. I got to anchor and avoid doing the "opening day of rifle deer season" story.
Tom changed his schedule this year, so there I was, on the road, with a photographer, in search of hunters and their prey. It was a cold and rainy Monday morning. A long drive through Lackawanna and Wayne counties showed a lot of cars and trucks parked along roads, but few hunters dragging out their trophies.
It was time for plan B-- go to a processing shop and have the hunters come to us. It worked. We met a very nice and polite teen from Scranton and his father. The younger got a deer on his very first day of trying. It was a good story, and we made our noon deadline with plenty of time to spare.
I know you were waiting for this part. I know there's ample reason to thin the herd. Deer cause crop and property damage. They're all over the highways. Having said that, I don't like looking at dead animals-- no matter how good the reason, and yes, I do eat beef.
Hunting is a tradition thousands of years old. It seems to work well. Still, way deep down, I have a feeling there might be a better way to control the deer population. Do I know what it is? Absolutely not.
I thought it was just me, but the number of hunters seemed down this year. I spoke with others. They agree. The old timers say fewer young people are taking up the activity. That's easy to see.
A state representative has drafted a bill, asking the state game commission to move the opening day of deer season to a Saturday, just like bear season. The bear move appears to be a success. The state rep reasons that people can't skip weekday work because they can't afford to. The economy is weak. I don't see a problem with a move to Saturday, but you know Pennsylvania is slow to change. Let's at least give it a try for a few years, and see how it goes. Kids can actually go to school on Monday after Thanksgiving and get an education.
Happy hunting, and stay safe.