Today in a meeting, the topic turned to an Iowa youth who apparently scored quite a coup in the hunting community for shooting the largest whitetail deer on record. Now granted, my father was not a hunter, I don't believe my step-father ever was either, I didn't grow up with any knowledge of the sport, and I saw Bambi at an impressionable age. But my question is, WHY is this a sport? Here is this beautiful, majestic animal, impressive enough to be record-worthy and sought out by so many....if it was so damn awe-inspiring, why KILL it? Why not just appreciate it and, oh, I don't know...LET IT BE? Is it some macho thing? Was that deer coming after the kid and his family, or anyone else? (I doubt it.) What was it doing wrong, besides maybe haplessly running in front of someone's vehicle at some point? (Nothing, I imagine.) Were these people in danger of starving to death if they didn't slaughter this deer? (Highly unlikely.) I understand overpopulation and trying to keep one's crops from being destroyed. That I get. And yes, I do eat meat, although not venison. But killing things purely for sport, for "fun", as a trophy, that I seriously don't get. Maybe we should start killing the best, most impressive humans, and stuff and mount* them for all to enjoy, hmm?

* (I know, I know....just leave it alone. We all went there, anyway.)