To the editor:

During the summer months, many local news stories fly under the radar, and one that received little feedback is a new program in Bristol allowing bow and arrow deer hunting on four pieces of town-owned property beginning on Sept. 15.

According to a press release put out by the town, their decision to allow this sort of hunting is due to residents complaining about deer feeding on their shrubbery and plants along with an increase in vehicle vs. deer collisions. As far as I'm concerned, these issues are very minor compared with the drawbacks of bow and arrow hunting in these areas. Very worrisome to me is that all four of these hunting zones approved by the town border heavily populated areas where people run and hike, and many children play in or around, and the risks to humans being accidentally shot are real and very concerning.

But the biggest drawback by far to the town approved hunt is the inhumane way that these docile creatures are killed by bow and arrow hunters. Once shot with an arrow, deer continue to run away, and are tracked down by hunters following a blood trail until they eventually bleed to death, or they find a hiding place where they lay down and die an even slower and more painful death, never to be seen by the hunters again. In addition, injured deer do not know the boundaries of the hunting area, and it's very possible that they will leave those areas and enter streets and backyards with an arrow penetrating their body while hunters move on to shooting their next easier target while the injured deer suffer a slow, agonizing, and painful death.

Back years ago, people relied on deer hunting to feed their families, but with the abundance of food in today's society, hunting deer with a bow and arrow simply gives hunters the thrill of inhumanely killing a defenseless animal.

There have been numerous studies done all over the country which have shown that non-lethal methods of controlling the deer population have been quite successful, and the town owes it to their citizens to explore and attempt these options before approving the cruel and inhumane method of bow and arrow hunting that they so quickly approved.

Mike Proto
245 Chestnut St.