Essay
Currently, residents in Southern Minnesota cannot hunt deer with rifles. This law was introduced back in 1947 when there were poor deer numbers. Recently, the deer population has skyrocketed in Minnesota. They are causing more crop loss than ever before, and they are also spreading diseases faster than in the past. CWD, or Chronic wasting Disease has been tearing through the deer population. CWD infects a deer’s brain, killing it from the inside out. According to the Center of Disease Control, “Scientists think CWD spreads between animals through contact with saliva, blood, urine or feces of an animal with CWD. They suspect it can also spread indirectly through the environment, such as in soil, drinking water or food.” As of today, CWD has been found in 32 states and four provinces. In Southern Minnesota, the condensed deer population is extremely susceptible to CWD. Why are we still limiting the tools we need to thin the herd? With everyone being able to hunt deer with rifles, the population would go down, and the disease would too.
Some people say that hunting is not ethical. Deer can get wounded and suffer. This is true, especially with shotguns. Shotguns are not as accurate rifles and they have a lot of kickback. This leads to more misshots and more wounded deer. If rifles were introduced, the shots taken would be more accurate and more deadly to the deer, thus saving it from a long, horrible death. No matter what, people are going to hunt deer. We should make it a quick, easy death to all prey involved. We should not have them suffer.
Many people think that rifles are scary, dangerous, and overkill for hunting deer. They say that if they are introduced, many people will die gruesome deaths. But that is not what the data shows. In 2022, Minnesota, which has restrictions on rifles in much of the state had 13 hunting incidents and one fatality. Compare that to Wisconsin. Wisconsin recently allowed the entire state to hunt with rifles. In 2022, only 12 hunting incidents were reported and there was one fatality. Compare those statistics to football. In our conference alone this year, there have been well over thirteen injuries to players.
With any bill, there are downsides. In Southwest Minnesota, there is a lot of open, flat land and that can pose a threat to civilians if the hunters miss. In addition, allowing rifle hunting would make more people buy rifles. Those guns, when placed in the wrong hands, can lead to incidents such as school shootings. More self-inflicted accidents could happen as well. This is why gun safety and mental health should be taught in order to have and hunt with a gun.
Sources:
Chronic wasting disease in animals. (2024, May 13). Chronic Wasting Disease. https://www.cdc.gov/chronic-wasting/animals/index.html
Hunting incident reports | | Wisconsin DNR. (n.d.). https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/hunt/incidentreport
Hunting Incident Summary- 1947 to current. (n.d.). MN Department of Natural Resources. https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/enforcement/incidentreports/hunting.html
HuntWise. (2024, August 27). Shotgun v Rifle: Which One to Choose for Your Hunt. https://huntwise.com/field-guide/firearms/shotgun-v-rifle-which-one-to-choose-for-your-hunt#:~:text=Rifles%20are%20best%20in%20areas,make%20the%20best%20ethical%20shot.
Two rifle hunting bills ‘struggling’ in House. (2024, May 2). marshallindependent.com. https://www.marshallindependent.com/news/local-news/2024/05/two-rifle-hunting-bills-struggling-in-house/