I don't see how hunting is a sport at all.

Take deer hunting as one example. Deer can see and hear. So can the hunters. And maybe deer have a better sense of smell.

Now take a look at what hunters use in order to kill deer. In one recent local newspaper insert I saw advertised: Eight tree platforms with all kinds of comfort amenities, four styles of hunting blinds, many kinds of camouflage clothing, hats and gloves and clothing that is marked “no scent,” laser rangefinders, scent elimination kits, digital scouting cameras, deer 3D targets, stealth cameras that watch for deer 24/7, all kinds of binoculars, 27 kinds of guns, various ammunition including expander slugs, decoys, two-way radios, various lures, etc.

All of that against an animal.

Over the years I've heard all the excuses hunters give for going out and having a good time killing animals (and sometimes each other and farm animals and pets). Although it was a crucial part of humans' survival 100,000 years ago, hunting is now nothing more than a violent form of recreation that the vast majority of hunters do not require for subsistence. And back then without all the accessories to help hunters kill, it was not a sport. If anyone is hunting for food these days, they should consider putting their time into growing a garden, maybe keeping some chickens.

According to government statistics, fewer than 5 percent of the U.S. population hunts, yet hunting is permitted in many wildlife refuges, national forests, state parks and on other public lands. Forty percent of hunters slaughter and maim millions of animals just on public land every year, and by some estimates, poachers kill just as many animals illegally, according to PETA.

Many animals suffer prolonged, painful deaths when they are injured but not killed by hunters. A member of the Maine Bow hunters Alliance estimates that 50 percent of animals are left to die slowly. A British study of deer hunting found that 11 percent of deer who'd been killed by hunters died only after being shot two or more times and that some wounded deer suffered for more than 15 minutes before dying.

To attract more hunters (and their money), federal and state agencies implement programs - often called “wildlife management” or “conservation” programs - that are designed to boost the number of “game” animals.

These programs help to ensure that there are plenty of animals for hunters to kill and, consequently, plenty of revenue from the sale of hunting licenses.

There do exist humane alternatives to manage a population of deer. Some wildlife agencies are considering other management techniques including sterilization which studies show is an effective, long-term solution to overpopulation.

A method called TNR (trap, neuter and return) has been tried on deer in Ithaca, and an experimental birth-control vaccine is being used on female deer in Princeton, N.J.

To combat hunting in your area, post “no hunting” signs on your land, join or form an anti-hunting organization, protest organized hunts and spread deer repellent or human hair (from barber shops) near hunting areas.

This year for the first time our state Legislature made it legal for children as young as 14 to hunt with guns. Gov. David Patterson, despite many protests, then signed it into law. I have discovered that even adult hunters appear to not know that they cannot shoot within 500 feet of a dwelling.

A state trooper told me that 500 feet is almost the length of two football fields.

Judy Vorreuter is the founder and director of Animal Advocates of the Finger Lakes. Contact her at judy@cayugaanimaladvocates.org