I live in semi-rural Pennsylvania. We have cities reasonably near us, and we live in what would be considered a suburban environment, but I can walk to the end of my block and literally cross the street to farmland. The same can be said of three out of five of the local public elementary schools and one of the three private schools.

We also have four shooters in a family of six. My son, working against gender type, is not interested, and I have tried it but dislike the noise and physical jarring of the activity. The three girls and their father all hunt the elusive paper target, but their competitions put them in touch with lots of hunters. Though some of the hunters are pure sportsmen and sportswomen, in this area most of them have connections with local farmers.

Deer, and small mammals (mostly groundhogs) known locally as "varmints", constitute a large threat to farmers around here, second only to drought. They eat crops intended for livestock or market. Groundhogs and rabbits undermine the ground itself. Hunting season on these animals helps to control this damage. The only alternative is to reintroduce natural predators, principally wolves, to the area. Not interested in living in a game park, thank you.

The encroachment of suburban development on the farms makes it difficult to control the animals on the farms themselves by shooting foragers on sight because of laws (good ones, for those of us with children) restricting the use of firearms within a certain distance of residences and schools. So the farmers look forward to hunting season as a way to protect their corn and keep their tmachinery from damage resulting from falling into groundhog holes.

Our local butchers set aside tables and sometimes rooms at hunting season to make deer meat products. (Almost no one eats groundhog anymore.) Those who don't like deer meat can donate it to shelters in the cities and towns, who use it to provide high quality, free protein for needy citizens.

Overpopulation of deer also results in increased traffic accidents involving deer. One bullet vs. a truck or a car: probably the bullet causes less pain.

I know some hunters are careless or cruel. The hunters I know are among the first to police their own ranks for the people who ought not to be out there, and fully cooperate with the state game commission to catch those who use hunting season as an excuse to shoot to wound, or to kill domesticated animals for the fun of shooting something.

I don't like venison. It's too gamey for me. Still, I think hunting properly done, with skill and respect for the quarry, is a worthwhile activity, just not one for me. Hunting isn't nearly the black-or-white issue of killing for fun that many animal rights activists believe it to be. Living close to the environment actually informs one that nature is still red in tooth and claw, and that we are still part of nature, though many of us live several steps removed from its interface.