PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • December 24, 2020
The first thing I did when we bought our house 35 years ago was post “No Hunting” signs. But with each November I became increasingly uncomfortable judging and being wary of my hunter neighbors. Those I came to know turned out to be responsible people, concerned about safety and wildlife conservation. To my surprise, I began to feel an atavistic urge to join them, to be a hunter-gatherer and provider. I was also attracted to the notion of avoiding bovine growth hormones and the environmental impact of factory-farmed beef, and thinning the herd that was ravaging our vegetable garden and flower beds. So, at age 45 I took down the signs and took up deer hunting. ~ Nat Wheelwright, emeritus professor of biology at Bowdoin College, Harpswell