When I grew up in the late '60s and early '70s in Michigan, I would hear stories about how many deer, pheasants, etc. there used to be. Some people expressed concern about the reduction in certain types of wildlife and talked about protecting them.
Fast forward 50 years. Michigan's deer population is burgeoning; it's about double what it was back then (even though hunters now are harvesting more deer than then). In 2018, 53,000 automobile-deer accidents were reported, accounting for 1,300 people injured and 14 killed. Crop damage at my sister's farm is incredibly high. But deer aren't the only animal prospering in Michigan; the bears and wolves have returned in significant numbers. Bears were unheard of in the area where I grew up, but nowadays sightings around people's houses are fairly common; a bear liked to raid the birdfeeders at my mother-in-law's house (near West Branch) before she passed on about 5 years ago.
I feel that man was put on this planet to "fill and subdue" it, and that animals were put here for our use. A very old, top-selling book puts forth that concept. Animals are cute, and I like feeding and watching the wild birds, squirrels, rabbits, and chickens in our back yard. I no longer hunt because it brings me no pleasure (and work has kept me too busy anyway). But I'm not averse to grilling a steak or something when I'm hungry. Nor do I have a problem with other people hunting animals for sport & food or with them killing animals that pose problems or dangers to humans. Frankly, I think more people should get out into the woods and harvest some meat; it would reduce their food bill, reduce the problems (car accidents, crop damage, threats to humans), and show the kiddos where that stuff on the table actually comes from!
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