FRIDAY APRIL 13. 1973
Pet Owners Contribute to Wildlife Destruction
by D. Arthur Hollar
Snow had been falling
continually since early the
preceding night. December
1972, was almost over and I
was spending as much time
as I could at my Grandma's
house, in Courtney, N. C.
Most of this particular day I
had been walking through the
snow blanketed woods,
following first one set of
tracks and then another,
feeling warm and comfortable
with the exercise and content
ment of the winter woods, in
its solitude of whiteness and
quiet. I surprised a red
screech owl on a low limb of a
beech tree, and watched as
he scrunched up as close to
the tree trunk as he could,
squinting his eyes shut, and
doing all that a red owl con
trasting against smooth grey
bark could do to impersonate
tree bark. He gave up in about
10 seconds under my con
tinual stare, and flew away,
making not a whisper of a
sound in the totally silent
winter world. As snow began
to quietly fall again, I sat
down against a large red oak.
thinking that if I. too, were
silent and still enough, I could
slowly, by thought, flow into
this peaceful, tranquil woods,
and be a part of each tree,
each snowflake that fell. My
body did not feel present, real.
But the gun in my lap was
very real.
I stood up quickly. Was
the squirrel dead? I went the
fifteen feet over to the head
protruding from the snow.
Yes, weakened by cysts on his
body, he was frozen. I thought
then of the fall, seven years
ago, the last time I had
hunted. I had been sitting
with my brother for about 20
minutes, and the squirrel
finally came back into view. I
shot and he fell, only to catch
on a small limb three feet
overhead. The shot had
broken his back, but he was
yet alive, slowly breathing, not
moving, only staring down at
me. From three feet away, I
blew his head off. I have never
hunted since.
But there I was again,
with the same automatic .22,
walking in the winter woods
to meet my uncle. He also had
a rifle with him. We were
hunting, but not for what
most people hunt. We walked
into the woods, overlooking
my father's bottomland, along
South Deep Creek. My uncle
had earlier that day heard the
dogs running the deer toward
the bottomland pasture. After
walking only five minutes, we
heard the dogs barking. We
sat down against trees and
waited they were coming
our way.
Suddenly four whitetail
does and a buck came into
view. They came up even with
us. but fifty yards down the
hill, and stopped. Their
mouths hung open, tongues
hung out and their sides
heaved violently. All was quiet
for only a moment as my
uncle raised his .22. Suddenly
the dogs came into view
down the slope and set to
baying. The deer took off in an
instant as the dogs ap
proached. My uncle waited,
took aim, and fired four times.
We rose and walked
over to where the two dogs
lay dead in the snow. They
belonged to a neighbor, who
also "owned" at least three
other adults, which annually
produced at least one litter.
They eat whatever they find
wherever they can find it. I
have seen them, dirty, skinny,
perpetually half-starved at my
father's chicken farm,
scrounging for dropped eggs
around the very deep holes
where dead chickens and
cracked eggs are thrown.
How many young puppies
have fallen into the holes, I
wonder.
Where were these dogs
shot? They were just two of a
small pack of dogs, most
probably with "owners", who
chase and kill the wild deer
around that part of Yadkin
County. You may doubt the
ability of dogs to kill full
grown deer. I invite you to
look at the June 1969 issue
of North Carolina Wildlife, in
our library for photo proof.
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'jH Bli^
Folk Dance Company to Perform
APRIL 26. 27. 28-8:15 p.m
APRIL 29-2:00 p.m.
Reynolds Auditorium
Reserved Seats $3.50
General Admission $2.50
Sunday Matinee:
all seats $2.00
Agnes de Mille is
creating a new company to be
a national folk company
likethe Russian Moiseyev.
Aided in grants from the
Rockefeller Foundation and
the National Endowment for
the Arts, she is gathering
together works of her own
and of other choreographers
that celebrate America in
song and dance. Guest artists
from New York and Boston
GUILFORDIAN
Why am I writing this?
To whom am I speaking? I'm
speaking to all of us who own
our pets, cats and dogs, and I
wish to bring to attention a
rising and alarming fact that is
spreading, literally and alar
mingly, across our country.
Each of us who owns a cat or
a dog may be unconscious
contributors to a growing
destructive force of our coun
try's wildlife.
More than pesticides,
more than predators and
automobiles, feral dogs and
cats are destroyers of wildlife
in the U.S. They are sur
passed, "naturally", only by
man. By feral, I mean dogs
and cats allowed to roam
unattended, for periods of
time. True feral animals are
those who, though once
domesticated, have reverted
Photo by: Truslow
will join a company of dancers
and singers from the School
of the Arts in these premiere
performances. The NCSA
Orchestra, conducted by Nor
man Johnson will accompany
the Heritage Dance Theatre.
Costumes and sets will be
constructed by the School of
Design and Production under
the supervision of A. Christina
Giannini and Max de Voider.
To order tickets for this
event, send a check and a
stamped self-addressed
envelope to Box Office, Box
4657. Winston-Salem, N. C.
27107. Be sure to indicate
the date and whether you
wish reserved seats or general
admission. You will soon be
receiving a special flyer with
an order blank, if you prefer to
wait.
to a semi-wild or wild state.
How do we as pet
owners contribute to wildlife
destruction? I'll give another
personal example. Last
summer I lived out in Guilford
County, with plenty of area,
fields and woods, for my dogs
"to roam". One morning I
went out to find a young
rabbit George had brought to
the house, still alive, but un
able to stand from injury. I
had to kill it. breaking its neck
with a sharp blow. This was
well into the summer, after
most young animals were
grown and on their own. yet
still George was able to run
down a rabbit.
Spring is not only a time
for dormant trees and flowers
to burst forth, but also for our
wildlife to produce their
offspring. Soon animals such
as rabbits, muskrats, and
woodchucks are bringing
forth young, most of these
helpless against predation by
our pets when they are "out
running around." Many
ground nesting birds, quail,
whip-poor-will, and wood-
Hitchhiking In America
by Ed Buryn
Hitching as practiced
today is a healthy mass
reaction to America's preoc
cupations with safety and
security, money and
materialism, police and
paranoia. Today's young
travelers are putting their faith
on the line and their packs on
the road. They want freedom
and adventure, and traveling
by thumb is made to order
it's unpredictable, it's cheap,
and it's about people. The
widespread notions about its
dangers and illegality only
make it more attractive.
Hitching in America is
not for everybody It's long on
paranoia and short on com
fort. Its pressures can easily
distort the experience or warp
your vision of America. To do
it, you should be a character
with character, because
hitching is a test of who you
are. You need to be confident
in the face of doubt, tolerant
when victimized by the
weakness of others, tough in
order to endure the physical
hardships, flexible enough to
go with the changing fortunes
of the road, and finally you
need a sense of humor toward
off the ever-threatening
cynicism.
Hitching is a test of
humanity because you'll see
people at their best and their
worst. Some people will crap
on you and laugh. Most peo
ple will simply ignore you. and
that can be even harder.
Being on the road
means learning to "be here
now." taking eadh moment
and extracting whatever it has
to offer. You'll stand countless
hours in dozens of places,
struggling with the mysteries
and miseries of reality.
Gradually a feeling of content
ment and fullness can be
reached, no matter how for
saken and weird your situa
tion may be. If it's skill you
want to acquire, then
hitchhiking may be for you.
The dangers of hitching
are real but over-emphasized.
The number of victim-hitch
hikers is small compared to
the numbers of hitchhikers.
But there are rapes, robberies,
beatings, accidents, and even
PAGE FIVE
cock, for example, have no
protection except that they
may be overlooked. And cats,
oh yes cats, try and imagine
their destruction of nesting
young birds and numerous
beneficial reptiles such as gar
den snakes. Many creatures,
such as rabbits, will produce
second litters during the
summer. Letting our pets out,
unattended for their exercise,
could end up as pain and
death for many innocent and
helpless creatures, especially
during this springtime of the
year.
Man took from the wild
and domesticated the dog and
cat. and now we must realize
our stewardship and respon
sibility toward these pets. Like
each one of you who owns a
pet. I own George and Mule
because I love animals. But I
love the wild creatures that
share my daily life even more,
and I now realize, as I hope all
of you do also, that we can
prevent we must prevent
useless pain and death of
our already struggling wildlife.
murders once in a while.
There are police arrests, fines,
and jail. However, that's
where we're at as a country,
and violence and injustices
victimize not just hitchers but
everyone at random. Hitchers
are more exposed, however,
and do run somewhat more
risk. Yet it's foolish to expect
the worst or fear that possibi
lity constantly. Expect the
best from people and you'll
usually get it. People can be
wonderful, especially to hitch
hikers.
Hitching is technically
illegal in only 8 states (AR,
CT, DE, ME, NV, NJ. ND, WY)
but this doesn't mean much.
What actually happens is that
police anywhere can hassle
you if they feel like it. And
they frequently do. Always
carry ID with you (or you'll be
considered a runaway). Cash
or traveler's checks will pre
vent a vagrancy charge.
Hitching on freeways, in
terstates, and toll roads is
always forbidden but you can
stand at the access roads (in
front of the NO
PEDESTRIANS sign) and
legally catch rides.
The best hitching com
bination is a man and woman
together. Two guys will get
there OK, but it'll take much
longer. A single man will have
no trouble, but a woman
traveling alone takes an un
necessary risk. Two girls
traveling together is feasible,
but not fool-proof.
Bring a frameless pack
(a frame is too bulky), food
and water (for those times
you may get stranded in the
desert or the boondocks),
camping equipment, a road
atlas, and a sign announcing
your destination. The best
source of information as you
go are other hitchers and
travelers; always check into
the grapevine wherever you
can.
Quit now. .. -