{"id":1132,"date":"2010-10-24T11:03:22","date_gmt":"2010-10-24T17:03:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=1132"},"modified":"2026-02-25T14:42:13","modified_gmt":"2026-02-25T20:42:13","slug":"this-is-not-a-dumb-animal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2010\/10\/24\/this-is-not-a-dumb-animal\/","title":{"rendered":"This Mule Deer is not a “dumb animal”"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Mule Wild Mule Deer in velvet, Antelope Island State Park, Utah –\u00a0D200, f6.3, 1\/100, ISO 400, 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm,\u00a0 natural light, not baited and not a setup<\/span><\/p>\n

Yesterday I was getting caught up on local, US and World news when I came across an article titled “ND Vote Could Ban Big Game Hunting On Fenced Land<\/em>” on cbsnews.com<\/a><\/span>. I mainly photograph birds but I also enjoy photographing other animals so I clicked on the link to read the story. I was stunned. Yes, I think I have had my head in a hole in the sand up until now about this hot topic. I’ve done some research on this and the more I read, the sicker I felt.<\/span><\/p>\n

Measure No. 2 on the November\u00a0 2, 2010 \u00a0general election\u00a0on the North Dakota ballot seeks to abolish fenced preserves where people pay to shoot big game such as deer and elk.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Mule Deer above isn’t a dumb animal.<\/em> <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The truly<\/span> dumb animals<\/strong> are the people who install high fences on private property to cage large game animals\u00a0inside and then for enormous fees encourage and allow other<\/span>\u00a0dumb animals<\/strong>\u00a0to shoot captive animals and call it hunting.<\/span><\/p>\n

I can’t call those people “hunters”, there is NO sport in killing a captive animal. It takes NO skill to execute a deer that cannot escape. It only requires cash to end the life of a majestic Moose or Elk.<\/span><\/p>\n

All it requires is a thick wallet.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

I’m not against\u00a0hunting fairly.\u00a0These are not\u00a0fair hunts.<\/span><\/p>\n

They call these places \u00a0“Game Preserves”.<\/span>\u00a0 Preserves?? <\/strong>Make no mistake, these\u00a0fenced in, large game captive animals are not being preserved. They are\u00a0being killed with high powered weapons with NO chance of escape. To borrow a worn out phrase this is “shooting fish in a barrel”.<\/span><\/p>\n

The definition of “preserve” from Merriam-Webster.com<\/a><\/span>:<\/span><\/p>\n

Definition of PRESERVE<\/span>
\n transitive verb<\/span>
\n 1: to keep safe from injury, harm, or destruction : protect
\n<\/strong>2a : to keep alive, intact, or free from decay<\/span>
\n 2 b : maintain<\/span><\/p>\n

These game preserves are not keeping the large game animals safe from injury. The animals are not being kept safe from harm. These animals are not being protected or kept alive.<\/span><\/p>\n

These large game animals are being<\/span> RESERVED <\/strong>for the rich not preserved for everyone. The wealthy\u00a0take a number, select which animal they want to shoot, hand over the cash, sit on their butts,\u00a0fire at\u00a0their target and have the trophy mounted so they can hang it on\u00a0their walls. These animals are being exploited for profit.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\"RestingWild Bull Elks resting, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado\u00a0–\u00a0D200, handheld, f6.3, 1\/250, ISO 200, 70-300mm VR at 300mm, natural light, not baited and not a set up<\/span><\/p>\n

A quote from President Theodore Roosevelt, a conservationist who helped to preserve public lands, the animals on those lands and the natural resources contained on and within\u00a0those lands:<\/span><\/p>\n

“We need, in the interest of the community at large, a rigid system of game-laws rigidly enforced, and it is not only admissible, but one may almost say necessary, to establish, under the control of the State, great national forests reserves which shall also be breeding-grounds and nurseries for wild game; but I should much regret to see grow up in this country a system of large private game-preserves kept for the enjoyment of the very rich.<\/strong><\/span> One of the chief attractions of the life of the wilderness is its rugged and stalwart democracy; there every man stands for what he actually is and can show himself to be.”<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Theodore Roosevelt<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

I’m sorry President Roosevelt, your regret has come to fruition. I am glad you are not around to see what is happening today. It would sicken and incense you.<\/span><\/p>\n

Prices to extinguish the lives of\u00a0\u00a0large game animals varies by the size of the rack and what they call the Safari Club International (SCI) scoring system. Not only are there native large game animals these High Fence Shooting Galleries import exotics from other countries.<\/span><\/p>\n

Pretty disgusting, isn’t it?<\/span><\/p>\n

Some of these places call it “harvesting” which I think is laughable and sick. These are warm-blooded animals, not potatoes in a field, apples in a tree or barley growing on 2000 acres. They also claim these captive animals are as wild as any free roaming animals. Give us all a break, we don’t believe you.<\/strong> They may as well be shooting animals in a zoo.<\/span><\/p>\n

Bobbing for apples would present far more of a challenge.<\/span><\/p>\n

Many of these high fenced shooting galleries guarantee success or the “hunt” is free.\u00a0It isn’t a hunt, this isn’t a sport, \u00a0this is some rich person driving a vehicle within a few yards of a captive animal to plug bullets in it. Then they can hang their “trophy” on a wall and act like a “big man”. They are not hunters, they are simply the\u00a0very rich people that Theodore Roosevelt spoke of. They are too lazy to hunt the way our forefathers did. They don’t want to be cold, uncomfortable and they surely do not appear to enjoy nature or the rigors of truly being a hunter.<\/span><\/p>\n

Some of these “hunters” never touch what they have killed except to have their picture taken, they hire someone to gut and quarter the animal. What’s the matter, are they afraid to get their hands bloody?<\/span><\/p>\n

This is about EGO<\/strong><\/p>\n

Some of the areas where the large animals are released are no larger than 20 acres which is about the size of 16 football fields.<\/span><\/p>\n

Whoopee! They want to call it a hunt? Let’s call it what it is.<\/span> A shooting gallery for the rich.<\/strong> My advice for those rich trophy seekers\u00a0is to go to a carnival where they have those little yellow plastic ducks mounted on the tent wall that they can shoot and get a prize. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

It really isn’t any different than shooting animals trapped behind a 9 foot fence except at the carnival no blood is being spilled. No animals lives are lost.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

These places also state that YOU won’t feel fenced in. How could you not with 9 foot fences surrounding the perimeter? Big freaking deal, the animals are fenced in, they are imprisoned. Where is the sport in that? They justify by saying they want a\u00a0100% chance at getting the animal they are after. I want a 100% chance of winning a huge lottery prize but to do that cheating would have to be involved.\u00a0Like I feel it is 100% cheating to shoot\u00a0captive <\/span><\/span>wild animals.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"YoungYoung male Moose, High Uintas, Utah – D200, f7.1, 1\/320, ISO 400, 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at\u00a0 260mm, natural light, not baited and not a set up<\/span><\/p>\n

In case you are wondering why a bird photographer is so incensed about this issue it is because\u00a0I am not just a bird photographer.<\/span><\/p>\n

I am a nature lover.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0I am someone who wants to preserve, to protect and conserve wilderness areas, the flora and\u00a0the fauna so that future generations can see and enjoy nature. I’m also a mother who has taught her children to enjoy, respect and\u00a0cherish wildlife. I am someone who cares.<\/span><\/p>\n

Many of these so called private “Preserves” and Game Farms\u00a0offer packages where photographers can visit and for a fee photograph the animals. Unscrupulous photographers then sell, license or exhibit the images without disclosing that they are captive animals. They omit the truth, they do not offer full disclosure.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Ted Williams at Audubon.org<\/a><\/span> has written an excellent article about game farm photography. It is a very interesting, thought provoking article. It also lists some publications who reject game farm images. I personally applaud book and magazine editors who will no longer print or publish photographs created using game farm\u00a0or private preserve animals. Bravo, well done. Thanks for taking a stand.<\/span><\/p>\n

I want NO part of photographing on private preserves or game farms. That isn’t my definition of nature photography.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mia<\/span><\/p>\n

Reading Material:<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Point of View: Game Farm Photography<\/a><\/span>\u00a0– by Thomas D. Mangelsen<\/span><\/p>\n

Phony Wildlife Photography Gives a Warped View of Nature<\/a><\/span> – Ted Williams<\/span><\/p>\n

Why We Need the Captive Exotic Animal Protection Act<\/a><\/span>\u00a0 – The Humane Society of the United States<\/span><\/p>\n

Canned Hunt <\/a><\/span>– Wikipedia<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The truly dumb animals are the people who install high fences on private property to cage large game animals inside and then for enormous fees encourage and allow other dumb animals to shoot captive animals and call it hunting.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":170471,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[278,230,316,317,43],"tags":[5468,5469,4028,281,12774,5467,285,4037,4022,4035,279,282,283,30,102,238,4032],"class_list":["post-1132","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-captive-killing-large-game","category-elk","category-moose","category-mule-deer","category-wildlife-ethics","tag-canned-hunts","tag-captive-hunts","tag-elk","tag-fairchase","tag-game-farms","tag-hunting-ethics","tag-large-game","tag-moose","tag-mule-deer","tag-nature-photography","tag-nature-photography-ethics","tag-not-a-dumb-animal","tag-private-game-preserves","tag-utah-2","tag-wildlife","tag-wildlife-photographer","tag-wildlife-photography"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/mule-deer-mia-mcpherson-utah-9613.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-ig","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":6628,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2012\/11\/22\/resting-mule-deer-buck-at-bear-river-national-wildlife-refuge\/","url_meta":{"origin":1132,"position":0},"title":"Resting 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