To the Editor:
While the headline for this story in the Jan. 5 edition of the Lincoln County News noted that many residents of Sheepscot were upset about the killing of domestic geese by a hunter (Page 1), I think the anger goes well beyond Sheepscot as many residents of Lincoln County are extremely dismayed and angry that someone would shoot the geese and claim they were Canada geese. Most people who were aware of the geese knew that they were not Canada geese and that they were really very tame and loved by both residents and visitors to the village.
I think it is unfortunate that the hunter’s name and the name of his son were not made known in the article as this is an example of an incident that should be tried in the court of public opinion. When something like this happens anywhere I am reminded of the Columbine massacre that took place several years ago in Colorado. The two Columbine shooters started their shooting rampage as youngsters who shot and killed animals for fun before moving on to bigger game, namely humans.
Hunting in Maine is almost viewed as a sacred right and that will never change. It is, however, something that should be undertaken by hunters who do it for necessity instead of for the thrill of killing. There isn’t a hunting season when we don’t hear about someone being shot by a hunter who thought they were taking aim at a deer or moose instead of a dog or a person.
Even worse, these trigger happy shooters start their kids hunting at a very young age so that they are comfortable with shooting and killing.
I sincerely hope that we can learn the name of this “hunter” so that those who know him and his son can let them know how they feel about this incident. I suppose we are fortunate that the hunter didn’t take aim at the woman who witnessed the shooting.
Barbara Contardo, Newcastle
