OK. This story is going to test you. It’s not going to expose a right or wrong answer, but rather a set of different perspectives. It is likely that you’ve heard the old statement…..“we’re judged by our actions“. Well, this is true some of the time, but as we will soon see, it is definitely not the case in every circumstance. In this story, I intend to show how the intentions of two different men made all the difference when it came to the type of judgement that was cast by those affected by the actions involved, even when their individual actions produced very similar results. If this sounds confusing at first, don’t worry, it soon will be as clear as……well, mud.
Coexistence of wildlife
I currently live in a rural area which has an open field directly behind me. This area is occupied with many different types of wildlife including wild turkey and Blacktail deer. The field behind me is owned by a neighbor who does not employ any farming practices. These people are currently residing in a much more populated area about an hour’s drive from here. They use this piece of land, which includes a house and several out buildings, as a weekend home. In our neck of the woods the fire danger becomes quite extreme during the summer months, so my neighbor is very concerned about keeping the wild growing grasses cut to a very low height so the risk of fire is kept to a minimal.
In years past he has spent several weekends each spring tackling this task himself with his modest tractor and small mower. However, the past couple of years have found him giving the 20 acres of volunteer grasses to another neighbor for livestock hay purposes which also provides the desired fire protection once it is cut. The neighbor with the livestock is given the grass hay for no cost if he brings in his equipment to cut and bale the hay and haul it away to use as livestock feed. What the land owner receives in return is the fire protection he is looking for without the necessity to keep mowing the field himself with his modest mower.
So far, this sounds like a win-win situation, but there is more to the story. So now, (as Paul Harvey used to say) here is “the rest of the story”.
I have lived in and around this area my entire life and as such, I will tell you that the wild turkey population is nothing short of exploding these days. On the other hand, the deer population is holding its own at best. Turkeys are minimally affected by predators, primarily due to their ability to fly and spend the night roosting in the trees. Deer however, are at risk to the mountain lions, coyotes, and eagles in our area when they are young and also, as we all know, these animals are restricted to remain on the ground without the ability to escape into the air. A turkey will lay 10 – 14 eggs a year, whereas a deer will have one or possible two fawns per year.
So, why am I giving such detail about these two specific animals? Because it is precisely these two beautiful animals that this story is centered around. The field behind me will have the occasional visit of both of these creatures. Travel another 1/4 mile up the road, which brings us to the foothill’s bottom, and you would expect to see many more turkeys throughout the day in the spring months. Contrary, the deer sightings would remain at a minimal. The deer in this area have their fawns in May and June, which is when the turkeys have begun to nurture their eggs on the nest.
The Fish and Game department has created a hunting season for the male turkeys as a means of population control during the majority of April and the very early portion of May. This is when the mating ritual is primarilly finished and the females can lay their eggs and proceed to hatch them. The deer hunting season, which is for male deer only, is within the months of August and September so to allow the new born fawns time to advance to a strong state. Also, the gestation period for a deer is much longer than a turkey as the fawns that are born in the late spring and early summer months were actually conceived during the Fall months of the prior year. Thus, the Fish and Game department schedules the deer hunting season during the late summer months so to not disturb the mating season of October and November.
One mans right is another mans wrong
This particular property owner has openly professed his participation in hunting pratices throughout the U.S. This is only relevant to this story as a means to express he is not against hunting in general. Now we will introduce an additional participant. This introduction brings us yet another neighbor who simply lives around this same field. This is where the story becomes confined to three people….the property owner, the livestock man cutting the grass for hay and the other neighbor who lives at one side of this field.
The live-beside neighbor had been waiting for a chance to harvest a turkey for personal meat consumption purposes during the spring when the hunting season was open. Unfortunately (I guess) this did not materialize until one day when the season had passed and been closed for 6 days. Even though the opportunity at a mature male turkey presented itself on the 6th day following the close of turkey season, this neighbor made the choice to harvest the animal. As a means of complete disclosure, immediately following the harvesting of the animal, the live-beside neighbor exposed his action to the land owner neighbor.
The land owner was extermely upset due to the legality of the seasons close 6 days prior!
Intentions vs. Actions (what really matters?)
So now I will bring forth more detail for us to contemplate. It is quite obvious that the hunter intentionally harvested the turkey and we must assume that his awareness of the season dates were known (or should have been). Now lets shift our focus to the hay-cutting neighbor. This man only had one priority, and that was to cut the wild grasses for hay to feed to his livestock. The landowner did not ask for a fee simply because the added fire protection he would realize was his real concern.
One unfortunate reality that I haven’t exposed until now is that the female deer (doe’s) will many times give birth to their one or two fawns within the high wild grasses such as was found in this field. This particular livestock owning neighbor was not as diligent with his timing as one would expect and thus his cutting proceedure took quite a long time. In fact, he would only show up to cut an acre or two on any given day for more than a month. Well, as sad as this may seem, the reality is undeniable. Due to his extended cutting schedule, the field was not completely cut until well into the fawning time period for the deer.
The end result produced a killed fawn as a victum to the unaware man who was opperating the hay cutting machine. He could not have seen the tiny deer laying in the tall grass as he drove the large machine through the field. His intention was not deliberate in the death of the baby deer, however, his actions produced the result.
So now I ask…..where is your judgement priority?
One man intentionally killed an animal to directly consume the meat. A law set forth by humans was violated based on the pre-established hunting season dates.
Another man also killed an animal, but did not intend to do so. Contrary, he did not consume the meat but rather left if for the scavengers, and, he did not violate any pre-established man made laws.
And, just to add another element for your consideration, the property owner made clear his disregard for other types of animals in the area such as the wild pigeons (which are few in numbers). He openly stated his lack of concern should the hunter have taken a pigeon rather than a turkey.
Result
One man intentionally killed, another man killed without the intentions to do so.
The end result is the same…..two animals are deseased.
You decide……is one… or both… or neither of these men guilty of a wrong in your opinion? Also, what about the property owner’s perspective? Do you feel he was justified in his approach toward distinguishing the importance of one animal vs. another?
I will tell you that the land owner was very upset with the intentional taking of the turkey, only because it was beyond the pre-established season date according to the Dept. of Fish and Game. He was modestly upset by the demise of the helpless deer fawn.
Actions….. both occurrences produced the death of an animal.
Intentions….. the only difference in this matter.
How do you judge…..is it the intentions or the actions that make the difference in your feelings and thoughts?
The hypocricies of the human judgement process will no-doubt reveal themselves within this consideration.
There is no real right or wrong answer…..there is only your answer.
Is your ultimate judgement based on intention or action? We can learn a lot about ourselves with an honest assessment.
"Listen" 