Stupid people I: Pig Caught in a Battle Between Future Farmers and PETA.

Stupid people II: Bowhunting in the Back Yard? McLean Pair's Answer to Deer Damage Riles Neighbors By Timothy Dwyer

"The deer population, whether you are talking about Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and Connecticut, when you get into these suburban areas, you have deer problems," said Doug Hotton, a biologist for the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. "And it is because you have excellent deer habitat and very low deer mortality. The only thing that takes care of deer overpopulation is probably Buicks or BMWs."

Dan Lovelace, a biologist with the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, said the deer population has grown so much recently that the department added three months to Fairfax's hunting season this year and next. He said bowhunting is the most effective way of hunting deer in the suburbs because it is safer than using rifles.

But either way, hunters and biologists hear from those opposed to suburban hunting using what they derisively call the Bambi argument. Killing deer brings an emotional response from people, but Lovelace said that allowing the deer population to grow unchecked is ecologically unsound.

Eric Huppert, president of the bowhunter organization that's going to conduct the hunt, said

Bowhunters are carefully screened for their marksmanship and sensitivity before they are allowed to join the organization, Huppert said. Whitetail does not charge homeowners for its services, and most of the deer that are killed are donated to Hunters for the Hungry, which distributes the venison to soup kitchens...

Huppert said he explained that the bowhunters are 15 to 20 feet off the ground in a tree stand. When the deer pass below, the hunters fire down, so if any shot misses, the arrow goes into the ground. Once a deer is hit, hunters follow the deer until it drops, which is usually, Huppert said, "not very far." The deer is wrapped in canvas and removed. He said the hunters use metal detectors to recover errant arrows.

Those opposed to the hunt are fearful of such shots hitting their children or pets. Others do not want their children to see a deer staggering through the neighborhood with an arrow in its hide or dying in their back yard.